Toon Boom
Harmony22 Advanced

Reference Guide

TOON BOOM ANIMATION INC.

+1 514 278 8666

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

contact@toonboom.com
toonboom.com

Harmony 22 Advanced Reference 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. Harmony™ 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
09-23-2022
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

Introduction

9

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

10

Add Column Dialog Box

13

Add Draw ing Layer Dialog Box

15

Add Frames Dialog Box

17

Add Prefix or Suffix Dialog Box

19

Add Synced Draw ing Layer Dialog Box

20

Advanced Save Dialog Box

22

Auto-Matte Dialog Box

27

Close Gaps Dialog Box

28

Column Properties Dialog Box

29

Column Types Dialog Box

31

Configure Line Art to Colour Art Dialog Box

32

Convert to Synced Draw ing Layer Dialog Box

34

Create Cycle Dialog Box

35

Create Draw ing from Draw ing Selection Dialog Box

36

Create Function Step On Dialog Box

37

Create Palette Dialog Box

40

Create Palette from Selection Dialog Box

41

Database Selector Dialog Box

43

Edit Default Paste Preset Dialog Box

45

Edit Exposure Paste Preset Dialog Box

47

Element Manager Dialog Box

49

Export Images Dialog Box

51

Export OpenGL Frames Dialog Box

58

Export to Animated GIF Dialog Box

71

Export to Easel JS Dialog Box

74

Export to Flash Movie Dialog Box

772

Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Export to Video Dialog Box

79

Export to Sprite Sheet Dialog Box

84

Extend Exposure Dialog Box

88

Fill Cells Randomly Dialog Box

89

Fill Selection Dialog Box

90

Hold Timing

91

Import Images Dialog Box

94

Loop Node101

Manage Local Cache Dialog Box

104

Manage Tool Presets Dialog Box

106

Marker Dialog Box

108

Mini Playback Dialog Box

110

Movie Options Dialog Box (macOS)

111

QuickTime Movie Settings Dialog Box (W indow s)

115

New Scene Dialog Box

119

New Tool Preset Dialog Box

121

Onion Skin and Light Table Transparency Dialog Box

123

Palette Brow ser Dialog Box

124

Palette Operations Dialog Box

127

Paste Preset Dialog Box

129

Paste Special Dialog Box

131

Pen Pressure Feel Dialog Box

136

Pose Copier Dialog Box

139

Preferences Dialog Box

141

Recolour Draw ings Dialog Box

145

Remove Dirt Dialog Box

147

Remove Frames Dialog Box

148

Remove Hair Dialog Box

150

Rigid Point Deform Node151

Save Dialog Box

153

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Table of Contents

Scene Settings Dialog Box

155

Scripts Manager Dialog Box

166

Select Colour Dialog Box

168

Selection Presets Dialog Box

170

Sequence Fill Dialog Box

173

Set Ease for Multiple Parameters Dialog Box

175

Set Ease on Keyframes Dialog Box

177

Show Hidden Columns Dialog Box

179

OpenQuickTime Sound Options Dialog Box (GNU/Linux)

181

QuickTime Sound Settings Dialog Box (W indow s)

185

QuickTime Standard Video Compression Settings Dialog Box (W indow s)

189

Tint Offset/Blend Dialog Box

195

Timing Node196

Toolbar Manager Dialog Box

198

Vectorization Parameters Dialog Box

199

Versions Dialog Box

208

OpenQuickTime Video Options Dialog Box (GNU/Linux)

209

W indow s Media Video Settings Dialog Box (W indow s)

213

Xsheet Column W idth Dialog Box

216

Chapter 2: Menus

218

Main Menus

219

Animation Menu

220

Draw ing Menu

228

Edit Menu

237

File Menu

241

Help Menu

244

Insert Menu

246

Play Menu

248

Scene Menu

250

View Menu

252

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

W indow s Menu

258

View Menus

260

Camera View Menu

261

Colour View Menu

278

Draw ing View Menu

281

Function View Menu

294

Library View Menu

296

Reference View Menu

298

Onion Skin View Menu

300

Perspective View Menu

302

Script Editor View Menu

308

Side View Menu

313

Timeline View Menu

318

Top View Menu

323

Xsheet View Menu

328

Chapter 3: Layers

338

Deformation Layers

340

Bone Layers

341

Deformation Composite Layer

343

Game Bone Layer

344

Kinematic Output Layer

346

Effect Layers

347

Blending Layer

348

Blur Layer

353

Blur-Gaussian Layer

355

Colour-Override Layer

357

Colour-Scale Layer

361

Cutter Layer

363

Glow Layer

365

Highlight Layer

368

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Table of Contents

Shadow Layer

372

Tone Layer

375

Transparency Layer

379

Image Layers

381

Colour-Card Layer

382

Draw ing Layer

384

Move Layers

398

Camera Layer

399

Peg Layer

400

Quadmap Layer

402

Sound Layer

405

Chapter 4: Tools Properties

406

Brush Tool Properties

408

Centerline Editor Tool Properties

431

Close Gap Tool Properties

433

Colour Eyedropper Tool Properties

434

Contour Editor Tool Properties

435

Cutter Tool Properties

440

Draw ing Pivot Tool Properties

445

Edit Gradient/Texture Tool Properties

448

Ellipse Tool Properties

449

Envelope Tool Properties

459

Eraser Tool Properties

462

Ink Tool Properties

484

Line Tool Properties

486

Morphing Tool Properties

498

Paint Tool Properties

502

Pencil Tool Properties

509

Pencil Editor Tool Properties

520

Perspective Tool Properties

525

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Polyline Tool Properties

528

Rectangle Tool Properties

536

Reposition All Draw ings Tool Properties

546

Rigging Tool Properties

548

Select Tool Properties

549

Shift and Trace Tool Properties

562

Smooth Editor Tool Properties

565

Stamp Tool Properties

567

Stroke Tool Properties

575

Text Tool Properties

577

Transform Tool Properties

580

Zoom Tool Properties

584

Chapter 5: Toolbars

586

W orkspace Toolbars

587

Advanced Animation Toolbar

588

Art Layer Toolbar

589

Deformation Toolbar

591

Display Toolbar

594

Easy Flipping Toolbar

595

Edit Toolbar

596

File Toolbar

597

Flip Toolbar

599

Game Toolbar

600Mark Draw ing Toolbar

601

Mini Playback Toolbar

602

Onion Skin Toolbar

603

Pen Settings Toolbar

605

Playback Toolbar

608

Scripting Toolbar

611

Shift and Trace Toolbar

612

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Table of Contents

Tool Presets Toolbar

614

Tools Toolbar

615

W orkspace Toolbar

621

View Toolbars

622

Script Editor Toolbar

623

Timeline View Toolbar

627

Xsheet View Toolbar

632

Chapter 6: Views

634

Camera View

635

Colour View

644

Draw ing View

650

Draw ing Substitutions View

653

Function View

655

Guides View

658

Integrated Help View

662

Layer Properties View

663

Library View

665

Master Controller View

668

Message Log View

670

Metadata Editor View

671

Reference View

673

Onion Skin View

675

Perspective View

682

Script Editor View

685

Side View

690

Timeline View

692

Tool Properties View

702

Top View

703

Xsheet View

705

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Introduction
Harmony has several commands, dialog boxes, and buttons. The Reference section lists all of them along w ith
the matching definition. To understand how to use these functions in a production context, read the User
guide.
In the Reference guide, you w ill learn about the various parameters available in dialog boxes, menus, nodes,
toolbars, view s, and w indow s.
The Preferences guide provides additional details about each individual preference.

9Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes
Dialog boxes contain controls such as options and lists through w hich you can carry out a particular commandor task. For example, in the Scene Settings dialog box, you must indicate the resolution and alignment. A
typical dialog box looks as follow s:

Add Column Dialog Box

13

Add Draw ing Layer Dialog Box

15

Add Frames Dialog Box

17

Add Prefix or Suffix Dialog Box

19

Add Synced Draw ing Layer Dialog Box

20

Advanced Save Dialog Box

22

Auto-Matte Dialog Box

27

Close Gaps Dialog Box

28

Column Properties Dialog Box

29

Column Types Dialog Box

31

Configure Line Art to Colour Art Dialog Box

32

Convert to Synced Draw ing Layer Dialog Box

34

Create Cycle Dialog Box

35

Create Draw ing from Draw ing Selection Dialog Box

36

Create Function Step On Dialog Box

37

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Create Palette Dialog Box

40

Create Palette from Selection Dialog Box

41

Database Selector Dialog Box

43

Edit Default Paste Preset Dialog Box

45

Edit Exposure Paste Preset Dialog Box

47

Element Manager Dialog Box

49

Export Images Dialog Box

51

Export OpenGL Frames Dialog Box

58

Export to Animated GIF Dialog Box

71

Export to Easel JS Dialog Box

74

Export to Flash Movie Dialog Box

77

Export to Video Dialog Box

79

Export to Sprite Sheet Dialog Box

84

Extend Exposure Dialog Box

88

Fill Cells Randomly Dialog Box

89

Fill Selection Dialog Box

90

Hold Timing

91

Import Images Dialog Box

94

Loop Node101

Manage Local Cache Dialog Box

104

Manage Tool Presets Dialog Box

106

Marker Dialog Box

108

Mini Playback Dialog Box

110

Movie Options Dialog Box (macOS)

111

QuickTime Movie Settings Dialog Box (W indow s)

115

New Scene Dialog Box

119

New Tool Preset Dialog Box

121

Onion Skin and Light Table Transparency Dialog Box

123

Palette Brow ser Dialog Box

124

Palette Operations Dialog Box

127

11

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Paste Preset Dialog Box

129

Paste Special Dialog Box

131

Pen Pressure Feel Dialog Box

136

Pose Copier Dialog Box

139

Preferences Dialog Box

141

Recolour Draw ings Dialog Box

145

Remove Dirt Dialog Box

147

Remove Frames Dialog Box

148

Remove Hair Dialog Box

150

Rigid Point Deform Node151

Save Dialog Box

153

Scene Settings Dialog Box

155

Scripts Manager Dialog Box

166

Select Colour Dialog Box

168

Selection Presets Dialog Box

170

Sequence Fill Dialog Box

173

Set Ease for Multiple Parameters Dialog Box

175

Set Ease on Keyframes Dialog Box

177

Show Hidden Columns Dialog Box

179

OpenQuickTime Sound Options Dialog Box (GNU/Linux)

181

QuickTime Sound Settings Dialog Box (W indow s)

185

QuickTime Standard Video Compression Settings Dialog Box (W indow s)

189

Tint Offset/Blend Dialog Box

195

Timing Node196

Toolbar Manager Dialog Box

198

Vectorization Parameters Dialog Box

199

Versions Dialog Box

208

OpenQuickTime Video Options Dialog Box (GNU/Linux)

209

W indow s Media Video Settings Dialog Box (W indow s)

213

Xsheet Column W idth Dialog Box

216

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Add Column Dialog Box
The Add Column dialog box lets you add a column in the Xsheet view .
By default, w hen you create a new scene, there is one draw ing column in the Xsheet view and one
corresponding draw ing layer in the Timeline view .
You can add an element for each draw ing and it w ill appear as a column in the Xsheet view , a layer in theTimeline view , and a node in the Node view .

How to access the Add Column dialog box
1. Do one of the follow ing:l

In the Xsheet menu, right-click a column and select Add Columns.

lClick the Add Columns

lPress Shift + C.

button.

Parameter

Description

Name

Lets you give the new column a meaningful name.

Type

Lets you select a type of column to create. Choices include: Draw ing, Timing,
Sound, 3D Path, 3D Rotation, Bezier Curve, Ease Curve, Expression andAnnotation.

Draw ing Layer Options

13

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Line Art

Creates a vector or bitmap draw ing column in the Line Art layer.

Colour Art

Creates a vector or bitmap draw ing column in the Colour Art layer.

Element

Create New Element

Creates an independent column w ith its ow n draw ing folder.

Vector

Select this option if you w ant the layer to contain vector draw ings. Deselect thisoption if you w ant the layer to contain bitmap images. Most of the time, theVector option w ill be enabled.

Bitmap Format

Lets you select the type of bitmap image to insert in the column. Select SCAN
from the list if you are planning to scan draw ings using the Toon Boom Harmony
Advanced Scan module.

Scan TypeIf you chose SCAN from the Bitmap Format list, select the kind of scanning you
w ant to achieve.

Field Chart

W hen importing traditional animation, lets you indicate the size of paper on w hichthe animation or background w as draw n. If you are not using perforated
animation paper, leave the 12 field default value as is.

Use Existing Element

Uses draw ings from an existing column in the new column. Both columns w ill be
attached to the same set of draw ings, but their timing w ill remain independent
from one another. If you modify one of the draw ings, it w ill be modified in bothcolumns. This is the same principle as the Clone column.

Name

Lets you select the column to w hich you w ant to link your new column.

Add and Close

Adds the selected type of layers to the Timeline view and corresponding column
in the Xsheet view and closes the dialog box. The names of the layers/columns
are automatically numbered incrementally.

Add

Adds the selected type of layers to the Timeline view and corresponding column
in the Xsheet view . The dialog box remains open for you to add as manylayers/columns as needed. The names of the layers/columns are automatically
numbered incrementally.

Close

Closes the dialog box.

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Add Drawing Layer Dialog Box
The Add Draw ing Layer dialog box lets you add a draw ing layer to your project.
By default, w hen you create a new scene, there is one draw ing column in the Xsheet view and one
corresponding draw ing layer in the Timeline view .
You can add an element for each draw ing and it w ill appear as a column in the Xsheet view , a layer in theTimeline view , and a node in the Node view .

How to access the Add Drawing Layer dialog box
1. Do one of the follow ing:l

In the Timeline view , click the Add Draw ing Layerl

From the top menu, select Insert > Drawing.

l

Press Ctrl + R (W indow s/Linux) or ⌘ + R (macOS).

button.

Parameter

Description

Name

Lets you give the new layer a meaningful name.

Overlay Art

Creates a vector or bitmap draw ing layer in the Overlay Art layer.

Line Art

Creates a vector or bitmap draw ing layer in the Line Art layer.

Colour Art

Creates a vector or bitmap draw ing layer in the Colour Art layer.

Underlay Art

Creates a vector or bitmap draw ing layer in the Underlay Art layer.

Extend Exposure for Scene
Duration

Automatically create and empty draw ing exposure on each layer and expose
them for the duration of the scene.

15

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Add and Close

Adds the selected type of layers to the Timeline view and corresponding column
in the Xsheet view and closes the dialog box. The names of the layers/columns
are automatically numbered incrementally.

Add

Adds the selected type of layers to the Timeline view and corresponding column
in the Xsheet view . The dialog box remains open for you to add as manylayers/columns as needed. The names of the layers/columns are automatically
numbered incrementally.

Close

Closes the dialog box.

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Add Frames Dialog Box
The Add Frames dialog box allow s you to add a given amount of frames at a specific point in your scene. The
new frames are added to every layer in your scene and w ill offset all the keyframes and draw ings after theinsertion point.

How to access the Add Frames dialog box
1. In the Timeline or Xsheet view , select a frame or a range of frames.

2. Do one of the follow ing:l

From the top menu, select Scene > Frame > Add Frames at Start, Add Frames at End, Add
Frames Before Selection or Add Frames After Selection.

l

In the Xsheet view , right-click and select Frame > Add Frames at Start, Add Frames at End,
Add Frames Before Selection or Add Frames After Selection.

l

In the Xsheet toolbar, click the

Add Frames button to add frames after your selection.

lPress Ctrl + G (W indow s/Linux) or ⌘ + G (macOS) to add frames before the selection, orCtrl + H to add frames after the selection.

The Add Frames dialog box appears.

Parameter

Description

Number of frames to add

The amount of frames to add.

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Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Parameter

Description

Ripple Scene Markers

If checked, scene markers after the insertion point w ill be offset forw ard to remain
synchronized w ith the keyframes and draw ings in your scene. If unchecked, scene
markers w ill remain in place w hile everything else after the insertion point isoffset.

If checked, draw ings that are exposed just before the insertion point w ill be
exposed throughout the added rames. If unchecked, no draw ing w ill be exposedin the added frames.
Extend Draw ing Exposure

NOTE
This option has no effect w hen adding frames at the start of the scene.

18Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Add Prefix or Suffix Dialog Box
The Add Prefix or Suffix dialog box lets you add or remove a prefix or suffix for a multi-layer selection.

How to access the Add Prefix or Suffix dialog box
1. In the Timeline view , select all the layers to rename or press Ctrl + A (W indow s/Linux) or ⌘ + A(macOS).

2. In the Scripting toolbar, click the Add Prefix or Suffix Script

button. If the Scripting toolbar is not

visible, you can display it by selecting W indows > Toolbars > Scripting from the top menu. If the
Add Prefix or Suffix Script

button is not visible in the Scripting toolbar.

The Add Prefix or Suffix dialog box opens.

Parameter

Description

SuffixAllow s you put a defined set of characters (letters, numbers, symbols) after the
pre-existing layer name.

PrefixAllow s you put a defined set of characters (letters, numbers, symbols) before thepre-existing layer name.

Insert Text

Enter a set of characters to be added to the selected layers.

Remove Text

Enter a set of characters to be removed from the selected layers.

19Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Add Synced Drawing Layer Dialog Box
The Add Synced Draw ing Layer dialog box lets you add a draw ing layer to your project that w ill automaticallybe synced w ith the currently selected layer.
Depending on w hether the Support Overlay and Underlay Arts option w as selected in the Advanced tab of thePreferences panel, the Add Synced Draw ing Layer dialog box may look one of tw o w ays.

How to access the Add Synced Drawing Layer dialog box
1. In the Timeline view , right-click on the draw ing layer you w ould like to sync w ith another layer.
2. From the right-click menu, select Add Synced Drawing Layer.

Parameter

Description

Name

Lets you give the new layer a meaningful name.

Overlay Art

Creates a vector or bitmap draw ing layer in the Overlay Art layer.

Line Art

Creates a vector or bitmap draw ing layer in the Line Art layer.

Colour Art

Creates a vector or bitmap draw ing layer in the Colour Art layer.

Underlay Art

Creates a vector or bitmap draw ing layer in the Underlay Art layer.

Add and Close

Adds the selected type of layers to the Timeline view and corresponding column
in the Xsheet view and closes the dialog box. The names of the layers/columns
are automatically numbered incrementally.

Add

Adds the selected type of layers to the Timeline view and corresponding column
in the Xsheet view . The dialog box remains open for you to add as manylayers/columns as needed. The names of the layers/columns are automatically
numbered incrementally.

20

Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Close

Closes the dialog box.

21

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Advanced Save Dialog Box
In Harmony Server, the Advanced Save dialog box lets you save the scene as a new version, overw rite an
existing version, set a new current version, display a list of modified draw ings, colour palettes, and modified
colour palette lists.

How to access the Advanced Save dialog Box
1. Make sure that you have the necessary rights to save the current scene version. If you do not, you
can acquire the rights by selecting File > Rights to Modify Scene Version or Rights to Modify
Scene from the top menu.
2. From the top menu, select File > Advanced Save.
The Advanced Save dialog appears.

22Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

File Tab

Parameter

Description‣

Enable this option if you w ant to save the modifications made to thecurrent scene.

Save

‣

Deselect the Save option if you only w ant to save specific components ofyour scene listed in the Draw ings, Palettes or Palette Lists tabs. This w ill
disable all option in the File tab.

This Version (number)

Saves the current version of the scene. You can rename the current version by
typing a new name into the field.

New Version (number)

Saves the current scene as a new version. You can name this new version by
typing a name into the field.

Overw rite Existing Version

Lets you select an existing version of your scene from the list to overw rite it.

Description

Use this field to add or edit an existing description for the scene version you w ant
to save.

Mark as Current

Lets you set this scene version as the current one. This version w ill be
automatically selected as the default current version w hen the scene is selectedin the Database Selector dialog box

23

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Drawings (Harmony Server only)
The Draw ings tab lists the modified draw ings.

Parameter

Description

Draw ing list

Lets you select the modified draw ings to save, and deselect the ones you do not
w ant to save.

Select All

Selects all modified draw ings in list.

Deselect All

Deselects all modified draw ings in the list.

Palettes Tab
The Palette tab lists the modified colour palettes.

24Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Parameter

Description

Colour Palette list

Lets you select the colour palette to save, and deselect the ones you do not w ant
to save.

Show Recovered

Displays the recovered palettes in the list of modified palettes.

Select All

Selects all modified colour palettes in the palette list.

Deselect All

Deselects all modified colour palettes in the palette list.

Palette Lists Tab
The Palette Lists tab lists all the modified colour palette lists.

25

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Parameter

Description

Palette Lists

Lets you select the modified palette list to save, and deselect the ones you do not
w ant to save.

Show Recovered

Displays the recovered palettes in the list of modified palettes.

Select All

Selects all modified palette lists in the list.

Deselect All

Deselects all modified palette lists in the list.

26

Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Auto- Matte Dialog Box
The Auto-Matte dialog box lets you generate a matte for a draw ing.

How to access the Auto Matte dialog box
1. In the Camera or Draw ing view , select the draw ing you w ant to create a matte for.
2. Do one of the follow ing:l

From the top menu, select Drawing > Generate Auto- Matte.

l

In the Camera or Draw ing menu, select Drawing > Generate Auto- Matte.

Parameter

Description

Settings

Apply to all Draw ings

Creates a matte for all the draw ings included in layer.

RadiusLets you increase or decrease the radius value depending on the precision orroughness of your line. Use a low er value, the closer to your lines’ contours thematte w ill be shaped. The higher the value, the looser the matte w ill be shaped.

Source Art

Lets you select the layer from w hich you w ant the matte created: Line ArtColour
Art.

Destination Art

Lets you select the layer on w hich you w ant the matte to be created: Line
ArtColour Art.

Clear Destination Art First

Deletes existing artw ork on the destination layer before adding a matte to it.

Copy Strokes in Destination

Copies the contour of your lines as invisible lines in the matte draw ing. This isuseful if you need to reuse the lines later.

27

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Close Gaps Dialog Box
The Close Gaps dialog box lets you close up draw ing areas that not are closed. This may sometimes happen
w hen painting. You can close small gaps in a draw ing by creating small, invisible strokes betw een the tw oclosest points to close the colour zone. You do not need to trace directly over the gap. You can draw it a few
millimeters aw ay. The tw o closest points automatically close the gap.

How to access the Close Gaps dialog box
1. Select View > Show > Show Strokes or press K to see a preview of the result.
2. To flatten the strokes you draw , click the Auto-Flatten

button in the Tool Properties view .

3. Select Drawing > Clean Up > Close Gaps or press Shift + F10 (W indow s/Linux only).
The Close Gaps dialog box opens.

Parameter

Description

Size

Lets you set the size of the gap you w ant to be closed.

Apply to all draw ings

Closes all gaps in the draw ing of the selected layer.

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Column Properties Dialog Box
The Column Properties dialog box lets you add, delete or modify elements (draw ing folders) in your scene.

How to access the Drawing dialog box
1. In the Xsheet view , double-click on a column name. Do not click on the draw ing folder name thatthe column is linked to (this also appears in the column header just below the column name).

Parameter

Description

Name

Type in a new name in this field to create an element or to rename the selected
element.

Element

Name

Type in a new name in this field to create an element or to rename the selected
element.

Vector

Select this option if the new element is a vector draw ing or if you w ant to enable
the parameters on the selected element in the Elements list.

Bitmap Format

Lets you select the file format of the bitmap layer.

Scan TypeIf you're planning to scan elements w ith the Toon Boom Harmony Advanced Scan
module, select the scan type from the list.

29

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Field Chart

If you're importing traditional animation, select the size of the paper on w hich theanimation w as draw n.

30

Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Column Types Dialog Box
The Columns Types dialog box lets you show or hide columns in the exposure sheet.

How to access the Columns Types dialog box
1. In the Xsheet view , select View > Column Types Manager.
The Column Types dialog box opens.

Parameter

Description

Column Types

Lets you select the types of columns to display in the Xsheet view .

Save as Default

Makes these new settings the default ones used each time you start Harmony.

Restore Default

Returns the settings to their defaults.

31

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Configure Line Art to Colour Art Dialog Box
The Configure Line Art to Colour Art dialog box lets you modify settings for the Line Art and Colour Art layers.

How to access the Configure Line Art to Colour Art dialog box
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Select tool.
2. In the Tool Properties view , hold dow n the Shift key and click on the Creatre Colour Art from LineArt button.

Parameter

Description

Use rendered version of thedraw ing

Renders the draw ing and vectorize it to calculate the position of the centrelinethat w ill produce the colour art stroke.

Maximum Resolution for
rendered image

The size of the rendered image.

Threshold for renderedimage

The value of grey processed to create the rendered vectorized arts.

Fitting error for rendered
Beziers

This value represents how precise the fitting of the colour art zone in relation to
the line art w ill be.

Source layer

Lets you select the layer (Line Art, Colour Art, Underlay or Overlay) you w ant thecolour art to be created from.

Destination layer

Lets you select the layer (Line Art, Colour Art, Underlay or Overlay) you w ant thecolour art to be created on.

Clear Destination Art Layer

Deletes the content before the colour art is added. This is useful w hen you

32Harmony 22 Advanced Reference GuideFirst

already have artw ork on the destination layer.

Perform Line Art to Colour
Art Operation Immediately

Performs the Create Colour Art from Line Art command w hen you click OK.

33

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Convert to Synced Drawing Layer Dialog Box
The Sync Layer feature allow s for draw ings to be separated on different layers, but to have the same timing.

How to access the Convert to Synced Drawing Layer dialog box
1. right-click on a draw ing layer you w ould like to sync w ith another layer.
2. From the right-click menu, select Sync Layers W ith.
In the Choose the Parent Draw ing Layer drop-dow n list, w ith the exception of the selected layer,
every layer in your scene is listed.
3. To sync a layer w ith your currently selected layer, from the drop-dow n list, select a parent draw ing
layer and click OK. The child layer immediately updates to the parent layer's timing.

34

Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Create Cycle Dialog Box
The Create Cycle dialog box lets you create cycles from a series of draw ings and exposures.
W hen you create a draw ing cycle, all the repeated draw ings are linked to the same original files. W hen
modify, repaint, or correct a draw ing named “1” for example, all draw ings named “1” are updated
simultaneously. In order to modify a draw ing independently from its other exposures, you must duplicate thedraw ing.

How to access the Create Cycle dialog box
1. In the Timeline or Xsheet view , select the cell range to loop.

2. In the Timeline toolbar, click the Create Cycle

button (you may have to customize the toolbar todisplay it).
The Create Cycle dialog box opens.

Parameter

Description

Number of Cycles

Lets you specify the number of cycles, including the current selection.

35

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Create Drawing from Drawing Selection Dialog Box
The Create Draw ing from Draw ing Selection dialog box lets you cut a part of a draw ing and send it to a new orexisting layer.

How to access the Create Drawing from Drawing Selection dialog box
1. From the top menu, select Edit > Create Drawing From Drawing Selection or press F9(W indow s/Linux) or ⌘ + F9 (macOS).
The Create Draw ing From Draw ing Selection dialog box opens.

Parameter

Description

Layer Name

Lets you enter a name for the layer using the naming convention you established.

Cut Artw ork From Source

Lets you cut the selected artw ork from the model.

36

Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Create Function Step On Dialog Box
The Create Function Step On dialog box lets you hold the same value over a selected number of frames for
multiple parameters (pos x, scale y, etc.). This w orks w ell w hen you are animating draw ings on 2s or 3s, forexample, and you w ant to hold the same value for a function over those tw o or three frames.

How to access the Create Function Step On dialog box
1. Add the Scripting toolbar to your interface:l

Go to the top menu and select W indows > Toolbars > Scripting.

lright-click on the empty space near the top of the interface and from the quick-access menu
selecting Scripting.

lright-click on the empty space near the top of a view and from the quick-access menu
selecting Scripting.

2. In the Scripting toolbar, click on the Manage Scripts

button to open the Scripts Manager

w indow .
3. In the Scripts Manager, in the Files section, select the file TB_CreateStepsOn.js.
The functions associated w ith that file appear in the Functions section.
4. In the Functions section, select TB_CreateStepsOn.
The Add script to toolbar

button becomes active.

37

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

5. Click on the Add script to toolbar
The TB_CreateStepsOn script

button.
button is added to the Scripting toolbar.

6. Click Apply.
7. Click OK.
8. In the Timeline view , select the layer w hose parameter values you w ould like to hold.
9. In the Scripting toolbar, click on the TB_CreateStepsOn script

button.

The Create Function Step On dialog box appears.

Parameter

Description

Settings

Every Number of Frames

Enter in the number of frames you w ould like to hold your functions.

38Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Selection

First Frame

Enter in the frame number of w here you w ould like the stepped holds tostart. The playhead location determines the low est value you can enterfor the first frame. You need to move the playhead to frame one if you
w ould like to set frame one as the low est possible starting value.

Last Frame

Enter in the frame number of w here you w ould like the stepped holds to
stop.

39

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Create Palette Dialog Box
The Create Palette dialog box allow s you to create a colour palette for your scene. Palettes created w ith this
dialog box are added to your scene's palette list, and stored in your scene's palette-library subdirectory.

NOTE
If you have the Advanced Palette Lists preference enabled, the dialog w ill also have a palettebrow ser, w hich allow s you to decide w here the palette is stored and w hether to add it to the sceneor the element's palette list—see Palette Brow ser Dialog Box on page 124.

How to access the Create Palette dialog box
1. Do one of the follow ing:l

In the Colour View , click the New Palettebutton over the palette list.

lFrom the Colour view menu, select Palettes > New

Parameter

Description

New Palette Name

Allow s you to type in the name of the palette to create.

Allow s you choose the palette type to create:

Palette TypelColour: A colour palette can contain colours, gradients and bitmap textures.

l

Pencil Texture: A pencil texture palette can contain textures to apply astransparency filters to pencil lines, in combination to their line colour, to create
various styles of pencil lines.

40Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Create Palette from Selection Dialog Box
The Create Palette from Selection dialog box allow s you to create a palette that contains all the colours usedby all the draw ings in the selected draw ing layers.

This can be useful, for example, if the colour design for a character model or rig, a background or another kindof asset w as made using several different palettes, and you need to consolidate all of the colours used by theasset into its ow n dedicated palette.

NOTES
l

The Create Palette from Selection dialog uses the colours in all the draw ings in the selected
layers, even draw ings that are not exposed.

l

For tasks related to this dialog box, see the User Guide.

How to access the Create Palette from Selection dialog box
1. In the Timeline, Xsheet, Camera or Node view , select one or more draw ing layers.
2. In the top-left corner of the Colour view , open the

View Menu and select Palettes > New

Palette from Selected Drawings.

Parameter

Description

New Palette Name

Allow s you to type in the name of the palette to create.

Allow s you choose one of the type of palette to create:lColour: Creates a palette containing all the colours, gradients and bitmap
textures used in the selected draw ing layers.

l

Pencil Texture: Creates a palette containing all the pencil textures used in theselected draw ing layers.

Palette Type

Generate New Colour
IDs and Recolour
Selected Draw ings

By default, the Create Palette from Selection dialog box generates the palette bycopying the colour sw atches used in the selected draw ings from their original palette
into a new palette, along w ith their colour ID. This means that the colour sw atches in thegenerated palette w ill use the same colour IDs as the ones in the original palettes.

41

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

If you select this option, Harmony w ill generate a palette w ith new colour IDs, and w ill
replace the old colour IDs in your artw ork w ith the new ones. This w ill usually have no
visible effect, and w ill prevent the sw atches in the new palette from having the same
colour IDs as the sw atches you originally used to colour your artw or. W hen tw o palettes
have a sw atch w ith the same colour ID, Harmony uses the sw atch from the top-mostpalette in the palette list.

NOTE
If your artw ork uses Colour-Override effects, the colour IDs used by these ColourOverride w ill not be replaced w ith the new colour IDs, making the Colour-Override
ineffective unless you reconfigure them manually. Hence, you should avoid using
this parameter if you are consolidating the palette of a character rig that uses a lotof Colour-Overrides.

42Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Database Selector Dialog Box
The Database Selector dialog box lets you connect to your studio's central database w hen w orking on
Harmony Server.

NOTE
W hen you connect to the database, you cannot create new scenes directly from Harmony. The
available scenes must have been already created using the Control Center module.

How to access the Database Selector dialog box
1. Start Harmony
2. In the log-in dialog, select Connect to Database.
3. In the User Name field, type in your Harmony Server username.
4. Click on OK.
The Database Selector dialog box opens.

Parameter

Description

Environments

Lets you select the scene's environment (project, movie).

43

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Jobs

Lets you select the scene's job (episode, sequence).

ScenesLets you select the scene.

Get rights to modify thescene

Allow s you to modify the selected version of the scene as w ell as to manage andoverw rite other versions. Other users w ill not be able to open a different versionof the scene until you close the scene.

Allow s you to modify the currently selected scene version only. Unless the Get
Get rights to modify thescene version

Get rights to modify all scene
assetsrights to modify the scene option is also checked, you w ill not be able to change
other versions of the scene. This allow s other users to modify different versions of
the scene w hile you are w orking on the selected version.

Automatically gets the rights to modify all of the scene's assets, locking otherusers from making changes to them until you close the scene. This means thatyou w ill have the rights to modify all the scene's versions, draw ings, palettes, its
palette list, but not its library folder. If this option is unchecked, draw ings andpalettes w ill be locked unless you unlock them manually. This can allow anotheruser to w ork on the scene's draw ings and palettes in Paint w hile you are w orking
on the scene's timing or staging in Harmony.

Dow nloads the scene's draw ings to your computer before opening the scene.
Harmony w ill then load the draw ings from your computer during the session,
instead of loading them from their original location over the netw ork. This cansignificantly increase performance, especially w ith resource-heavy scenes.

Cache scene assets locally

W hen you save your scene, the updated draw ings w ill be uploaded automaticallyto the database, so you do not have to re-upload them manually.

NOTE
If this option is checked, it may take a w hile to dow nload all of the scene's
assets w hen opening a particularly heavy scene.

VersionIf you saved different versions of a scene, this lets you select one to open.

44Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Edit Default Paste Preset Dialog Box
The Edit Default Paste Preset dialog box lets you modify settings for the keyframe and exposure paste
presets, as w ell as setting the defaults.

How to access the Edit Default Paste Preset dialog box
1. From the Timeline menu, select Edit > Modify Paste Presets > All or Key Frame or Exposure.

Parameter

Description

Draw ings

Never create drawing files: W hen adding exposures to a draw ing layer, draw ing
files w ill not be created.

Add/Remove
Exposure

Only create drawing files when they do not exist: W hen adding exposures to adraw ing layer, new draw ings w ill be created only w hen draw ings w ith the same
name do not already exist in the destination.

Always create drawing files: W hen adding exposures to a draw ing layer, newdraw ings w ill alw ays be created. If draw ing files w ith the same name alreadyexist, Harmony w ill create a new name for the draw ing.

Enforce Key Exposure

If there are key exposures that exist on copied draw ings, they are preserved w hen
pasting. No key exposures are added. This is the default behavior w hen pasting.

45

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Fill Gap w ith Previous
Draw ing

Fills selected area in the Xsheet or Timeline view w ith the previous draw ing.

Fill to Next Key
Exposure

Fills selected area till the next key exposure.

Keyframes

Motion: Copies the properties of the selected motion keyframe to the new frame.

Velocity: Copies the properties of the selected velocity keyframe to the newframe.

Add/Remove
Keyframes

Rotation: Copies the properties of the selected rotation keyframe to the newframe.

Scale: Copies the properties of the selected scale keyframe to the new frame.

Skew: Copies the properties of the selected skew keyframe to the new frame.

Force Keyframes at Function's Beginning and End: Adds a keyframe to thebeginning and end of the pasted function, reproducing the source function.

46

Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Edit Exposure Paste Preset Dialog Box
The Edit Exposure Paste Preset dialog box lets you reuse key exposures as you animate.

How to access the Edit Exposure Paste Preset dialog box
1. From the Timeline view menu, select Edit > Modify Paste Presets > Exposure.
The Edit Exposure Paste Preset dialog box opens.

Parameter

Description

Draw ings

Never create drawing files: W hen adding exposures to a draw ing layer, draw ing
files w ill not be created.

Add/Remove
Exposure

Only create drawing files when do they do not exist: W hen adding exposures
to a draw ing layer, new draw ings w ill be created only w hen draw ings w ith thesame name do not already exist in the destination.

Always create drawing files: W hen adding exposures to a draw ing layer, newdraw ings w ill alw ays be created. If draw ing files w ith the same name alreadyexist, Harmony w ill create a new name for the draw ing.

Enforce Key Exposure

Creates a key exposure on the same draw ing.

Fill Gap w ith Previous
Draw ing

Fills selected area in the Xsheet or Timeline view w ith the previous draw ing.

47

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Fill to Next Key Exposure

Fills selected area till the next key exposure.

Keyframes

Motion: Copies the properties of the selected motion keyframe to the new frame.

Velocity: Copies the properties of the selected velocity keyframe to the newframe.

Rotation: Copies the properties of the selected rotation keyframe to the newframe.
Add/Remove Keyframes
Scale: Copies the properties of the selected scale keyframe to the new frame.

Skew: Copies the properties of the selected skew keyframe to the new frame.

Force Keyframes at Function's Beginning and End: Adds a keyframe to thebeginning and end of the pasted function, reproducing the source function.

Reset to Default

Return all values to their defaults.

48

Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Element Manager Dialog Box
The Element Manager w indow lets you Opens the Element Manager w indow w here you can add, delete or
modify elements (draw ing folders) in your scene. If you have draw ing folders that are not linked to a column inyour scene, use the Element Manager to delete them if needed. See xref Reference > W indow s > Element
Manager.

How to access the Element Manager window
1. From the top menu, select Scene > Element Manager.
Parameter

Description

Elements

Delete Elements

Deletes the selected elements.

Delete Elements andDirectories

Deletes the selected layer and its directories (draw ing folder).

Add/Modify Element

Name

Type in a new name in this field to create an element or to rename theselected element.

Vector

Select this option if the new element is a vector draw ing or if you w ant toenable the parameters on the selected element in the Elements list.

49

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Bitmap Format

Lets you select the file format of the bitmap layer.

Scan TypeIf you're planning to scan elements w ith the Toon Boom Harmony Advanced
Scan module, select the scan type from the list.

Field Chart

If you're importing traditional animation, select the size of the paper on w hichthe animation w as draw n.

Add

Creates a new element w ith the current parameters entered in the
Add/Modify Element section.

ModifyApplies the parameter changes made to the selected element.

50

Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Export Images Dialog Box
The Export Images dialog box allow s you to export your scene as a sequence of image files, w ith one image
for each frame.

How to access the Export Images dialog box
1. In the top menu, select File > Export > Images.

Parameter

Description

OutputPrefixThe prefix for the file name of each exported image file. Each file name w ill start w ith thevalue in this field, follow ed by the number of the frame.

The directory in w hich to export the rendered frames.
Path

You can click Browse... to open a dialog allow ing you to navigate your file system andselect a directory, or Default to set this to the frames sub-directory of your scene’s
directory.

FormatFile TypeThe image format in w hich the exported frames w ill be saved. The follow ing formats aresupported:

51

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Parameter

Description

FormatDescription

Truevision TGA/TARGA (*.tga)

TGA

A standard image format w ith lossless compression and support fortransparency.
TGA files use more disk space than PNG files, but rendering in TGA isfaster.

Silicon Graphics Image (*.sgi)
SGI

A highly capable format w ith lossless compression as w ell as support for
double precision and transparency.

Photoshop Document (*.psd)
An Adobe Photoshop proprietary format used for image editing.
PSD files exported by Harmony contain a single background layer w ith
the rasterized image.
PSD

NOTE
PSD files exported from Harmony are tagged w ith their colour
space information in their metadata, except for PSD files
exported in greyscale.

Y'UV frame (*.yuv)
A legacy format optimized for NTSC television. The image information is
encoded in the Y'UV color space, w hich means Luma (Y') and
Chrominance (UV).
YUV

NOTE
YUV images must be exported in NTSC resolution (720 x 540), or
they w ill not be legible.

PAL frame (*.pal)
PAL
A legacy format optimized for PAL television.

52

Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Parameter

Description

FormatDescription

NOTE
PAL images must be exported in PAL resolution (768 x 576), or
they w ill not be legible.

Toon Boom Scan Files (*.scan)
SCAN

A Toon Boom proprietary format used by Scan to store scanned image
information along w ith its registration (peg), resolution and field chart
metadata. SCAN files are in gresycale.

Portable Network Graphics (*.png)
A highly portable image format w ith high lossless compression as w ell
as support for transparency and double-precision. PNG is typically used
for W eb applications, graphical user interfaces and image sharing.

PNG

Rendering in PNG takes more time than rendering in TGA or in
uncompressed image formats, but saves a lot of disk space.

NOTE
PNG files exported from Harmony are tagged w ith their colour
space information in their metadata.

Jpeg (*.jpg)
JPG

A very compact image format w ith lossy compression. It is typically used
for W eb pages and photo sharing. Because it does not preserve image
quality, it is recommended to never render in Jpeg format unless you areexporting stills for a W eb page or are making quick render tests.

Bitmap (*.bmp)
BMP

A standard uncompressed image format commonly used on Microsoft
operating systems.

Toon Boom Optimized image (*.opt)
OPT

A legacy Toon Boom proprietary format that stores bitmap image dataw ith lossless compression. It supports transparency.

VAR

Toon Boom Variable Header image (*.var)

53

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Parameter

Description

FormatDescription

A legacy Toon Boom proprietary format that stores greyscale bitmap
image data w ith lossless compression.

Tagged Image File Format (*.tiff)

TIF

An image format w ith many compression and encoding settings. It is
often used for image exchange in visual arts and publishing.
TIFF images exported by Harmony are uncompressed, encoded on a perpixel (interleaved) basis in PC byte order.

Digital Picture Exchange (*.dpx)
DPX

A professional photo format that supports various different approaches
to storing colour information, w hich can be used for storing, exchanging
and editing raw information recorded by cameras. It is commonly used infilm production.

OpenEXR (*.exr)
A highly capable deep image format. Each pixel in an EXR file is exported
w ith its Z-depth information. Additionally, if a pixel is semi-transparent,
the color and depth information of pixels further back is stored along w ith
it. If your scene has multiplane or 3D elements, this format can be used
for compositing your animation w ith other graphical elements in 3D
animation softw are.
EXR

NOTES
l

OpenEXR files exported from Harmony are tagged w ith thew hite point and primaries coordinates for their colour space.

l

OpenEXR files are alw ays exported by Harmony alw ays
have 1 line Zip compression if they contain a 3D image.

Portable Document File (*.pdf)

PDF

Typically, PDF files are used to store, archive, share and print documents.
How ever, Harmony uses the PDF format for its capability to store bitmap
images and vector graphics.
If the w rite node is connected to a vector draw ing layer or to a vector
composite, the exported PDF files w ill contain the image as a vector
graphic. It w ill ignore bitmap layers, effects and deformations. Otherw ise,
the PDF files w ill contain the rendered image as a bitmap.

54Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Parameter

Description

FormatDescription

Deep Texture (*.dtex)
A commonly used deep image format. Each pixel in an DTEX file isexported w ith its Z-depth information. Additionally, if a pixel is semitransparent, the color and depth information of pixels further back isstored along w ith it. If your scene has multiplane or 3D elements, thisformat can be used for compositing your animation w ith other graphicalelements in 3D animation softw are.
DTEX

NOTE
Exporting in Deep Texture requires RenderMan to be installed on
the machine and the path to RenderMan properly configured inHarmony. For more information, see the Setting 3D Renderer
Paths topic of the User Guide.

Depending on the selected file type, you can select one of the follow ing colour modes:

ColourslColour: Exports images in three channels: red, green and blue.

lColour + Alpha: Exports images in four channels: red, green, blue and alpha.

l

Greyscale: Exports images in a single channel, grey.

NOTE
Only some file types support Colour + Alpha and Greyscale.

Depending on the selected file type, you can select one of the follow ing colour depth:

Depth

l

8- bits / channel: The standard colour depth. Each channel can have a value
ranging from 0 and 255. Displays typically only support this much precision.

l

16- bits /channel: Also know n as double-precision. Each channel can have a value
ranging from 0 to 65,536. Although displays typically can’t display at this
precision, this allow s compositing several images w ith effects and feathering
w ithout causing any dithering.

he colour space in w hich to render your frames. The rendered frames w ill be converted
from your scene’s w orking colour space to the selected colour space.
Colour Space

The follow ing colour spaces are supported in Harmony:l

Scene W orking Colour Space: The same colour space as the one selected in the55

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Parameter

Description

Colour Space tab of the Scene Settings dialog.
lLinear: The same primaries and w hite point as sRGB and Rec. 709, but w ith no
gamma transfer curve applied to the colour values. This colour space is useful forcompositing intermediary images that are meant to be rendered in sRGB or Rec.
709.

l

Display P3: A colour space commonly used for digital projection. It has the same
primaries as DCI-P3, the same w hite point as sRGB and the same gamma transfer
curve as sRGB.

l

Display P3 Linear: The same as Display P3, except w ith no gamma transfer curve.
This colour space is useful for compositing intermediary images that are meant tobe rendered in Display P3.

lRec. 709: The colour space used for HDTV. It has the same primaries and w hite
point as sRGB, but has a different gamma transfer curve.

lRec. 709 2.4: The same colour space as Rec. 709 or sRGB, except w ith a gammatransfer curve of 2.4 (per ITU-R BT.1886). This colour space exists because someediting systems use a gamma transfer curve of 2.4 instead of the standard gamma
curve for Rec. 709.

lRec. 2020: A colour space used for Ultra High Definition TV (UHDTV). It has acomplex gamma transfer curve and primaries that cover more of the humanperceivable colour space than other colour spaces, especially in the area of
human-perceivable greens.

lRec. 2020 2.4: The same colour space as Rec. 2020, except w ith a simple gammatransfer curve of 2.4 (per ITU-R BT.1886). This colour space exists because someediting systems use a gamma transfer curve of 2.4 instead of the standard gamma
curve for Rec. 2020.

lRec. 2020 Linear: The same colour space as Rec. 2020, except w ith no gammatransfer curve. This colour space is useful for compositing intermediary images
that are meant to be rendered in Rec. 2020.

lsRGB: A colour space typically used for standard computer monitors. It has thesame primaries and w hite point as Rec. 709, but has a different gamma transfer
curve.

Range

All Frames

Exports all the frames in your scene.

Selected
FramesAllow s you to specify the frame range to export using the tw o input fields to the right.
The first input field is for specifying the first frame to export, and the second one is for
specifying the last frame to export. All the frames in-betw een, including the ones

56Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Parameter

Description

specified, w ill be exported.

Preview

If checked, the rendered frames w ill be opened in the Play application.

OK

Renders the frames w ith the selected settings and closes the dialog box.

CancelCloses the dialog box w ithout rendering frames.

57

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Export OpenGL Frames Dialog Box
The Export OpenGL Frames dialog box allow s you to export your scene as a sequence of images as they
appear in the OpenGL View mode of the Camera view . This means they are exported w ithout effects,
antialiasing and proper compositing. This allow s you to quickly preview the animation in your scene w ithout
having to w ait through the full rendering process.

How to access the Export to OpenGL Frames dialog box
1. In the top menu, select File > Export > OpenGL Frames.

Parameter

Description

Output

The directory in w hich to export the frames or movie file.
Location

You can click Browse... to open a dialog allow ing you to navigate your file systemand select a directory.

The name of the file to export.
Filename

If you are exporting frames, the file name of each frame w ill start w ith this value,
follow ed by the number of the frame.

Format58

Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Parameter

Image Sequence

Description

Select this option to create an image sequence.

Movie

Exports the frames into a movie file.

FramesExports each frame as an individual image file.

SuffixAllow s you to select the number of digits in the number used to identify each frame.

FormatSpecification

TGA

Full colour

Description

Truevision TGA/TARGA (*.tga)
TGA1

Greyscale

TGA3

Full colour

TGA4

Full colour w ith
transparency

SGI

Full colour / 8 bits
per channel

SGI1

Greyscale / 8 bits
per channel

SGI3

Full colour / 8 bits
per channel

A standard image format w ith losslesscompression and support fortransparency.
TGA files use more disk space thanPNG files, but rendering in TGA isfaster.

Draw ing Type

SGI4

Full colour w ith
transparency / 8
bits per channel

SGIDP

Full colour / 16 bits
per channel

SGIDP3Full colour / 16 bits
per channel

59

Silicon Graphics Image (*.sgi)
A highly capable format w ith losslesscompression as w ell as support for
double precision and transparency.

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Parameter

Description

FormatSpecification

SGIDP4

Full colour w ith
transparency / 16
bits per channel

PSD

Full colour / 8 bits
per channel

PSD1

Greyscale / 8 bits
per channel

PSD3

Full colour / 8 bits
per channel

PSD4

Full colour w ith
transparency / 8
bits per channel

PSDDP

Full colour / 16 bits
per channel

Description

Photoshop Document (*.psd)
An Adobe Photoshop proprietary
format used for image editing.
PSD files exported by Harmony
contain a single background layer w ith
the rasterized image.

NOTE
PSD files exported from
Harmony are tagged w ith
their colour space

PSDDP1Greyscale / 16 bits
per channel

information in their
metadata, except for PSD
files exported in greyscale.

PSDDP3Full colour / 16 bits
per channel

PSDDP4

Full colour w ith
transparency / 16
bits per channel

Y'UV frame (*.yuv)
A legacy format optimized for NTSC
television. The image information is
encoded in the Y'UV color space,w hich means Luma (Y') and
Chrominance (UV).

YUV

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Parameter

Description

FormatSpecification

Description

NOTE
YUV images must be
exported in NTSC
resolution (720 x 540), or
they w ill not be legible.

PAL frame (*.pal)
A legacy format optimized for PAL
television.

PAL

NOTE
PAL images must be
exported in PAL resolution(768 x 576), or they w ill
not be legible.

Toon Boom Scan Files (*.scan)
A Toon Boom proprietary format usedby Scan to store scanned image
information along w ith its registration(peg), resolution and field chart
metadata. SCAN files are in gresycale.

SCAN

Portable Network Graphics (*.png)

PNG

Full colour / 8 bits
per channel

A highly portable image format w ithhigh lossless compression as w ell as
support for transparency and doubleprecision. PNG is typically used for
W eb applications, graphical userinterfaces and image sharing.
Rendering in PNG takes more timethan rendering in TGA or in
uncompressed image formats, but
saves a lot of disk space.

61

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Parameter

Description

FormatSpecification

PNG4

Full colour w ith
transparency / 8
bits per channel

PNGDP

Full colour / 16 bits
per channel

Description

NOTE
PNG files exported from
Harmony are tagged w ith
their colour space

PNGDP3Full colour / 16 bits
per channel

PNGDP4

Full colour w ith
transparency / 16
bits per channel

information in their
metadata.

Jpeg (*.jpg)
A very compact image format w ith
lossy compression. It is typically used
for W eb pages and photo sharing.
Because it does not preserve image
quality, it is recommended to neverrender in Jpeg format unless you areexporting stills for a W eb page or are
making quick render tests.

JPG

BMP

Full colour

Bitmap (*.bmp)

BMP4

Full colour w ith
transparency

A standard uncompressed image
format commonly used on Microsoft
operating systems.

62

Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Parameter

Description

FormatSpecification

OPT

Full colour

OPT1

Greyscale

OPT3

Full colour

OPT4

Full colour w ith
transparency

Description

Toon Boom Optimized image (*.opt)
A legacy Toon Boom proprietary
format that stores bitmap image dataw ith lossless compression. It supports
transparency.

Toon Boom Variable Header image(*.var)VAR

A legacy Toon Boom proprietary
format that stores greyscale bitmap
image data w ith lossless compression.

Tagged Image File Format (*.tiff)
An image format w ith many
compression and encoding settings. It
is often used for image exchange invisual arts and publishing.

TIF

TIFF images exported by Harmony areuncompressed, encoded on a per-pixel(interleaved) basis in PC byte order.

DPX

8 bits per channel /Full color / RGB
channel order

DPX3_88 bits per channel /Full color / RGB
channel order

DPX3_1010 bits per channel/ Full color / RGB
channel order

DPX3_12

12 bits per channel/ Full color / RGB

Digital Picture Exchange (*.dpx)

63

A professional photo format that
supports various different approaches
to storing colour information, w hichcan be used for storing, exchanging
and editing raw information recordedby cameras. It is commonly used in film
production.

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Parameter

Description

FormatSpecification

Description

channel order

DPX3_16

16 bits per channel/ Full color / RGB
channel order

DPX3_10_
INVERTED_CHANNELS

10 bits per channel/ Full color / BGR
channel order

DPX3_12_
INVERTED_CHANNELS

12 bits per channel/ Full color / BGR
channel order

DPX3_16_
INVERTED_CHANNELS

16 bits per channel/ Full color / BGR
channel order

OpenEXR (*.exr)

EXR

16 lines Zip
compression

64

A highly capable deep image format.
Each pixel in an EXR file is exported
w ith its Z-depth information.
Additionally, if a pixel is semitransparent, the color and depth
information of pixels further back isstored along w ith it. If your scene has
multiplane or 3D elements, this format
can be used for compositing youranimation w ith other graphicalelements in 3D animation softw are.

Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Parameter

Description

FormatSpecification

Description

NOTES
l

OpenEXR files
exported from
Harmony are tagged
w ith the w hite point
and primaries
coordinates for theircolour space.

l

OpenEXR files are
alw ays exported by

EXR_ZIP_1LINE

1 line Zip
compression

Harmony alw ays have
1 line Zip compression
if they contain a 3D
image.

Portable Document File (*.pdf)
Typically, PDF files are used to store,archive, share and print documents.
How ever, Harmony uses the PDF
format for its capability to store bitmap
images and vector graphics.
PDF

If the w rite node is connected to avector draw ing layer or to a vector
composite, the exported PDF files w ill
contain the image as a vector graphic.
It w ill ignore bitmap layers, effects anddeformations. Otherw ise, the PDF files
w ill contain the rendered image as a
bitmap.

Deep Texture (*.dtex)
A commonly used deep image format.
Each pixel in an DTEX file is exported
w ith its Z-depth information.
Additionally, if a pixel is semitransparent, the color and depth
information of pixels further back isstored along w ith it. If your scene has
multiplane or 3D elements, this format
can be used for compositing youranimation w ith other graphical

DTEX

65

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Parameter

Description

FormatSpecification

Description

elements in 3D animation softw are.

NOTE
Exporting in Deep Texture
requires RenderMan to beinstalled on the machine
and the path toRenderMan properly
configured in Harmony.
For more information, see
the Setting 3D Renderer
Paths topic of the User
Guide.

Drop list w ith all formats listed alphabetically.
l

BMP

l

DPX

l

DTEX

l

EXR

l

JPG

l

OPT

l

PAL

l

PDF

l

PNG

l

PSD

l

SCAN

l

SGI

l

TGA

l

TIF

l

TVG

l

VAR

l

YUV

Image Format

66

Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Parameter

Description

Drop list w ith colour modes. Available modes depend on the selected file type.
l

GreyscalelColourlColour + Alpha

Colours

Drop list w ith bit depth value and a label next to it "bits/channel". Available bit depth
depends on the selected file type.
Depth(bits/channel)

l

8

l

10

l

12

l

16

Drop list that appears for EXR and TIF formats only.
l

Zip (per scanline)l

Zip (16 scanlines)

Compression

Inverted Channels

A checkbox that appears for DPX only in 10, 12, 16 bit depths.

Opens the movie settings dialog box for your selected video format, in w hich you can
set the video and audio compression settings for your video file:

Movie optionslQuickTime Movie (*.mov) on W indow s: Movie Options Dialog Box (macOS),l

QuickTime Movie (*.mov) on macOS: QuickTime Movie Settings Dialog Box(W indow s)l

W indow s Media Video (*.w mv): W indow s Media Video Settings Dialog Box(W indow s)

NOTEThis button is available on W indow s and macOS only.

Video options

Opens the video settings dialog box, w hich allow s you to set the video compression
settings for your video file—see OpenQuickTime Video Options Dialog Box(GNU/Linux).

67

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Parameter

Description

NOTE
This button is available on GNU/Linux only.

Opens the audio settings dialog box, w hich allow s you to set the audio compression
settings for your video file—see OpenQuickTime Sound Options Dialog Box(GNU/Linux).
Sound options

NOTE
This button is available on GNU/Linux only.

Allow s you to choose one of the follow ing movie formats:l

QuickTime ProRes Movie (*.mov): The Apple QuickTime format. This is thedefault export format and is recommended for its portability, and also
because it allow s you to choose among several video codecs.

NOTES

Movie Formatll

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

l

On macOS, Harmony 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,
be sure to choose a codec that supports encoding w ith an alphachannel.

l

On GNU/Linux, Harmony uses the OpenQuickTime library to export
QuickTime movies. This only allow s you to export videos in nonproprietary formats such as Motion-JPEG, Photo JPEG, PNG or
Uncompressed (RGB).

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.

68Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Parameter

Description

NOTES

l

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 Harmony 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. Eachdimension must be a multiple of 16 pixels.

l

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

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

NOTESlW 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
not open W indow s Media Video (.wmv) files.

Options

If checked, the exported images or movie w ill be opened after the export is finished:l

If you are exporting frames, they w ill be opened in the Play application.

l

If you are exporting a movie, it w ill be opened in your operating system’s
movie player.

Open in Player

Allow s you to specify a resolution to export in, relative to your scene's actual
resolution:lSame as Scene Resolution: Exports a movie in the same resolution as yourscene's resolution.

l

3/4 of Scene Resolution: Exports a movie at 75% of the scene's w idth andheight.

l

1/2 of Scene Resolution: Exports a movie at 50% of the scene's w idth andheight.

l

1/4 of Scene Resolution: Exports a movie at 25% of the scene's w idth andheight.

Resolution

69

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Parameter

DescriptionlCustom: Allow s you specify the preferred resolution of your exported video
file, in pixels, in the W idth and Height fields.

Allow s you to specify the range of frames in your scene to export:l

All Frames: Exports all the frames in your scene.

l

From / to: Allow s you to specify the frame range to export using the tw o
input fields to the right. The first input field is for specifying the first frame toexport, and the second one is for specifying the last frame to export. All theframes in-betw een, including the ones specified, w ill be exported.

Range
l

Current Frame: Exports the current frame only.

lSelected Frames: Allow s you to select w hich frames to export. You canenable or disable exporting a specific frame by clicking on it. You can also
toggle exporting a range of frames by clicking and dragging over that range inthe list.

OK

Exports OpenGL frames w ith the selected settings and closes the dialog box.

CancelCloses the dialog box w ithout exporting anything.

70Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Export to Animated GIF Dialog Box
Using the Export to Animated GIF dialog box, you can export your scene, or an excerpt of it, as an animated
GIF image.

Animated GIFs are a portable format commonly used for exchanging short animations and clips on the w eb.
They can be played in any w eb brow ser and in many image view ers.
Animated GIFs are a convenient sharing format, but they are not a publishing format. They are not as
optimized for fast dow nload and playback as movie files, cannot contain audio and, most importantly, can only
contain up to 256 different colours throughout the entire animation. Hence, if your animation contains texturesor gradients, it is likely to lose quality w hen exported as an animated GIF, as Harmony w ill have to limit theamount of different colours used in the exported image.

NOTE
For steps on how to use the Export to Animated GIF dialog box, see the User Guide.

How to access the Export to Animated GIF dialog box
1. In the top menu, select File > Export > Animated GIF.
The Export to Animated GIF dialog box appears.

Parameter

Description

Output71

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Parameter

Description

Output

The full path and file name of the GIF file to export.

Brow seOpens a dialog allow ing you to brow se to the desired export directory and enter
the desired file name.

Export Range

All

Exports all the frames in your scene.

FramesAllow s you to specify a range of frames to render.

Resolution

Lets you specify a resolution to export in relative to your scene's actual resolution:

Resolution list

lSame as Scene Resolution: Exports a movie in the same resolution as
your scene's resolution.

l

3/4 of Scene Resolution: Exports a movie at 75% of the scene's w idthand height.

l

1/2 of Scene Resolution: Exports a movie at 50% of the scene's w idthand height.

l

1/4 of Scene Resolution: Exports a movie at 25% of the scene's w idthand height.

l

Custom: Allow s you specify the preferred resolution of your exported
video file, in pixels, in the W idth and Height fields.

W idthIf you selected the Custom resolution, use this field to specify the w idth, in pixels,of the exported movie.

W idthIf you selected the Custom resolution, use this field to specify the height, in pixels,of the exported movie.

Options

Dithering

Options

Since GIF images can only have up to 256 colours, you have the option to add
dithering to the rendered image. Dithering blends pixels of different colours
w here the image contains gradients to simulate colours that do not exist in the
GIF image's colour palette.

72

Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Parameter

DescriptionlNone: No dithering w ill be applied. Each pixel rendered is rendered w ith
the colour in the palette that is the closest to its actual colour.

lDiffusion: Blends pixels in irregular patterns to blend pixels and simulate
the colour as closely as possible.

lPattern: Blends pixels in regular checkered patterns to simulate thecolour w ithout created clusters of pixels.

If this option is checked, the exported GIF animation w ill loop w hen preview ed inLoopw eb brow sers and other image view ers that support animated GIFs. Otherw ise, it
w ill only play once and stop.

73

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Export to Easel JS Dialog Box
The Export to Easel JS w indow lets you flatten an image sequence of your animation. Even if you have a fully
rigged puppet or a single draw ing layer w ith your animation sequence, the outcome w ill still be a flattened
output of each frame, grouped together in your sprite sheet. This allow s for more flexibility and freedom ofw ork as you have access to any tools or effect modules you w ant to use. How ever, this can result in heavier
files depending on the length, complexity and export size of your animation.

How to access the Export to Easel JS window
1. Select W indows > Toolbars > Game.

2. Click the Export to Easel JS

Parameter

button.

Description

Select Directory74Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Save Path

The folder path w here you w ant to save your export.

Save Name

The folder name in w hich you w ill save your export. This w ill also be the name ofyour asset in Unity. Your scene file name w ill be used as the clip name.

Existing Clips in Folder

Displays the clips in the folder.

Scene Options

Display

Here, you must select the Display of your character. This is the one that w ill be
used to render out all of the information attached to that Display node. If the
Unconnected_Display option is selected, all of the visual information in yourscene w ill be rendered out.

Sprite Sheet Preferences

Max W idth
This is a value, in pixels, for the maximum w idth and height the exported sprite
sheet should be. By default, both values are set to 2048 pixels.
Max Height

Expand Sprite Sheet

Uses the minimum size necessary up until it reaches the maximum resolution.

Fixed Sprite Sheet

Creates a texture of the specified size (Max W idth and Max Height) even if it does
not fill it up completely by all the draw ings in your scene.

POT: Exports to sprite sheets w ith sizes that are a pow er of 2. For example: 1024
x 1024. This is optimized for many graphics cards, but consumes more memory.
Resolution Type
NPOT: Some game engines are optimized specifically to render to non pow ers of
tw o, so that it w ill avoid those numbers. Example: 1000 x 1000.

Reuse FramesThis option w orks in tandem w ith the Threshold option. The export w ill compare
the draw ings in your project to reuse a maximum of similar draw ings and reduce
the amount of information found in the sprite sheet, making it lighter. The export
w ill omit the creation of new draw ings if the difference is less than the thresholdpercentage.

ThresholdCalculates the differences betw een multiple draw ings. A 2% threshold w ill
prevent the creation of a new draw ing if the draw ing is too similar to an existingdraw ing. For instance, w ith a 2% threshold, and my draw ing is 100 pixels big,
only 2 of those pixels need to be different from my other draw ing in order to75

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

create a new one. The higher the threshold, the few er similar draw ings you w ill
have.

Sprite Resolutions

Size of the render of the individual sprite, w hen it exports each draw ing out.

76Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Export to Flash Movie Dialog Box
The Export to Flash Movie dialog box lets you export your animation as a Flash (.sw f) movie.

How to access the Export to Flash Movie dialog box
1. From the top menu, select File > Export > SW F.
The Export to Flash Movie (.sw f) dialog box opens.

Parameter

Description

OutputLets you specify the location in w hich the file w ill be exported.

Export Range

All

Exports all the frames of your movie.

FramesExport a frame range w hich you specify

Options

Frame Rate

Lets you enter a Frame rate (fps). By default, it w ill be set to match the fps of yourHarmony project. If you choose a low er frame rate, your export playback w ill befaster than your actual project. The reverse is also true for a higher frame rate.

77

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Lets you select a JPEG quality:‣

100 = Full quality‣

50 = Average quality at about 1/5th of the size.

‣

25 = Medium quality w here loss of high image resolution starts tooccur.

‣

10 = Low quality w here “macro-blocking” or large pixelation become
obvious.

‣

1 = Low est quality w here there is extreme loss of colour and detailand the image becomes nearly unrecognizable.

Jpeg Quality

Protect from Import

Prevents the movie from being imported into another application.

Convert Pencil Lines
to Brush Lines

Retains the thickness of pencil lines.

Compress Movie

Compresses the movie for a lighter format. The movie may lose some quality, but
the file w ill be lighter.

Lets you select the effects you do NOT w ant to be rendered in the SW F movie.

Do Not Export

NOTE
Certain Harmony effects are not listed in this section as they are notcompatible and therefore not available for SW F export. These effects w ill
not appear in the SW F render.

78

Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Export to Video Dialog Box
The Export to Video dialog box lets you export your animation as a movie file.

How to access the Export to QuickTime Movie dialog box
1. From the top menu, select File > Export > Movie.

Parameter

Description

OutputAllow s you to choose one of the follow ing movie formats:Video FormatlQuickTime ProRes Movie (*.mov): The Apple QuickTime format. Thisis the default export format and is recommended for its portability, andalso because it allow s you to choose among several video codecs.

79

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

NOTES

l

l

On W indow s, Apple QuickTime must be installed to allow
Harmony to export QuickTime movies. You can configure
the export of QuickTime movies to use any codec that iscompatible w ith QuickTime, including H.264, MPEG-4 andAnimation.

l

On macOS, Harmony 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, be sure to choose a codec that supports
encoding w ith an alpha channel.

l

On GNU/Linux, Harmony uses the OpenQuickTime library toexport QuickTime movies. This only allow s you to export
videos in non-proprietary formats such as Motion-JPEG,
Photo JPEG, PNG or Uncompressed (RGB).

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

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 Harmony w ill automatically dow nload thelibrary, then export the movie.

lThere are no encoding options for this format.

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

l

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

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

NOTES

Output filel

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 cangenerally not open W indow s Media Video (.wmv) files.

The full path and file name of the movie file to export.

80

Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Brow seOpens a dialog allow ing you to brow se to the desired export directory andenter the desired filename.

Export Range

All

FramesExports all the frames in your scene.

Allow s you to specify the frame range to export using the tw o input fields to
the right. The first input field is for specifying the first frame to export, and thesecond one is for specifying the last frame to export. All the frames inbetw een, including the ones specified, w ill be exported.

Resolution

Allow s you to specify a resolution to export in, relative to your scene's actual
resolution:lSame as Scene Resolution: Exports a movie in the same resolution as
your scene's resolution.

l

3/4 of Scene Resolution: Exports a movie at 75% of the scene's w idthand height.

l

1/2 of Scene Resolution: Exports a movie at 50% of the scene's w idthand height.

l

1/4 of Scene Resolution: Exports a movie at 25% of the scene's w idthand height.

l

Custom: Allow s you specify the preferred resolution of your exported
video file, in pixels, in the W idth and Height fields.

Resolution list

W idth / HeightLets you specify the w idth and height of video file you w ish to export, in pixels.
To preserve your scene's aspect ratio, changing the value of the W idth or
Height field w ill automatically update the other field w ith a proportional value.

The colour space in w hich to render your movie. The rendered frames w ill be
converted from your scene’s w orking colour space to the selected colour
space.
The follow ing colour spaces are supported in Harmony:
Colour SpacelScene W orking Colour Space: The same colour space as the one
selected in the Colour Space tab of the Scene Settings dialog.

lLinear: The same primaries and w hite point as sRGB and Rec. 709, but
w ith no gamma transfer curve applied to the colour values. This colour
space is useful for compositing intermediary images that are meant to81

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

be rendered in sRGB or Rec. 709.
l

Display P3: A colour space commonly used for digital projection. It has
the same primaries as DCI-P3, the same w hite point as sRGB and thesame gamma transfer curve as sRGB.

l

Display P3 Linear: The same as Display P3, except w ith no gammatransfer curve. This colour space is useful for compositing intermediary
images that are meant to be rendered in Display P3.

lRec. 709: The colour space used for HDTV. It has the same primaries
and w hite point as sRGB, but has a different gamma transfer curve.

lRec. 709 2.4: The same colour space as Rec. 709 or sRGB, except w ith
a gamma transfer curve of 2.4 (per ITU-R BT.1886). This colour space
exists because some editing systems use a gamma transfer curve of
2.4 instead of the standard gamma curve for Rec. 709.

lRec. 2020: A colour space used for Ultra High Definition TV (UHDTV).
It has a complex gamma transfer curve and primaries that cover moreof the human-perceivable colour space than other colour spaces,
especially in the area of human-perceivable greens.

lRec. 2020 2.4: The same colour space as Rec. 2020, except w ith asimple gamma transfer curve of 2.4 (per ITU-R BT.1886). This colour
space exists because some editing systems use a gamma transfer
curve of 2.4 instead of the standard gamma curve for Rec. 2020.

lRec. 2020 Linear: The same colour space as Rec. 2020, except w ith no
gamma transfer curve. This colour space is useful for compositing
intermediary images that are meant to be rendered in Rec. 2020.

lsRGB: A colour space typically used for standard computer monitors. It
has the same primaries and w hite point as Rec. 709, but has a different
gamma transfer curve.

Options

Opens the movie settings dialog box for your selected video format, in w hich
you can set the video and audio compression settings for your video file:lQuickTime Movie (*.mov) on W indow s: Movie Options Dialog Box(macOS),l

QuickTime Movie (*.mov) on macOS: QuickTime Movie Settings Dialog
Box (W indow s)l

W indow s Media Video (*.w mv): W indow s Media Video Settings Dialog
Box (W indow s)

Movie Options

82Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

NOTE
This button is available on W indow s and macOS only.

Opens the video settings dialog box, w hich allow s you to set the video
compression settings for your video file—see OpenQuickTime Video Options
Dialog Box (GNU/Linux).
Video Options

NOTE
This button is available on GNU/Linux only.

Opens the audio settings dialog box, w hich allow s you to set the audio
compression settings for your video file—see OpenQuickTime Sound Options
Dialog Box (GNU/Linux).
Sound Options

NOTE
This button is available on GNU/Linux only.

83Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Export to Sprite Sheet Dialog Box
The Export to Sprite Sheets w indow export to multiple resolutions, generating multiple .xml files and one or
multiple sprites sheets depending how many sprite resolutions you defined.
This saves different animations of the same character into the same name. For example, if there's an idle, run,and jump animation, these should all share the same Save Name. You can think of it as the overall collection ofanimations. Inside are the different saved scene versions w hose draw ings you can reuse for all the animationsin that character set. Each scene version w ill be displayed as an item in the list.
W hen you export an animation, only the draw ings used in that scene are exported. All the draw ings areexported individually first and then atlased together into a sprite sheet.
If you saved multiple animations to the same Save Name (i.e. SpaceDuck: run, idle), then it w ill reatlas the
sprite sheet to include all the draw ings from all the animations in that folder, creating a new animation file, but
reusing the same skeleton.

84Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

How to access the Export to Sprite Sheets window
1. Select W indows > Toolbars > Game.

2. Click the Export to Sprite Sheets

Parameter

button.

Description

Select Directory

Asset Path

The folder path w here you w ant to save your export.

Asset Name

The folder name in w hich you w ill save your export. This w ill also be the name ofyour asset in Unity. Your scene file name w ill be used as the clip name.

Existing Clips in Folder

Preview W indow

Displays a list of pre-existing clips in the same export folder location, most likely
exported there from a previous time.

Use Scene Markers to
Export Clips

Uses scene markers to define the export range, instead of exporting the entire
scene.

Project Settings

Unit Scale

Lets you change the scale w hen exporting to Unity to accommodate the size ofthe export w ithout it affecting the Harmony scene. This helps you resize assets
properly for Unity w ithout having to resize them in Harmony. The basic scale is
one Animation Field for one Unity unit.

PresetLets you select the unit conversion from Harmony to Unity, by selecting one of 4
presets. Note: a field is a unit of measure in traditional animation grid.

Sprite Sheet Preferences

85

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Max W idth

This is a value, in pixels, for the maximum w idth and height the exported sprite
sheet should be. By default, both values are set to 2048 pixels.

Max Height

Makes linear values for interpolation. This increases the amount of memory used
but frees up the calculation so it is not done on the fly.

Expand Sprite Sheet

Uses the minimum size necessary up until it reaches the maximum resolution.

Fixed Sprite Sheet

Creates a texture of the specified size (Max W idth and Max Height) even if it does
not fill it up completely by all the draw ings in your scene.

POT: Exports to sprite sheets w ith sizes that are a pow er of 2. For example: 1024
x 1024. This is optimized for many graphics cards, but consumes more memory.
Resolution Type
NPOT: Some game engines are optimized specifically to render to non pow ers of
tw o, so that it w ill avoid those numbers. Example: 1000 x 1000.

Reuse FramesThis option w orks in tandem w ith the Threshold option. The export w ill compare
the draw ings in your project to reuse a maximum of similar draw ings and reduce
the amount of information found in the sprite sheet, making it lighter. The export
w ill omit the creation of new draw ings if the difference is less than the thresholdpercentage.

ThresholdCalculates the differences betw een multiple draw ings. A 2% threshold w ill
prevent the creation of a new draw ing if the draw ing is too similar to an existingdraw ing. For instance, w ith a 2% threshold, and my draw ing is 100 pixels big,
only 2 of those pixels need to be different from my other draw ing in order tocreate a new one. The higher the threshold, the few er similar draw ings you w ill
have.

Sprite Resolutions

Size of the render of the individual sprite, w hen it exports each draw ing out.

Delete Existing Clips

Select this option to delete any pre-existing clips in the export location.

Bake Animation Curves

Makes linear values for interpolation. This increases the amount of memory used
but frees up the calculation so it is not done on the fly.

Clear Texture Folder

Removes any information from the texture folder w ithin the Harmony file. This
has no incidence tow ards the Unity export but contributes to a lighter Harmony
file.

Export Sprites Individually

Exports each draw ing separately instead of putting them inside a spritesheet.

86Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

This allow s the game engine to deal w ith sprite sheets or sprite atlases at theimport.

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Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Extend Exposure Dialog Box
The Extend Exposure dialog box lets you extend the exposure of a selected cell in the Timeline or Xsheet.

How to access the Extend Exposure dialog box
1. Select a cell and do one of the follow ing:l

From the top menu, select Animation > Cell > Extend Exposure.

lPress F5.

The Extend Exposure dialog box opens.

Parameter

Description

Lets you enter the frame up to w hich you w ant to extend the exposure. You can
Extend to Frame

expose the draw ing in the frames and replace the draw ings that w ere originally
there or move the subsequent frames forw ard in time.

Overw rite

Lets you expose the draw ing in the frames and replace the draw ings that w ere
orginally there.

InsertLets you expose the draw ing in the frames and move the subsequent frames
forw ard in the Timeline view .

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Fill Cells Randomly Dialog Box
The Fill Cells Randomly dialog box lets you Lets you fill in random values over a selection. You can give amaximum and a minimum value and create a range for Harmony to choose the random values from. The
selection can be over one cell or a cell range in one column or more or an entire column or many entire
columns.

How to access the Fill Cells Randomly dialog box
1. Do one of the follow ing:lSelect Animation > Cell > Fill Cells Randomly.

lIn the Xsheet view , click the Fill Cells Randomly

button (you may have tocustomize the toolbar to display it).
The Fill Cells Randomly dialog box opens.

Parameter

Description

Minimum Value

The low est value to be used in the randomized exposure or keyframe value.

Maximum Value

The highest value to be used in the randomized exposure or keyframe value.

Hold

The exposure holding value.

W hole Numbers

If you are applying this to a draw ing column, this option lets you avoid having
decimal points.

Add Key Exposure After

Inserts a key exposure on the frame follow ing the last cell of the selection.

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Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Fill Selection Dialog Box
The Fill Selection dialog box lets you Lets you fill the same value over an entire selection. The selection can beover one cell, a cell range in one column, a cell range over many columns, an entire column, or many columns.
You can use numbers, w ords, letters, or any alphanumeric value.

How to access the Fill Selection dialog box
1. In the Timeline or Xsheet view , select a cell range.

1. Do one of the follow ing:l

From the top menu, select Animation > Cell > Fill Selection.

l

In the Xsheet toolbar, click the Fill Selection

button. Note that you may have to add thisbutton to your toolbar by right-clicking on it and selecting Customize.
lPress Ctrl + T (W indow s/Linux) or ⌘ + T (macOS)).

The Fill Selection dialog box opens.

Parameter

Description

Value

This is the value to be used in the filled selection.

Add Key Exposure After

Inserts a key exposure on the frame follow ing the last cell of the selection.

90Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Hold Timing

The Hold Timing node exists as Hold Timing (for Images) and Hold Transformation Timing (for Pegs andTransformations). This node is used to apply holds to the input transformation or images, in order to expose
certain frames for specific durations. These nodes can be used to change the exposure increments of input
images and transformations so that the output updates at the appropriate frames. This is particularly usefulfor retiming the animated content.
The Hold Timing node takes an image input and output, and w ill provide the retimed transformation andrender of that image w ith sections held given the settings of the node.
The Hold Transformation Timing node takes a transformation input and output, and w ill provide the retimed
transformation w ith sections held given the settings of the node.

How to access the Hold Timing and Hold Transformation Timing dialog box
1. In the Node View press Enter.
2. Type in the name of the node you w ant to search.
3. Select the node.
4. Click the yellow box on the left to open the dialog box.

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Chapter 1: Dialog Boxesl

Hold Mode: Defines the mode in w hich the held frame transformations and renders are applied.
You can select the value from the drop-dow n list.
lDynamic: Dynamic mode w ill scan all connected modules in the in-port and w ill also
calculate the most reasonable timing based on all connected nodes’ attribute keyframes andtiming. The dynamic mode aims for a maximum exposure as defined in the hold value
attribute, and w ill divide up timed-sections based on attached keyframes and theappropriate amount of subdivisions possible in that section, w hile considering the timing of
the animation.

lHold Value: Hold Value mode w ill use the value defined in the Hold Value attribute, andw ill only update the transformation or render in increments of that value. Setting a keyframeon this attribute w ill start a new section of exposures and all subsequent exposures w ill bebased on the last keyframe. This is useful for retiming sections on tw os and adding sections
on ones by simply adding a keyframe.

lHold Between Stop- Motion Keyframes: Hold Betw een Stop-Motion Keyframes uses the
keyframes and tw eens in the Hold Keyframes attribute to define regions that w ill update
and render new images and transformations. The node w ill only output the current framefrom the input w hen a key, or tw een, is present on that frame, otherw ise it w ill hold the lastvalue it has previously output.

lBake Dynamic Holds: Bake Dynamic Holds w ill convert the dynamic mode to another mode that is
static and no longer dependent on the input nodes. W hen clicking the Bake Dynamic Holds button,
a prompt w ill request the type of mode to convert the dynamic values into. This prompt allow s theuser to select the mode into w hich the values are baked.

lHold Value: Defines the exposure increments in w hich the image or transformation is updated andoutput. This attribute is used w hen the node is in Dynamic and Hold Value mode.

lHold Keyframes: Defines the keys in w hich the image or transformation is updated and output.
This attribute is used w hen the node is in Hold Betw een Stop-Motion Keyframes mode.

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference GuidelDisable Selection: This option is available in all timing nodes. It is recommended to disable thetiming node w hen modifying content, and reapply it w hen the content is complete.

lHide from Timeline: This option w ill collapse all attached content above this node in the Timeline,
preventing it from being selected or modified directly in the Timeline.

93Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Import Images Dialog Box
T-HFND-007-011
The Import Images dialog box lets you import bitmap images and vectorize them, making the images editable.
Then you can use a variety of draw ing tools to edit the image. Or you can alw ays keep the original bitmap
image as is.
Also, you can choose to import bitmap images on bitmap or vector layers depending on your project.

How to open the Import Images dialog box
1. Do one of the follow ing:l

From the top menu, select File > Import > Images.

l

In the File toolbar, click the Import Imagesl

In the Xsheet view , right-click anyw here in the frame area and select Import >Images.

The Import Images dialog box opens.

94

button.

Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Parameter

Description

Files

Brow seLets you find and select images on your computer.

Create Layers(s)Create layers for imported images.

Create Single Layer
Named

Creates a new layer w ith the specified name and imports the images into it.

Create Layer(s)Based on Filenames

Creates a layer based on each unique filename prefix. For example, if you import
three files named a-1.tga, a-2.tga and b-1.tga, this w ill create tw o layers, one
named "a" and one named "b". Layer "a" w ill contain the tw o first images and "b"w ill contain the third one.

Layer

Add to Existing Layer

Imports the images into the specified layer. Note that you can only import intolayers that are compatible w ith your import options. For example, if you're
importing images as vector draw ings, you can only import them into vectordraw ing layers.

Import Options

Depending on how you choose to import images, the Alignment section offers
different options.

Keep as Original
BitmapRetains an imported image as a bitmap. In the Alignment section, decide on thesize and placement of your image w ithin the camera frame. Depending on the
Scene Settings (the height and w idth in pixels that you chose for your project), an
image that you import may get scaled to the point w here all its individual pixels
become visible.

Import as Toon Boom
Bitmap Draw ing

Imports a draw ing into a vector layer w here you can edit the image using thedraw ing tools.

Convert to Toon
Boom Vector
Draw ing

Imports a draw ing and converts it to a Toon Boom vector draw ing.

Alignment (Keep As Original Bitmap)

95Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Fit:
Adjusts the image's size to fit completely w ithin the scene's field, both verticallyand horizontally, making sure the entire image is visible.
If the image's orientation is portrait, then it w ill adjust the image's height to fit thefield's height, w ithout affecting the image's aspect ratio:

If the image orientation is landscape, then it w ill adjust the image's w idth to fit thefield's w idth, w ithout affecting the image's aspect ratio:
Rules

Pan:
This has the opposite effect to the fit parameter. The image's smallest dimension
w ill be made to fit the scene frame's matching dimension, and the image's largest
dimension w ill be adjusted proportionally, making the image fill the entire scene
field, and bleed past its boundaries it if its aspect ratio does not match the field's
aspect ratio. This option can be used to import a panning background image, also
referred to as a pan.
If the image's orientation is portrait, it w ill adjust the image's w idth to fit thefield's w idth, w ithout affecting its aspect ratio:

96Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

If the image's orientation is landscape, it w ill adjust the image's height to fit thefield's height, w ithout affecting its aspect ratio:

This has the opposite effect to the fit parameter. The image's smallest dimension
w ill be made to fit the scene frame's matching dimension, and the image's largest
dimension w ill be adjusted proportionally, making the image fill the entire scene
field, and bleed past its boundaries it if its aspect ratio does not match the field's
aspect ratio. This option can be used to import a panning background image, also
referred to as a pan.
If the image's orientation is portrait, it w ill adjust the image's w idth to fit thefield's w idth, w ithout affecting its aspect ratio:

97Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Project
This
hasResolution:
the opposite
Scaleseffectto thetheimage
fit parameter.
to fit the scene's
The
image's smallest
resolution,
makingdimension
each pixel
w ill
in
the
beimagemadetaketo fitone
thepixel
sceneinframe'sthescene's
matchingfield. For
dimension,and the image's
example,if the image's
largestdimension winillpixels
dimensions
be adjusted
are half
proportionally,of
the scene's resolution
making theinimage fillpixels,thenthetheentireimage'sscene
field, and bleed
dimensions
w ill past
appearits to beboundaries
halfof the scene
it if itsfield's
aspectdimensions.
ratio
does not match thefield's aspect ratio. This
option can be used to import
Alignment (Import as Toon Boom Bitmap Draw ing)a panning background image,also referred to as a pan.
If the image's orientation is
portrait, it w ill adjust theimage's w idth to fit the field's
w idth, w ithout affecting its
aspect ratio:

Horizontal Fit:
Adjusts the image's size so that its w idth matches the scene's w idth, w ithout
affecting its aspect ratio.

Rules

If the image's orientation islandscape, it w ill adjust theimage's height to fit thefield's height, w ithout
affecting its aspect ratio:

Vertical Fit:
Adjusts the image's size so that its height matches the scene's height, w ithout
affecting its aspect ratio.

This has the opposite effectto the fit parameter. The
image's smallest dimension
w ill be made to fit the scene
frame's matching dimension,and the image's largest
dimension w ill be adjusted
proportionally, making theimage fill the entire scene
field, and bleed past its
boundaries it if its aspectratio does not match thefield's aspect ratio. This98

Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Actual Size: Imports the image in its actual size, w ithout adjusting its size relative
to the scene's resolution. For example, if the image's dimensions in pixels are halfof the scene's resolution in pixels, then the image's dimensions w ill appear to behalf of the scene field's dimensions.

Transparency

Premultiplied with W hite: The colour values of semi-transparent pixels in theimage have been encoded so that the more transparent they are, the closer tow hite they are. W hen an image that is premultiplied w ith w hite is loaded in asoftw are that does not support transparency, it appears blended w ith a w hitebackground. Select this to make Harmony reverse this premultiplication so thatthe image blends properly w ith other visual elements in your scene.

Alpha

Premultiplied with Black:The colour values of semi-transparent pixels in theimage have been encoded so that the more transparent they are, the closer toblack they are. W hen an image that is premultiplied w ith black is loaded in asoftw are that does not support transparency, it appears blended w ith a black
background. Select this to make Harmony reverse this premultiplication so thatthe image blends properly w ith other visual elements in your scene.

Straight: The colour of semi-transparent pixels in the image is encoded
independently from their transparency. W hen an image 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.

Clamp Colour to Alpha:This is the same as Premultiplied with Black, exceptthat it also prevents the colour values for a given pixel from being higher thanthat pixel's alpha value. This option is only useful if you are w orking w ith images
that are supposed to be premultiplied w ith black, but w here the colour values ofpixels have been increased w ithout their alpha values being adjusted accordingly.

99Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Vectorization

Black and W hite

Vectorizes draw ings w ith a solid black line. This creates a 100% vector-based
draw ing and paints it w ith the Vectorized Line colour sw atch from your scene's
palette.

Grey

Vectorizes the image as a mix of vector contour and greyscale bitmap filling. Lines
keep the texture from the scan, and the w hite of the paper becomes transparent.

New Preset

Lets you create a new preset.

Delete Preset

Lets you delete any preset in the list.

Edit Preset

Lets you edit the vectorization parameters for the selected preset.

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Loop Node

The Loop node exists as both Loop (for Images) and Loop Transformation (for Pegs and Transformations). This
node is used to create looping sections in the Timeline by referencing the input content at different frames.
The Loop node is able to start a loop at a given frame, loop a section of frames a number of times, andcontinue after looping is required.
The Loop node takes an image input and output, and w ill provide the retimed transformation and render ofthat image, looping over a number of frames.
The Loop Transformation node takes a transformation input and output, and w ill provide the retimed
transformation looping over a number of frames.

How to access the Loop and Loop Transformation Timing dialog box
1. In the Node View press Enter.
2. Type in the name of the node you w ant to search.
3. Select the node.
4. Click the yellow box on the left to open the dialog box.

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Chapter 1: Dialog Boxesl

Cycle Mode: Defines the w ay in w hich the output frames are calculated w hen cycling.
lRepeat: It w ill simply cycle the looping frames, and w ill repeat the cycle from the first frame
w hen finished. 1,2,3,4,1,2,3,4lPing Pong: It w ill cycle the looping frames, and w ill repeat the cycle backw ards w hen
finished. 1,2,3,4,3,2,1,2,3 . . .

lFrames to Cycle: This area defines the input range to be used in the looped content.
lFirst: The first frame to be used in the looping content.

lLast: The last inclusive frame to be used in the looping content.

lOffset: Offsets the internal frame of the loop by this amount. This is useful for reusing loops,
but simply offsetting their starting frame.

l

Use Output Range: Defines w hether the loop is considered infinite (w hen disabled) or, if the loop is
mapped to a specific output range and w ill have a start and ending range in the Timeline.
lDisabled: The loop w ill begin at frame one, and w ill persist for the total length of the scene.

lEnabled: The loop w ill begin at the start frame and plays to the end frame.

lStart: The output frame number that defines w here the loop begins in the output frames.
The input images or transformation w ill play normally up until this point.

lEnd: The inclusive output frame number that defines w here the loop ends in the output
frames. The loop w ill continue until one frame after this value is reached, and w ill resume its
output based on the resume behaviour of the node.

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Resume Behaviour: Defines the node’s behaviour after the end frame has been reached
w hen the output range is enabled.
l

Hold: Holds the final output frame’s value after the end frame has been reached.

lContinue from Looped Frame: Continues from the input frame that w as last playedin the Timeline w hen the end frame of the loop has been reached.

lContinue from Timeline Frame: Continues from the actual Timeline frame,
regardless of the looping frame or output range, once the end frame of the loop has
been reached.

lDisable Selection: This option is available in all timing nodes. It is recommended to disable thetiming node w hen modifying content, and reapply it w hen the content is complete.

lHide from Timeline: This option w ill collapse all attached content above this node in the Timeline,
preventing it from being selected or modified directly in the Timeline.

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Manage Local Cache Dialog Box
The Manage Local Cache dialog box displays a list of all the Harmony Server scenes for w hich you havecached draw ings. In this dialog, you can check if the draw ings you have in a scene's cache match the draw ings
in the database server, you can delete unused caches and you can change the directory in w hich scene data iscached.

NOTE
A scene's data is cached on your computer w hen you check the Cache scene assets locally option
in the Database Selector before opening the scene—see Database Selector Dialog Box on page43.

How to access the Manage Local Cache dialog box
1. In the top menu, select File > Manage Local Caches.
The Manage Local Caches dialog appears.

Parameter

Description

The list of caches stored on your computer. There is one item for each scene for w hich there iscached data. Each item is identified by the scene's environment, follow ed by its job, then its
name, in this format:
List of scene
cachesEnvironment/Job/Scene
If you select a scene cache in the list, the Manage Local Caches dialog w ill compare thedraw ings that are cached on your computer to the draw ings in the actual scene in the
database, and report if they are identical or not in the Local Cache Status field.

104Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Parameter

Description

If you select a cache, the Manage Local Cache dialog w ill analyze w hether the data in theselected cache matches the data in the actual scene in the Harmony Server database.
If it displays Scene's Local Cache is identical to the database, then the draw ings in theselected cache on your computer are identical to the draw ings in the corresponding scene in
the database, meaning that your cache and that the database are up to date.
If it displays Scene's Local Cache is different than database, then some draw ings in theselected cache on your computer are different from the draw ings in the corresponding scene in
Local Cache
StatusLocal Cache
Root Folder

the database. This usually means one of the follow ing:l

If the selected cache is the cache of the currently opened scene and you just saved yourscene, Harmony may still be uploading the updated draw ings to the database. In thiscase, you can close the dialog, w ait a few seconds, and reopen it to see if Harmony isdone uploading the draw ings. If it is, it w ill report that the cache is identical to the
database.

l

If this is not the cache of the currently opened scene, it is likely that the database scene
has been changed by someone else since the last time you opened it. That w ould meanthat the database version is more up to date than your cache. This is not a problem, as
next time you open the scene, your cache w ill be updated.

Indicates w here scene caches are stored on your computer. By default, scene caches are stored
in a folder named Toon Boom Harmony Local Cache, inside your Documents folder.

Allow s you to change the folder w here caches are dow nloaded w hen you open a scene.

Brow seNOTE
The caches that are currently stored on your machine w ill not be moved to their new
location. Hence, w hen you change the local cache root folder, the list of scene caches w ill
become empty until you open a scene.

Deletes the selected scene cache from your computer.

RemoveNOTEThis button is greyed out if the selected scene cache is for the currently opened scene, as
this cache is currently in use by Harmony.

Close

Closes the dialog.

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Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Manage Tool Presets Dialog Box
The Tool Presets w indow lets you create new tool presets and manage them.

How to access the Manage Tool Presets window
1. Do one of the follow ing:l

From the top menu, select W indows > Toolbars > Tool Presets.

l

Right-click an empty area below the top menu and select Tool Presets.

2. In the Tool Presets toolbar, click the Manage Presets button.
Parameter

Description

Icon

Lets you select a preset to manage.

ImportLets you import an existing preset.

ExportLets you export a preset for use in other projects.

106Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

DeleteRemoves the preset from the list of tool presets.

Name

Lets you change the name of the preset.

Icon list

Lets you select an icon for the preset.

Folder icon

Lets you select an image for the preset.

ShortcutLets you assign a keyboard shortcut to the new preset.

ColourSaves the current colour into the tool preset.

Tool

If you disable this option, only the colour w ill be associated. You could, forexample, set three different colours w ith shortcuts not associated w ith any
tool. The colour preset w ould then w ork on any selected tool. Selecting thebrush tool w as only a vehicle to get into the New Tool Preset dialog box.

UpdateAfter adjusting the settings for a preset, the current properties are applied tothe presets, as w ell as any other changes you made in the Manage Tool
Presets w indow .

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Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Marker Dialog Box
The Timeline Scene Marker dialog box lets you create and manage scene markers in the Timeline view .

Scene markers are visual indicators displayed at the top of the Timeline view in the frame counter area. You
can use it to denote anything relevant to your w ork. You can indicate the frames you w ant to clean up, achange in action, an impact, or w here you intend to apply an effect. You can also add a note to a scene marker.
If you hold the mouse cursor over a scene marker, its name, starting frame, duration and note w ill be displayedin the tool tip box.

How to access the Timeline Scene Marker dialog box
1. In the Timeline view , do one of the follow ing:l

If you w ant to create a scene marker at a single frame, select that frame on any layer.

l

If you w ant to create a scene marker that spans over several frames, select this range offrame on any layer.

2. Right-click on the ruler at the top of the Timeline view and, in the context menu, select Scene
Markers > Create Scene Marker.

108Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

NOTE
If your scene already contains scene markers, you can also open this dialog box by clicking ona scene marker to select it, then right-clicking anyw here on the timeline ruler and selecting
Scene Markers > Edit in the contextual menu.

Parameter

Description

Name

The name of the marker.

Time

The frame number at w hich the marker starts.

The amount of frames during w hich the marker spans.

Duration

TIP
You can set the duration to zero to make a marker that just points at thestarting frame.

ColourAllow s you to select a colour for the scene marker.

Note

Allow s you to type a description for the scene marker.

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Mini Playback Dialog Box
The Mini Playback dialog box alllow s you to configure and start Mini Playback. Mini Playback allow s you toquickly preview a short span of animation starting a few frames before the current frame and ending a few
frames after the current frame, at a customizable frame rate.

How to access the Mini Playback dialog
1. Do one of the follow ing:

Icon

l

In the top menu, select Play > Mini Playback.

l

In the Mini Playback toolbar, click on the

Mini Playback Dialog button.

Parameter

Description

Frame Rate

The speed at w hich Mini Playback should play your animation. By default, it is
set to Same as Scene to play at the same pace as your scene's frame rate.
Otherw ise, you can choose among a set of commonly used frame rates.

Before

The amount of frames before the current frame at w hich to start Mini Playback.

Play

Starts Mini Playback. Playback w ill start at the amount of frames in the Before
field before the current frame, and end at the amount of frames in the After
field after the current frame, at the frame rate in the Frame Rate drop-dow n.

After

The amount of frames after the current frame at w hich to end Mini Playback.

110Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Movie Options Dialog Box (macOS)
The Movie Options dialog box allow s you to configure the video and audio settings w hen exporting a movie in
QuickTime Movie (.mov) format on macOS.

NOTES
l

For tasks related to this dialog box, refer to the User Guide.

How to access the Movie Settings dialog box
1. From the top menu, select File > Export > Movie.
The Export Movie dialog box appears.

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2. In the Movie Format drop-dow n, select QuickTime ProRes Movie (*.mov).
3. Click on the Movie Options button.
The QuickTime Movie Options dialog box appears.

4. In the Codec drop-dow n, select any of the movie options.

How to access the Movie Settings dialog box from the Export OpenGL Frames dialog
1. In the top menu, select File > Export > OpenGL Frames.
The Export OpenGL Frames dialog box appears.

112Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

2. In the Format section, select Movie.
3. In the Movie Format drop-dow n, select QuickTime Movie (*.mov).
4. Click on the Movie Options button.

Parameter

Description

Video

Allow s you to select w hich algorithm to use to compress the video data. The follow ing
video codecs are supported:

Codec

l

H.264 Legacy: A very effective lossy compression algorithm that is commonly
supported by w eb brow sers and media players.

lH.265 Legacy: Same compression quality as H.264, but w ith a smaller compression
size. This is useful for videos intended for the w eb and mobile devices. Not
supported on all major brow sers or operating systems.

lApple ProRes 422 Legacy: A nearly lossless compression algorithm commonlyused for video editing on Apple systems. This codec is optimized for preserving
video quality, but not for publishing or streaming.

lApple ProRes 422 HQ Legacy: Preserves visual quality at the same high level asApple ProRes 4444 but for 4:2:2 image sources (cleaner footage for things likegreen screening). Heavier than Apple ProRes 422 for real-time editing performance.

lApple ProRes 422 LT Legacy: A more highly compressed codec than Apple ProRes
422, w ith roughly 70 percent of the data rate and 30 percent smaller file sizes. This
codec is perfect for environments w ith limited storage capacity and data rates.

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Parameter

DescriptionlApple ProRes 422 Proxy Legacy: An even more highly compressed codec thanApple ProRes 422 LT, intended for use in offline w orkflow s that require low data
rates but full-resolution video.

lApple ProRes 4444 Legacy: A nearly lossless compression algorithm commonlyused for video editing on Apple systems. Compared to Apple ProRes 422, this codec
preserves more colour detail and supports transparency. How ever, it results inheavier file sizes.

Check this option if you w ant to export a video w ith transparency.

Alpha

NOTE
This option is only available w hen exporting w ith the Apple ProRes 4444 codec. Other
codecs do not support transparency.

Sound

Uncheck this checkbox if you w ant to export a movie w ithout an audio track.

Allow s you to select the sample rate, or frequency, in w hich to export the audio track for themovie.

Rate

NOTE
Harmony cannot export audio at a higher sample rate than 22.050 kHz. If you select ahigher sample rate, your project's audio w ill be upsampled, w hich means it w ill takemore disc space w ithout increasing in quality.

Allow s you to select w hether to export the movie's audio track using the Mono or Stereo
channel mode.
Use

NOTE
Stereo sound has a separate track for the left and right speakers, w hereas mono soundonly has a single audio track for all speakers.

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QuickTime Movie Settings Dialog Box (W indows)
The Movie Settings dialog box allow s you to configure the video and audio compression settings w hen
exporting a QuickTime Movie (.mov) file.

NOTES
l

For tasks related to this dialog box, refer to the User Guide.

lThis dialog can only be accessed on W indow s and requires Apple QuickTime to be installed.

How to access the QuickTime Movie Settings dialog box
1. From the top menu, select File > Export > Movie.
The Export Movie dialog box appears.

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2. In the Movie Format drop-dow n, select QuickTime ProRes Movie (*.mov).
3. Click on the Movie Options button.
The QuickTime Movie Options dialog box appears.

4. In the Codec drop-dow n, select any of the movie options.

How to access the QuickTime Movie Settings dialog box from the Export OpenGL
Frames dialog
1. In the top menu, select File > Export > OpenGL Frames.
The Export OpenGL Frames dialog box appears.

116Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

2. In the Format section, select Movie.
3. In the Movie Format drop-dow n, select QuickTime Movie (*.mov).
4. Click on the Movie Options button.

Parameter

Description

Video

Settings

Opens the Standard Video Compression Settings dialog box. This is w here you
can set the video compression settings for the movie you w ill export—see
QuickTime Standard Video Compression Settings Dialog Box (W indow s) on page
189.

FilterOpens the Choose Video Filter dialog box, w here you can select from a range offilters to apply to your video export.

Size

Opens the Export Size Settings dialog box. This dialog is available because of thew ay the Apple QuickTime interface is designed, but its settings are not taken inaccount by Harmony. The size of the exported video is determined by Harmony.

Settings

Opens the Sound Settings dialog box. This is w here you can you set the soundcompression settings for the movie you w ill export—see QuickTime Sound

Sound

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Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Settings Dialog Box (W indow s) on page 185.

If this option is enabled, the video w ill be optimized to start playing w hile it is
dow nloading, as videos do in w eb brow sers and w eb-based streaming
applications.

Prepare for Internet
Streamingl

Fast Start: The video plays as soon as enough data required to start
playback has been dow nloaded.

lFast Start - Compressed Header: Same as Fast Start, except the header
is compressed for an even faster start. Requires QuickTime 3.0 or later.

lHinted Streaming: Allow s you to optimize the movie file for streaming
through QuickTime Server Softw are. Click on the Settings button toconfigure how hints are created in your movie file.

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New Scene Dialog Box
The New Scene w indow lets you create a new scene.

How to access the New Scene window
1. Do one of the follow ing:l

From the top menu, select File > New.

l

In the File toolbar, click the NewlPress Ctrl + N (W indow s/Linux) or ⌘ + N (macOS).

button.

The New Scene dialog box opens.

Parameter

Description

Name

Lets you type in a name for the new scene.

Location

Lists the locations you used most frequently for storing scenes.

Brow seOpens a brow ser in w hich you can specify a location for the new scene thatis not listed in the Location list.

119Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Camera Size

Opens a list of resolutions.

+ (Create Custom
Resolution)

Opens the New Resolution w indow in w hich you can create a custom
resolution that is added to the Camera Size list.

- (Delete Custom Resolution)

Lets you remove a custom resolution from the Camera Size list.

W idthIndicates the w idth of the resolution you chose from the Camera Size list.

Frame Rate

Indicates the frame rate of the resolution you chose from the Camera Size
list.

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New Tool Preset Dialog Box
The New Tool Preset dialog box lets you create new tool presets and manage them.
Tool presets let you save a variety of settings and are very efficient for accessing the tools you use most often.
That w ay, the tool is already set w ith the desired properties, such as colour, line thickness, w hether to enable
Draw Behind or Auto Flatten mode, and so on. You can create presets for these tools and many more: Brush,
Pencil, Eraser, Rectangle, Ellipse, and Line.
The difference betw een a tool preset and a brush preset is that w hen you save a tool preset, you have theoption of saving the colour and assigning a shortcut, w hich you cannot do w ith brush presets.

How to access the New Tool Preset dialog box
1. Do one of the follow ing:l

From the top menu, select W indows > Toolbars > Tool Presets.

l

Right-click an empty area below the top menu and select Tool Presets.

2. In the Tool Presets toolbar, click the New Tool Preset button.
Parameter

Description

Name

Lets you give the preset a meaningful name.

Icon list

Lets you select an icon for the preset.

121Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Folder icon

Lets you select an image for the preset.

ShortcutLets you assign a keyboard shortcut to the preset.

ColourSaves the current colour into the tool preset.

Tool

If you disable this option, only the colour w ill be associated. You could, forexample, set three different colours w ith shortcuts not associated w ith any
tool. The colour preset w ould then w ork on any selected tool. Selecting thebrush tool w as only a vehicle to get into the New Tool Preset dialog box.

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Onion Skin and Light Table Transparency Dialog Box
T-ANIMPA-006-009
This dialog box lets you adjust the Onion Skin and Light table transparency parameters.

How to access the Onion Skin and Light Table Transparency dialog boxl

In the Draw ing view toolbar, click on the Top Lightbutton to open the Onion Skin and Light

Table Transparency dialog box.

Command

Description

Onion Skin Opacity

Sets the maximum opacity value for the onion skin opacity display. Moving theslider all the w ay to the left = 0% opacity. Moving the slider all the w ay to theright = 100% opacity.

Lighttable Opacity

Sets the maximum opacity value for the light table display. Moving the slider all
the w ay to the left = 0% opacity. Moving the slider all the w ay to the right =100% opacity.

LightTable W ash

Sets the w ashed-out value for the light table display. Moving the slider all thew ay to the left = 0% opacity. Moving the slider all the w ay to the right = 100%
opacity.

Bitmap Background
W ash

Sets the maximum opacity value for the background w ash. Moving the slider all
the w ay to the left = 0% opacity. Moving the slider all the w ay to the right =100% opacity. Only w orks for bitmap layers.

Pencil Lines Opacity

Sets the maximum opacity value for central vector lines (lines made by the
Pencil or Shape tools). Moving the slider all the w ay to the left = 0% opacity.
Moving the slider all the w ay to the right = 100% opacity.

123Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Palette Browser Dialog Box
The Palette Brow ser dialog allow s you to decide the level of palette list and palette storage to use w hen you
w ant to create, clone, link to or import a palette.
This dialog only appears if you have the Advanced Palette Lists preference enabled, w hich is disabled bydefault. W hen Advanced Palette Lists mode is disabled, Harmony automatically stores palettes in a scene's
palette list, inside the scene's palette-library subdirectory.

How to access the Palette Browser dialog box
1. Start and log in.
2. Close the Database Selector dialog box.
3. From the top menu, select Tools > Palette Operations.
4. In the Palette Operations dialog box that opens, select the palette you w ant to clone at the locationand level in w hich it w as stored.
5. Click Clone.

Parameter

Palette Location

Description

This allow s you to brow se for the physical location of the palette file in yourdatabase.
If you are using Harmony Stand Alone, you can still select the scene's ow n job or124Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

environment as a location. Stand alone scenes have a provisional job andenvironment storage space inside the scene's directory. The files in these storage
spaces can be imported into a database scene's actual job and environment w hen
importing the scene to a Harmony database. If you never intend to use Harmony
Server, you should keep your palettes inside your scene or element's palette
libraries.

Stores the palette file in the selected environment's palette library. Environments
are typically used to contain a w hole production, series or feature film.
l

In Harmony Server, this stores the palette in /USA_DB/environments/[environment name]/palette-library.

l

In Harmony Stand Alone, this stores the palette inside the scene's
directory, under environments/Digital/palette-library.

Environment

Stores the palette file in the selected job's palette library. Jobs are typically used
to contain episodes in a series, or any set of scenes that is intended to be put inthe same sequence.
Jobl

In Harmony Server /USA_DB/jobs/[job name]/palette-library.

l

In Harmony Stand Alone, this stores the palette inside the scene's
directory, under jobs/Digital/palette-library.

Scene

Stores the palette file in the selected scene's palette library, w hich is thepalette-library subdirectory of the scene's directory.

Element

Stores the palette file inside the selected element's palette library. This library is
located inside the scene's directory, under elements/[elementname]/palette-library.

PaletteThis lists the existing palettes in the selected location.

New Palette Name

If you are creating or cloning a palette, use this field to enter the palette file's
name. The palette w ill be listed under this name in your palette list. On your filesystem, it w ill be named after its palette name, follow ed by the extension .plt.

W hen creating a palette, you can choose betw een the follow ing palette types:lColour: A colour palette can contain colours, gradients and bitmap
textures.

l

Pencil Texture: A pencil texture palette can contain textures to apply astransparency filters to pencil lines, in combination to their line colour, tocreate various styles of pencil lines.

Palette Type125

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Palette List

Scene Palette List

This allow s you to decide if you w ant the palette to be added to your scene's
palette list, or to the currently selected element's palette list.

Adds the palette to the scene's palette list. Palettes in the scene's palette list areavailable to all the elements in your scene. This is especially useful if you aredoing digital animation, w here character models can be made of many layers thatneed to use the same palette.

Adds the palette to the currently selected element's palette list. Palettes in an
Element Palette List

element's palette list can only be used by the draw ings in this element, and w ill
only be listed in the Colour view w hen this element is selected. This can be useful
if you are doing traditional animation, w here each character is usually draw n on asingle layer, and you w ant each layer to have its ow n palette.

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Palette Operations Dialog Box
W hen you start Toon Boom Harmony Advanced connected to the database, you can access the PaletteOperations dialog box w hich lets you clone, rename, or delete palettes in your database, w ithout having toopen a scene or brow se the database's file system in your operating system's shell.
In Harmony, palettes are individual *.plt files that can be copied, transferred and stored. W hen a palette is
created from Harmony, it needs to be stored somew here. By default, the palette file is stored in the scene
directory in a palette-library folder unless you specify a different location.
There are four locations w here you can find palette-library folders: Element, Scene, Job and Environment.

How to access the Palette Operations dialog box
1. Start and log in.
2. Close the Database Selector dialog box.
3. From the top menu, select Tools > Palette Operations.

Parameter

Description

Environment

The production, project, feature film or series.

Job

The episode and sequence from each environment.

Scene

The scenes from each job.

Element

The layers and columns in each scene.

PaletteThe scene palettes.

Description

Notes, if any, of the project.

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Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Clone

Opens the Palette Brow ser dialog box from w hich you can select the level inw hich to store the palette file.

RenameLets you rename a palette.

Lets you delete a palette.

DeleteNOTE
It is not recommended to disable the w arning message that appears w hen
you are attempting to delete a palette as this operation cannot be undone.

Close

Closes the Palette Operations dialog box.

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Paste Preset Dialog Box
W hen pasting key frames and exposures, you can modify the existing presets to your liking. There are threepresets you can modify: the default presets for both key frames and exposures, key frames only and exposures
only.

Parameter

Description

Draw ings

Never create drawing files: W hen adding exposures to a draw ing layer, draw ing
files w ill not be created.

Add/Remove
Exposure

Only create drawing files when they do not exist: W hen adding exposures to adraw ing layer, new draw ings w ill be created only w hen draw ings w ith the same
name do not already exist in the destination.

Always create drawing files: W hen adding exposures to a draw ing layer, newdraw ings w ill alw ays be created. If draw ing files w ith the same name alreadyexist, Harmony w ill create a new name for the draw ing.

Enforce Key Exposure

If there are key exposures that exist on copied draw ings, they are preserved w hen
pasting. No key exposures are added. This is the default behavior w hen pasting.

Fill Gap w ith Previous
Draw ing

Fills selected area in the Xsheet or Timeline view w ith the previous draw ing.

Fill to Next Key
Exposure

Fills selected area till the next key exposure.

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Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Keyframes

Motion: Copies the properties of the selected motion keyframe to the new frame.

Velocity: Copies the properties of the selected velocity keyframe to the newframe.

Add/Remove

Rotation: Copies the properties of the selected rotation keyframe to the newframe.

Keyframes
Scale: Copies the properties of the selected scale keyframe to the new frame.

Skew: Copies the properties of the selected skew keyframe to the new frame.

Force Keyframes at Function's Beginning and End: Adds a keyframe to thebeginning and end of the pasted function, reproducing the source function.

130Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Paste Special Dialog Box
The Paste Special dialog box lets you determine how templates and symbols are imported in the Timelineview .
W hen you import a template in the Timeline view , all layers are created as w ell as draw ings and keyframes.
You can choose to import only the keyframes w ithout the draw ings or import only the draw ings that are notalready in your layers. You can adjust the behaviour using the Paste Special dialog box.W hen you import asymbol in your scene, its full length is exposed by default. If you import a symbol in the Timeline view ’s left
side, all the frames w ill be exposed. How ever, if you import it into an existing layer, you can use the Paste
Special dialog box to adjust the import behaviour to fit your requirements.Once you set the parameters,
Harmony w ill reuse them each time you import a symbol in the Timeline view ’s right side until you set newparameters.

How to access the Paste Special dialog box
1. In the Library view , select the symbol or template to import.
2. Do one of the follow ing:l

W hile holding dow n the Alt key, click and drag on the template, then drop it on the Timelineview , over the layer and at the frame w here you w ant to paste it.

lPress Ctrl + C (W indow s/Linux) or ⌘ + C (macOS). Then, in the Timeline view , click on theframe w here you w ant to paste the template and press Ctrl + B (W indow s/Linux) or ⌘ + B(macOS)

The Paste Special dialog box opens.

131Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Parameter

Description

Draw ings

Do Nothing

Does not create or overw rite draw ings.

Update Draw ing
Pivot

Revises the draw ing pivot in the destination to use the same draw ing pivot as thefirst draw ing in the template. If you have a range of draw ings selected in thedestination, the pivot points of all selected draw ings w ill be updated.

Never create drawing files: W hen adding exposures to a draw ing layer, draw ing
files w ill not be created.

Only create drawing files when they do not exist: W hen adding exposures to adraw ing layer, new draw ings w ill be created only w hen draw ings w ith the same
name do not already exist in the destination.

Replace existing drawings. Create drawing files when they do not exist:
Replace draw ings w ith the same names to update a scene w ith new modified
draw ings and preserve the animation.
Tip: If you don't w ant to lose the existing animation w hen pastinga template, such as w hen placing new draw ings after the
animation, then delete the template's animation. It w ill still haveupdated the draw ings but not override the existing animation.
Add/Remove
Exposure

Always create drawing files: W hen adding exposures to a draw ing layer, newdraw ings w ill alw ays be created. If draw ing files w ith the same name alreadyexist, Harmony w ill create a new name for the draw ing.

Enforce Key Exposure: If there are key exposures that exist on copied draw ings,
they are preserved w hen pasting. No key exposures are added. This is the default
behavior w hen pasting.

Fill Gap with Previous Drawing: Fills selected area in the Xsheet or Timelineview w ith the previous draw ing.

Fill to Next Key Exposure: Fills selected area till the next key exposure.

Paste all frames of the symbol (full movie): W hen enabled, the Paste Special
command exposes all the symbol's frames instead of only the first one.

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Symbols

Copy symbols if they
do not exist

This is the default setting for this operation and w ill prevent Symbols in an Action
template from being copied.

Duplicate symbols

Creates a duplicate of the symbol instead of linking the Symbol instance to the original one. The new Symbol is created in the Library.

Paste all Frames ofthe symbol (fullmovie)

W hen enabled, the Paste Special command exposes all the symbol's frames
instead of only the first one.

Add Remove/Keyframes

MotionCopies the properties of the selected motion keyframe to the new frame.

Velocity

Copies the properties of the selected velocity keyframe to the new frame.

Rotation

Copies the properties of the selected rotation keyframe to the new frame.

Scale

Copies the properties of the selected scale keyframe to the new frame.

Skew

Copies the properties of the selected skew keyframe to the new frame.

Force Keyframes at
Function's Beginningand EndAdds a keyframe to the beginning and end of the pasted function, reproducing
the source function.

Offset Keyframes

W hen pasting functions, offsets keyframes from the function's last frame value
by the values in the pasted function. This w ill continue the progression of afunction instead of repeating the values.

Options

Do nothing: Does not create, overw rite, merge or link palettes.

Palettes

Reuse palettes. Copy palettes if they do not exist: Palettes in the destination
draw ings are left as they are.
Copy and overwrite existing palettes: Overw rites destination palettes w ith thepalettes from the source draw ings.

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Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Copy and create new palette files: Creates new palette files, placing them at thesame relative environment and scene level as the source. If the palettes in thetemplates w ere stored at the environment level of the source scene, the paste
operation w ill place the palettes in the environment level of the destination
scene.
Copy and create new palette files in element folder: Creates new palette files inthe element folders of the destination scene, rather than in the same relative job
or environment.
Copy palette and merge colours. Add new colours only: Adds new colours to
the destination palettes and ignores colours that are the same in the tw o palettes.
Copy palettes and update existing colours: Adds new colours to the destination
palette and updates duplicate colours in the destination w ith colour values fromthe source.
Link to original palettes (colour model): Links the colour palettes in thedestination scene to the palettes in the source. Use this to link draw ings to thepalettes in a colour model.
Copy scene palettes and merge colours. Add new colours only: Adds newcolours to the destination scene palettes and ignores colours that are the same in
the tw o palettes.
Copy scene palettes and update existing colours: Adds new colours to thedestination scene palette and updates duplicate colours in the destination w ith
the colour values from the source.

Normal (forward):Pastes your selection as is, starting w ith the first cell and ending w ith the last.
Reverse: Pastes your selection in reverse, starting w ith the last cell and ending
w ith the first.
CyclesForward > Reverse:Pastes your selection as a yo-yo, starting w ith the first cell,going to the last one and ending w ith the first cell.
Reverse > Forward: Pastes your selection as a reverse yo-yo, starting w ith thelast cell, going to the first one and ending w ith the last cell.

Nodes

Create New Columns: A new column is created w hen you copy and paste nodes
from the layer in the Timeline view . If the layers are linked to function curves, thefunction curves, draw ings and timing w ill be duplicated.

Elements

Reuse existing elements: Lets you paste existing elements w ithout creating new
ones. This should be used only w hen pasting w ithin versions of the same scene.

Validation

Match by Node/Layer Name: W hen pasting a template w ith a hierarchy onto
another hierarchy, this option looks to match the pasting elements w ith the same134

Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

layer or node name, rather than the same hierarchical structure. This means thateven if the tw o hierarchies are different, a new pose of a character's body part w ill
still be pasted on the correct body part layer, as long as both layers are named
the same.

135Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Pen Pressure Feel Dialog Box
The Pen Pressure Feel dialog box allow s you to configure how Harmony processes the pressure you put on
your tablet pen to apply it to the size of your draw ing tool.

By default, Harmony applies the pressure you put on your pen to your tool in a linear fashion. That is, if you put
25% of the maximum pressure on your pen, your tool's size w ill be 25% of the w ay betw een its minimum andmaximum size. If you put 75% of the maximum pressure on your pen, your tool's size w ill be 75% of the w ay
betw een its minimum and maximum size.
How ever, you may find that it w ould feel more natural, or that it w ould make it easier to control the size ofyour draw ing strokes, if Harmony interpreted the pressure you put on your pen differently. For example, you
may w ant Harmony to make your brush strokes small unless you put a lot of pressure on your pen, or you may
w ant Harmony to make your brush strokes big unless you put very little pressure on your pen. This is w here
the Pen Pressure Feel dialog box comes in handy.

NOTE
For information on how to use the Pen Pressure Feel dialog, refer to the User Guide.

How to access the Pen Pressure Feel dialog
1. Add the Pen Settings toolbar to your w orkspace by doing one of the follow ing:l

In the top menu, select W indows > Toolbars > Pen Settings.

lRight-click on any existing toolbar and, in the context menu, select Pen Settings.

2. In the Pen Settings toolbar, click on the

Pen Pressure Feel button.

The Pen Pressure Feel dialog appears.

136Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Parameter

Description

The percentage of your pen's maximum pressure you must apply before Harmony registers
that you are draw ing. If you increase this setting, you can lightly brush your tablet w ith yourpen w ithout draw ing, and you must apply a certain amount of pressure on it to draw .
Min Pressure

For example, if you set this to 15%, you can apply up to 15% of your pen's maximum pressure
w ithout actually draw ing. If you apply exactly 15% of your pen's maximum pressure, Harmony
w ill draw a stroke in your tool's minimum size.
By default, this is set to 0%, w hich means that just brushing the tablet w ith your pen w ill draw
in your tool's minimum size. You can increase this setting up to 25%.

Curve Preset

Allow s you to instantly apply a curve preset to the pressure curve below .

The percentage of your pen's maximum pressure at w hich point your draw ing tool should draw
in its maximum size.
Max Pressure

For example, if you set this to 80%, your draw ing tool w ill draw in its maximum size if you
apply 80% of your tablet pen's maximum pressure.
By default, this is set to 100%, w hich means you have to press your tablet pen all the w ay todraw in your draw ing tool's maximum size. You can decrease this setting dow n to 75%.

This curve determines how to process the amount of pressure you apply to your tablet pen into
your draw ing tool's size.
By default, it is linear, meaning that the amount of pressure you put on your tablet pen is
directly applied to the size of your draw ing tool. By moving the tw o Bezier handles betw een
the extremities of the curve, you can change the curve's shape.
l

If you make an ease-in curve like the one below , the size of your draw ing strokes w illtend to be closer to the minimum size of your draw ing tool, unless you apply a lot ofpressure on your tablet pen.

l

If you make an ease-out curve like the one below , the size of your draw ing strokes w illtend to be closer to the maximum size of your draw ing tool, unless you apply very little
pressure on your tablet pen.

Pressure Curve137

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Parameter

Descriptionl

If you make an ease-in-ease-out curve like the one below , the size of your draw ing
strokes w ill tend to be closer to the minimum size of your draw ing tool w hen applying
light pressure, and to be closer to the maximum size of your draw ing tool w hen
applying more pressure, but it w ill rarely be the median betw een the minimum and the
maximum size.

l

If you make an ease-out-ease-in curve like the one below , the size of your draw ing
strokes w ill tend to be closer to median betw een the minimum and maximum size ofyour draw ing tool, unless you apply very little or a lot of pressure on your tablet pen.

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Pose Copier Dialog Box
T-RIG3-007-007
The pose copier contains many buttons and other information to facilitate the insertion of poses in the
animation.

Parameter

Description

Preview W indow

Based on master template's generated thumbnails, preview s currently selected
frames.

Load Selected Template

Updates the template w ith the new ly selected template.

Template Name

Name of the currently selected template.

Vertical Slider (SLV)

Linked to the slv- node of the node system.

Horizontal Slider 1 (SLH)

Linked to the slh- node of the node system. Default slider for the pose copier if
no guide layers are created.

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Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Horizontal Slider 2 (SLX)

Linked to the slx- node of the node system.

Fill to Next Key Exposure

Having this option checked w ill automatically extend the exposure of thepasted frame up to the next key.

Use Default Destination
ModuleW hen enabled, the pasted keys w ill automatically refer to the destination
defined in the option Set Default Destination Module.

Paste by Layer Name

W hen this option is checked the pasted layers w ill look for the individual layer
name instead of matching the hierarchy of the template.

Set Default Destination Module

Instead of selecting the destination every time, the layer set as default
destination w ill automatically paste the keys onto those layers.

Find

This w ill center on the default destination in the timeline.

Paste

Paste the current position of the pose copier onto the destination.

VerticalCurrently selected frame on the vertical slider. (based on frame name in slvnode)

Horizontal 1

Currently selected frame on the horizontal slider 1. (based on frame name inslh-node)

Horizontal 2

Currently selected frame on the horizontal slider 2. (based on frame name inslx-node)

Frame

Frame number of the selected frame w ithin the master template.

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Preferences Dialog Box
The Preferences dialog box allow s you to adjust preferences to suit your w orkflow and your production's
needs.

NOTE
For a list of all the preferences as w ell as their functionality, refer to the Preferences guide.

How to open the Preferences dialog box
1. Do one of the follow ing:ll

W indows or GNU/Linux:l

In the top menu, select Edit > Preferences.

l

Press Ctrl + U.

macOS:l

In the top menu, select Harmony Advanced > Preferences.

l

Press ⌘ + U.

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Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Parameter

Description

This drop-dow n allow s you to select among one of the available preference presets.
The different preference presets have a lot of settings in common. The follow ing table lists how eachpreset differs for specific preferences:

Preference Set
Tab /Location

GeneralPreference SetTimeline

AdvancedPreference
Basic

Compositing

CutoutAnimationPaperless
Animation

Rigging

Focus on
Mouse
Enter

Off

On

On

On

On

Default
Separate
Position for
Pegs

Off

Off

On

Off

On

StopMotion
Keyframes

Off

Off

On

Off

On

ReduceIndentation

Off

On

On

Off

On

Drawing
Substitutio
n: Create
Key
Exposure

On

Off

Off

Off

On

SupportOverlayandUnderlay
Arts

Off

On

On

Off

On

Advanced
Palette List

Off

On

On

On

On

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Parameter

Description

Preference Set
Tab /Location

PencilTool
Properties

Preference
Basic

Compositing

CutoutAnimationPaperless
Animation

Rigging

Advanced
Element
Mode

Off

On

Off

Off

Off

Element
Node
AnimateUsing
Animation
Tools

On

On

Off

On

Off

Auto Close
Gap

On

On

On

On

Off

Save...

Allow s you to export your current preference settings as an XML file, w hich you can import later.

Load...

Allow s you to brow se for and import a preference file that w as exported w ith the Save... button.

W here you can brow se for and change preferences.
Preference TabsNOTE
For a list of all the preferences as w ell as their functionality, refer to the Preferences guide.

RestoreAll
Defaults

Restores all your preferences to their default setting for the selected preference set.

OK

Commits your changes to the preferences and closes the dialog.

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Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Parameter

Description

CancelUndoes your changes to the preferences and closes the dialog.

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Recolour Drawings Dialog Box
The Recolour Draw ing dialog box allow s you to replace all instances of a colour or texture in draw ings w ith adifferent colour or texture sw atch in one of the scene's palettes. This replaces the colours or textures in thedraw ings w ithout requiring you to modify the palettes. You can use this dialog to perform colour replacementin the current draw ing, in all the draw ings in one or several layers or in all draw ings in your scene.
This dialog w ill replace the colour or texture that is currently selected in the Colour view w ith the colour or
texture that you select inside the dialog.

How to access the Recolour Drawings dialog
1. In the Colour view , select the colour or texture sw atch you w ant to replace by doing one of thefollow ing:lSelect the palette in w hich the colour or texture sw atch is located, then select the sw atch
you w ish to replace.

l

If the draw ing in the Camera or Draw ing view contains the colour or texture you w ant toreplace, select the Colour Eyedropper

tool in the Tools toolbar, then click on that colour

or texture in the draw ing. The Colour view w ill automatically select that colour or texture's
palette as w ell as that colour or texture's sw atch.

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2. Do one of the follow ing:lRight-click on the sw atches list, then select Recolour Drawings.

lOpen the Colour view menu

Parameter, then select Colours > Recolour Drawings.

Description

Allow s you to select w hich draw ings w ill be affected by the colour replacement:lCurrent drawing: Replaces the selected colour in the currently selecteddraw ing only.

l

All drawings in the currently selected layers: Replaces the selectedcolour in all the draw ings in the layer that is currently selected in theTimelime or Xsheet view .

Replace Colour In

NOTEThis option can w ork w ith several draw ing layers selected.

lReplacement Colour

All drawings in the scene: Replaces the selected colour in every draw ing
in the current scene.

Allow s you to select the palette and colour or texture sw atch to replace theselected colour or texture w ith.

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Remove Dirt Dialog Box
The Remove Dirt dialog box lets you select small dots and hairs on a draw ing for removal.

W hen paper draw ings are passed through a scanner, there can be some hair and dirt scattered across them.
These lines and dots need to be cleaned. Harmony provides different tools to help get rid of them quickly.

How to access the Remove Dirt dialog box
1. Do one of the follow ing:l

From the top menu, select Drawing > Clean Up > Remove Dirt.

l

From the Camera or Draw ing View menu, select Drawing > Clean Up > Remove Dirt.

l

Press Shift + D.

Parameter

Description

Lets you adjust the amount of detail removed from the layer.

SliderRaising the Remove Dirt level w ill select bigger dots. W hen selecting larger dots,
be careful not to lose small details like pupils and nostrils. Once you have chosen
the level, you can apply it to the current draw ing or the entire animation
sequence. This is a quick w ay to get rid of most dirt and dust.
During this process, the dirt that w ill be removed is highlighted in red.

Apply to all draw ings

Applies the operation to all draw ings in the layer.

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Remove Frames Dialog Box
The Add Frames dialog box allow s you to remove a range of frames from your scene. All the keyframes andthe exposed draw ings in the removed range w ill be deleted, and the keyframes and exposed draw ings after
the removed range w ill be offset backw ards, so as to close the gap.

How to access the Remove Frames dialog box
1. In the Timeline or Xsheet view , select a frame or a range of frames.

2. Do one of the follow ing:l

From the top menu, select Scene > Frame > Remove Selected Frames.

l

In the Xsheet view , right-click and select Frame > Remove Selected Frames.

The Add Frames dialog box appears.

Parameter

Description

Number of frames to remove

The amount of frames to remove. The range of frame that w ill be removed starts
from the selected frame—or the first selected frame, if a range of frames isselected—and ends after the selected number of frames.

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Parameter

Description

By default, this is set to the amount of selected frames.

Ripple Scene Markers

If checked, scene markers after the removed frames w ill be offset backw ard toremain synchronized w ith the keyframes and draw ings in your scene. If
unchecked, scene markers w ill remain in place w hile everything else after theremoved frames is offset.

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Remove Hair Dialog Box
The Remove Hair dialog box lets you remove any small strokes created in the Colour Art layer from very thicklines or filled zones. Increasing the Remove Hair level value w ill select larger strokes for removal from thedraw ing.

W hen paper draw ings are passed through a scanner, there can be some hair and dirt scattered across them.
These lines and dots need to be cleaned. Harmony provides different tools to help get rid of them quickly.

How to access the Remove Hair dialog box
1. In the Timeline or Xsheet view , select the draw ing containing the draw ing to clean.
2. From the top menu, select View > Show > Show Strokes to display the invisible lines or press K.
3. In the top menu, select Drawing > Clean Up > Remove Hair.

Parameter

Description

SliderLets you adjust the number of length of hairs selected.

Apply to all draw ings

Applies the operation to all draw ings in the layer.

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Rigid Point Deform Node

The Rigid Point Deformer is a type of w eighted-deformation that prioritizes rigid transformations over
deformations and is applied by tracking the position of attached pegs. It is particularly useful for tracking anddeforming textures on characters and animated surfaces and is used w ith the W eighted Deformer node.

How to access the Rigid Point Deform Node dialog box
1. In the Node View press Enter.
2. Type in the name of the node you w ant to search.
3. Select the node.
4. Click the yellow box on the left to open the dialog box.

lW eight: A percentage value that defines the w eight of all points connected to the Rigid Point
Deform. This w eight is considered w hen calculating the influence of all points, curves and Rigid
Point Deforms connected to the W eighted Deform. These w eights are relative to one another in the
W eighted Deform system. A w eight of 50% w ould have half the influence in the W eighted
Deformation system than a w eight of 100% w hen connected to that same system.

l

Minimum Distance: The Rigid Deform considers the proximity of the elements in the draw ing andthe points influence is based on that distance. W hen a minimum distance is defined, any points
w ithin that minimum distance are completely influenced by that point and this influence falls off as
it approaches the maximum distance.

151Chapter 1: Dialog BoxeslMaximum Distance: Similar to the Minimum Distance, the Maximum Distance defines the distancein w hich the point has little to no control over the surrounding elements in the draw ing.

The Minimum and Maximum distance are useful in defining particular regions of control w ithin aW eighted Deformation system.

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Save Dialog Box
The Save dialog box appears w hen you save a scene for the first time in Harmony Server.

How to access the Save dialog Box
1. Make sure you have the necessary rights to save the current scene version. If you do not, you canacquire the rights by selecting File > Rights to Modify Scene Version or Rights to Modify Scene in
the top menu.
2. Do one of the follow ing:l

In the top menu, select File > Save.

l

In the File toolbar, click on thelPress Ctrl + S (W indow s/Linux) or ⌘ + S (macOS).

Save button.

W hen saving the scene for the first time, the Save dialog box opens, prompting you to name theversion.

Parameter

Description

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This Version

Allow s you to enter the name of the current version.

Description

Enter a short description of the current version.

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Scene Settings Dialog Box
The Scene Settings dialog box lets you select settings for the resolution of your scene, its alignment and theresolution of bitmap draw ings and textured brush strokes.
You are already required to select resolution and alignment settings w hen creating a scene, but those settings
can also be modified later using the Scene Settings dialog box.

How to access the Scene Settings dialog box
1. In the top menu, select Scene > Scene Settings.
The Scene Settings dialog box opens.

Resolution Tab

The resolution tab allow s you to set the w idth and height of your scene in pixels as w ell as w hether the angleof the field of view .
Icon

Parameter

Description

You can select your project’s resolution (camera frame size) fromthis preset list.
Resolution Presetsl

HDTV_1080p24: The standard definition for high definition
television at 24 frames per second, mostly used in theAmericas and some Asian countries that used the NTSC
standard for analogue television.

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Icon

Parameter

Descriptionl

HDTV_1080p25: The standard definition for high definition
television at 25 frames per second, usually for broadcastingin European, African, Asian and Australian countries thatused the PAL or SECAM standard for analogue television.

l

HDTV_1080p23.976: The standard definition for highdefinition television at 23.976 frames per second. This isuseful if the remainder of your pipeline uses the 23.976
framerate for legacy reasons.

lHDTV_720p24: The former standard high definition
resolution at 24 frames per second.

l

4K_UHD: A standard ultra HD (4K) format for television
productons. 4K implies that the w idth of the image is of, giveor take, 4000 pixels.

lfilm- 2K: A standard HD format for film projectors w ith a low
aspect ratio.

lfilm- 4K: A standard ultra HD (4K) format for film projectors
w ith a low aspect ratio.

lfilm- 1.33_H: The standard resolution for the academy film
format that conforms to the standard 4:3 aspect ratio.

lfilm- 1.66_H: The standard resolution for w idescreen film
format that conforms to the 16:9 aspect ratio.

lfilm- 1.66_V: The standard resolution for w idescreen film
format, but w ith a vertical field of view .

lCineon: The standard format for 35 mm Kodak/Cineon film.

l

NTSC: The standard resolution and framerate for analogue
standard definition televisions in most of the Americas(except Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina), Japan,
Taiw an, South Korea, the Philippines and Myanmar.

l

PAL: The standard resolution and framerate for analogue
standard definition televisions in Europe, Africa, Australia,
most of Asia, Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina.

l2160p- 240p: A series of standard w idescreen presets
named after their resolution heights.

llow: A resolution based on NTSC w ith half of its standard
dimensions.

l

W eb_Video: A legacy format for w eb streaming.

lGame_512: A preset for the gaming pipeline, w ith a squarecanvas.

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Icon

Parameter

Selected Resolution Preset

Descriptionl

W ebCC_Preview: The preset used by W ebCC to renderpreview s of scenes in a Harmony Server database.

l

HDTV: The standard definition for high definition television
at 24 frames per second, w ith a horizontal fit field of view .

l

HDTV_Vertical: The standard definition for high definition
television at 24 frames per second, w ith a vertical fit field ofview .

Displays the name of the selected resolution preset just below thepresets list. If you have made any changes to the resolution sinceselecting a preset, this w ill display "(custom)".

Allow s you to save the current resolution settings as a new preset. If
you have a resolution preset selected, this button is only available if
you have made changes to the resolution since selecting the preset.
You w ill be prompted to type in the name of the new resolution
preset. If using Harmony Server, you w ill also be asked to select inw hich part of the database you w ant the preset to be saved.
Save Resolution Setting

Resolution

The resolution of the scene defines the w idth and height of thecanvas in pixels. By default, the scene w ill be rendered in thisresolution. If using bitmap layers or textured brush strokes, thedefinition of the pixels in your artw ork w ill also be based on thescene's resolution.

Scene W idth

The w idth of the resolution for the scene, in pixels.

Scene Height

The w idth of the resolution for the scene, in pixels.

Aspect Ratio

Displays the ratio betw een the horizontal and vertical dimensions of
the scene. For example, if the scene w idth and height are the same

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Icon

Parameter

Description

value, this ratio equals 1. The standard aspect ratio for w idescreen
televisions is 1.777. For legacy displays, it is 1.333.

The angle of the field of view , w hich determines the size of thecamera cone as w ell as the w ay the field grid used to position
elements is adjusted to fit the scene.
lField of View

Horizontal Fit: The field of view is automatically adjusted sothat the field grid and camera cone fit the horizontal lengthof the scene.

lVertical Fit: The field of view is automatically adjusted sothat the field grid and camera cone fits the vertical length of
the scene.

The amount of animation frames to play each second. Increasing the
FPS w ill make your animation play faster, and decreasing it w ill
make it play slow er.
lPreset: Allow s you to select a frame rate for your scene
among one of many commonly used preset frame rates.

l

FPS:Allow s you to type in the frame rate for your scene.

Frame RateNOTE
The standard framerate for film production is 24 frames per
second. How ever, televisions in some countries play at 25
frames per second. Some productions may use 23.976
frames per second to preserve compatibility w ith legacy
standard displays.

Alignment Tab
The alignment tab is used to determine the aspect ratio, the position and the size of the field grid used toposition elements in the scene.
In Harmony are positioned in fields, a unit used in traditional animation w hich traditionally ranges from 0 to 12
follow ed by a cardinal direction, and in w hich 0,0 is the center of the scene.
The default Alignment setting in Harmony is based on such a traditional 4:3 draw ing grid. In a scene w ith an
aspect ratio of 4:3, this means that positioning an element 12 fields in any direction w ill make it reach one of
the edges of the camera field. For example, 12 North is the vertical position of the upper edge of the camera
field, and 12 East is the horizontal position of the right edge of the camera field.

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How ever, since the most commonly used scene resolutions have an aspect ratio of 16:9, and the default grid isin a 4:3 proportion, the grid used to position element w ill not be in the same proportions as the camera field.
The w ay this is handled is determined by the Field of View setting in the Resolution tab. If your field of view is
set to Horizontal fit, the field grid w ill be made to fit the scene horizontally, and stretch beyond the verticaledges of the scene. This means that 12 East w ill still be the right edge of the screen, but the position of theupper edge of the scene w ill be about 9.36 North. Likew ise, if the field of view is set to Vertical Fit, the upperedge of the field w ill be at 12 North, but the right edge w ill be at about 16 East.
Some artists or studios may prefer to use a square fields grid, w here fields have the same size horizontally andvertically.

Parameter

Description

The list of alignment presets. By default, Harmony has these tw o alignment
presets:l

4:3 12 Fields: Defines the units of your project to have a 4:3 ratio and sets
up 12 of these units to run both vertically and horizontally in four cardinalquarters (NW , NE, SW , SE). This is the default setting, and it corresponds
to an animation grid used in traditional animation. Hence, coordinates
based on a traditional animation grid can be entered in Harmony as is toposition elements w here they are expected to be.

l

Square 12 Fields: Defines the units of your project to have a 1:1 or squareratio and sets up 12 units to run both vertically and horizontally in four
cardinal quarters (NW , NE, SW , SE).

Alignment

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Parameter

Description

NOTE
W hen the Grid is displayed in the Camera and Draw ing view , it is alw ays
based on the 4:3 12 Fields alignment preset, regardless of your scene'salignment setting. To display the grid, from the top menu, select View >Grid > Show Grid.

The aspect ratio of each field. This describes the proportional difference betw een
the w idth and the height of the field. By default, it is set to 4:3, w hich means thew idth of each field w ill take 4 unites of length for each 3 units the height of the
field takes. In other w ords, the w idth of a field is 1.333 times its height. If set to,for example, 1:1, the fields w ill be perfectly square.

Units Aspect Ratio

The number of fields the grid should have in each direction. In the Number ofUnits fields, enter the number of horizontal, vertical and depth units for yourscene’s grid.

Number of Units

The grid is a specific size based on the scene's resolution and field of view angle.
Changing the amount of units for each direction w ill not change the size of thegrid, but rather, the size of the units. Hence, if an element is offset at 3 North, 4
East, and you change the number of horizontal and vertical units from 24 to 12,
the element w ill become offset tw ice as far from the centre as it originally w as.
The third setting in this field determines the amount of units across the Z axis.
This determines how far each unit w ill take an element further or closer to thecamera w hen moved on the Z-axis. By default, the grid has 12 fields across the Zaxis, w hich is half the amount of fields on the X and Y axes by default. Hence,160

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Parameter

Description

each field on the Z-axis is w orth exactly tw ice the length of a field on thehorizontal axis.
Animators w ho are familiar w ith traditional animation method w ill understandthe default setting of 24 units horizontal by 24 units vertical as it corresponds to a
traditional animation grid.

The offset for the centre of the fields grid. The centre of the fields grid is w here
Coordinates at Centre

elements are positioned by default, w hen they themselves are at coordinates 0,0.
To change the centre, you must enter its offset from the actual centre of the gridin fields. For example, if your fields grid is 24 x 24, and you w ant the centre to beat the top-left corner, you should enter -12,-12.

Saves your current Alignment settings and be able to select them later from the
list.

Save

TIP
If you prefer w orking in pixel-based positions, you must set the aspect ratio of your units to be thesame as the aspect ratio of your scene resolution, set the horizontal number of units to the w idth ofyour scene in pixels, the vertical number of units to the height of your scene in pixels, and thedepth number of units to the w idth of your scene in pixels. This w ay, each unit w ill translate toexactly 1 pixel, in all directions.

NOTE
Each layer also has an alignment rule, w hich determines how it is positioned relative to the fields
grid. By default, it is set to "Centre First Page". How ever, this alignment rule is made to becompatible to 4:3 fields grids. Hence, if you change your scene's alignment rules, your layers w ill
be offset. To avoid this issue, change the alignment rules of your layers to "Centre" via the
Advanced tab of the Layer Properties view .

Drawing Resolution Tab
The draw ing resolution tab is used to set the pixel density of bitmap draw ings as w ell as of bitmap textures intextured brush strokes in vector draw ings. Also, it is used to set the size of the canvas for bitmap draw ings
relative to the size of the scene.

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NOTE
These settings are applied to new ly created draw ings in the scene, but not to existing draw ings inyour scene. To change the pixel density of existing vector draw ings, you must select Drawing >Change Vector Drawing Brush Resolution from the top menu. To change the pixel density andcanvas size of existing bitmap draw ings, you must select Drawing > Change Bitmap Drawing
Resolution from the top menu.

NOTE
You can change the default draw ing resolution settings for new scenes in the Draw ing tab of thePreferences dialog.

Parameter

Description

Scene Resolution

This indicates the currently selected scene resolution preset and its dimensions in
pixels.

Default Texture Density for
Vector Draw ings

Pixel Density:Determines the amount of pixels to store in textured brush strokes
for each pixel that displays w hen the draw ing is not zoomed in or scaled up. For
example, at 100%, zooming in or scaling up textured brush strokes w ill makethem lose texture quality. If set to 200%, textured brush strokes can be zoomed inor scaled up until they're tw ice their original size w ithout losing picture quality.

Default Canvas Size andW idth: The default w idth of the canvas w hen creating draw ings in a bitmap

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Parameter

Description

draw ing layer. The percentage is relative to the w idth of the scene. Its default
value, 200%, makes the w idth of the canvas tw ice the w idth of the stage.
Height: The default height of the canvas w hen creating draw ings in a bitmap
draw ing layer. The percentage is relative to the height of the scene. Its default
value, 200%, makes the height of the canvas tw ice the height of the stage.

Pixel Density for Bitmap
Draw ings

Pixel Density: Determines the amount of pixels to store for each pixel that
displays on the screen w hen the draw ing is not zoomed in or scaled up. For
example, at 100%, zooming in or scaling up a bitmap draw ing w ill make it lose
picture quality. If set to 200%, bitmap draw ings can be zoomed in or scaled up
until they're tw ice their original size w ithout losing picture quality.

Colour SpaceParameter

W orking Colour
Space

Description

The w orking colour space of a project is the one used internally by Harmony. It is also thedefault colour space used for decoding the colours in draw ing layers as w ell as for exporting
images and movies. How ever, those can be configured to be different from the project colour
space if needed.
The follow ing colour spaces are available in Harmony:l

No Colour Space Management: No colour space conversion w ill be done in the entire
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Parameter

Description

scene.
lLinear: The same primaries and w hite point as sRGB and Rec. 709, but w ith no gammatransfer curve applied to the colour values. This colour space is useful for compositing
intermediary images that are meant to be rendered in sRGB or Rec. 709.

l

Display P3: A colour space commonly used for digital projection. It has the same
primaries as DCI-P3, the same w hite point as sRGB and the same gamma transfer
curve as sRGB.

l

Display P3 Linear: The same as Display P3, except w ith no gamma transfer curve. This
colour space is useful for compositing intermediary images that are meant to berendered in Display P3.

lRec. 709: The colour space used for HDTV. It has the same primaries and w hite point
as sRGB, but has a different gamma transfer curve.

lRec. 709 2.4: The same colour space as Rec. 709 or sRGB, except w ith a gammatransfer curve of 2.4 (per ITU-R BT.1886). This colour space exists because someediting systems use a gamma transfer curve of 2.4 instead of the standard gamma
curve for Rec. 709.

lRec. 2020: A colour space used for Ultra High Definition TV (UHDTV). It has a complex
gamma transfer curve and primaries that cover more of the human-perceivable colour
space than other colour spaces, especially in the area of human-perceivable greens.

lRec. 2020 2.4: The same colour space as Rec. 2020, except w ith a simple gammatransfer curve of 2.4 (per ITU-R BT.1886). This colour space exists because someediting systems use a gamma transfer curve of 2.4 instead of the standard gamma
curve for Rec. 2020.

lRec. 2020 Linear: The same colour space as Rec. 2020, except w ith no gamma transfer
curve. This colour space is useful for compositing intermediary images that are meant
to be rendered in Rec. 2020.

lsRGB: A colour space typically used for standard computer monitors. It has the same
primaries and w hite point as Rec. 709, but has a different gamma transfer curve.

By default, your draw ing layers are read in the same colour space as your project, and yourrendered frames are created in the same colour space as your project as w ell. How ever, if thecolour space for the project is different from the colour space used for draw ing layers and fromthe colour space used for rendering your scene, the project colour space serves as the“intermediary” colour space.
This means that, in the process of rendering your scene, your draw ing layers are converted
from their colour space to the project’s colour space, after w hich they are composited together
along w ith your scene’s visual effects, and finally the rendered image is converted to the colour
space selected for rendering your scene.
Hence, from a compositing perspective, it is recommended to set your project’s w orkspace tothe linear variant of the colour space used for your draw ing layers and for rendering your164

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Parameter

Description

scene. W orking this w ay ensures that calculations made on the colour values for compositing
visual elements effects are not affected by the colour space’s gamma curve. The follow ing is atable of recommended colour space configurations:

Processing Bit
Depth

Drawing Layer Colour Space

Project Colour Space

Rendering Colour SpacesRGB

LinearsRGB

Rec. 709

LinearRec. 709

Rec. 709 2.4

LinearRec. 709 2.4

Rec. 2020

Rec. 2020 Linear

Rec. 2020

Rec. 2020 2.4

Rec. 2020 Linear

Rec. 2020 2.4

Display P3

Display P3 Linear

Display P3

Allow s you to select either 16 bits or 32 bits per channel processing. The default value is 32
bits.

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Scripts Manager Dialog Box
The Scripts Manager dialog allow s you to create buttons in the Scripting toolbar. Each button you create canrun a specific function in one of your scripts. You can also choose an icon and a tool tip for the button, if you
w ant.

NOTE
For tasks related to this dialog box, see the User Guide.

How to access the Scripts Manager Dialog Box
1. Add the Scripting toolbar to your w orkspace by doing one of the follow ing:l

In the top menu, select W indows > Toolbars > Scripting.

l

Right-click on any existing toolbar and select Scripting.

2. In the Scripting toolbar, click on theManage Scripts button.

The Scripts Manager dialog box opens.

Parameter

Description

Files

A list of the available JavaScript files.

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Functions

A list of the available functions for the selected script.

In Toolbar

The list of script functions already added to the Scripting toolbar.

Runs the selected function.

ExecuteTIP
Press Esc to interrupt the execution of the script.

Customize Icon

Allow s you to select an icon for the toolbar button. Clicking on this button w ill
open an Open dialog prompting you to brow se for and select a .png, .jpg, .xpm
or .svg file.

Customize Tooltip

Allow s you to type in a custom tooltip for the toolbar button.

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Select Colour Dialog Box
The Select Colour dialog box lets you set the colour of layers and columns. Using colours for layers andcolumns helps to differentiate them visually, making them easy to identify. The colours you choose w ill bereflected in the Node view .
You can select a colour by choosing from a basic set of colours, using the colour w heel or by specifying theHSV or RGB values. Once you have selected a colour, you can adjust its intensity and save it as a custom
colour that you can reuse.

How to access the Select Colour dialog box in the Timeline view
1. In the Timeline view , click the Change Track Colour

button of the layer you w ant to modify.

The Select Colour dialog box opens.

How to access the Select Colour dialog box in the Xsheet view
1. In the Xsheet view , select one or more columns to modify.
2. Right-click on the column’s header and select Colour > Change Columns Colour.
The Select Colour dialog box opens.

Parameter

Description

Basic colours

A basic set of colours to choose from.

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Custom colours

Displays the custom colours you previously stored using the Add to Custom
Colours button.

Add to custom colours

Lets you add the selected colour to the Custom colours list above.

Colour w heel

Lets you select a colour by dragging the T-shaped pointer.

Value slider

Once you select a colour, you can drag the slider to change the intensity and see it
preview ed in the Colour Preview w indow below ..

Colour Preview

Displays the colour you are currently selecting. To apply the colour, click OK.

Hue, Saturation, Value

Lets you set the hue (colour), saturation (amount of colour) and brightness (value)of the colour.

Red, Green, Blue

Lets you set the red, green and blue values.

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Selection Presets Dialog Box
As you're animating, you might find that you are constantly selecting the same pegs, draw ing layers, bezier
points on a deformation envelope, part of a character rig, etc. You can create a preset that automaticallyselects any defined element or group of elements.

How to access the Selection Presets dialog box
1. Add the Scripting toolbar to your interface:l

Go to the top menu and select W indows > Toolbars > Scripting.

lright-click on the empty space near the top of the interface and from the quick-access menu
selecting Scripting.

lright-click on the empty space near the top of a view and from the quick-access menu
selecting Scripting.

2. In the Scripting toolbar, click on the Manage Scripts

button to open the Scripts Manager

w indow .
3. In the Scripts Manager, in the Files section, select the file TB_SelectionPreset.js.
The functions associated w ith that file appear in the Functions section.
4. In the Functions section, select TB_SelectionPreset.
The Add script to toolbar

button becomes active.

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5. Click on the Add script to toolbar
The TB_SelectionPreset script

button.
button is added to the Scripting toolbar.

6. Click Apply.
7. Click OK.
8. In the Scripting toolbar, click on the TB_SelectionPreset

button.

The Selection Presets w indow opens.

Parameter

Description

RefreshRemoves any highlighted zones from the Group column.

Add Selection Preset

Opens the Save Selection As Preset dialog box. After entering a name for the
new preset and clicking OK, a new Selection Preset is added to the Selection
Presets list. Note: before clicking on the Add button, make a selection in yourscene of the elements for w hich you w ish to create a Selection Preset.

Delete Selection Preset

Deletes the selected Selection Preset from the list.

Group

Double-click in this area, next to the Selection Preset you w ish to use, to selectthe elements defined by the preset.

Name

Displays the name of the preset.

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Apply to Selection

Selects the elements defined by the selected preset from the Name list.

Close

Closes the Selection Presets w indow .

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Sequence Fill Dialog Box
The Sequence Fill dialog box lets you Lets you create a numbered sequence over a selection. The sequencecan be forw ard, backw ard, single, double or higher increment, as a cycle, and so on. The selection can be over
one cell or a cell range in one column or more or an entire column or many entire columns.

How to access the Sequence Fill dialog box
1. In the Timeline or Xsheet view , select a cell range.

2. Do one of the follow ing:l

From the top menu, select Animation > Cell > Sequence Fill.

l

In the Timeline view , right-click and select Exposure > Sequence Fill.

l

In the Xsheet toolbar, click the Sequence Fillbutton (you may have to customize

the toolbar to display it).
lPress Ctrl + M (W indow s/Linux) or ⌘ + M (macOS)).

The Sequence Fill dialog box opens.

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Parameter

Description

Starting Value

The first number in the sequence.

Increment

Lets you type the number by w hich the draw ing number w ill increase from frame
to frame. For example, an increment of 1 gives you: 1-2-3-4; an increment of 2
gives you: 1-3-5-7; and -2 gives you this: 8-6-4-2.

Hold

The exposure holding value.

Cycle

Enable this option to cycle the values and enter the number of cycles in the Cycle
field.

End Frame

Enable this option to stop the fill at a specific frame w ithin the selection. Indicate
the frame number in the End Frame field.

Padding

Enable this option to add a 0 padding before the draw ing name. In the Padding
field, enter as many hash symbols (#) as digit you w ant in your draw ing name,including the value itself.

Add Key Exposure After

Inserts a key exposure on the frame follow ing the last cell of the new fillselection.

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Set Ease for Multiple Parameters Dialog Box
The Edit Set Ease for Multiple Parameters dialog box lets you apply ease to multiple functions and keyframes.
You can display the function curve and modify the Bezier or Ease curve.

How to access the Set Ease for Multiple Parameters dialog box
1. In the Timeline view , select a keyframe on one or more layers.

2. Do one of the follow ing:l

In the Timeline view , right-click and select Set Ease For Multiple Parameters.

l

In the Timeline toolbar, click the Set Ease For Multiple Parameters

button.

The Set Ease For Multiple Parameters dialog box opens.

Parameter

Description

Filters

MotionMotion: Applies the easing parameters to the selected Position X, Position Y,
Position Z and 3D Path functions.

Rotation: Applies the easing parameters to the selected Angle functions.

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Parameter

Description

Scale: Applies the easing parameters to the selected Scale functions.

Skew: Applies the easing parameters to the selected Skew functions.

Morphing: Applies the easing parameters to the selected Morphing Velocity
functions. Note that it applies to the Morphing velocity function found in the Layer
Properties w indow , not the basic morphing ease in the Tool Properties view .

Other: Applies the easing parameters to all the other the selected functions, suchas all functions created to animate effect parameters.

Left and Right Time Ratio

Lets you type the percentage value corresponding to the length of time you w ant
the easing to last. Stay betw een 0% and 100%. If you go beyond 100%, yourmotion w ill overshoot.

Left and Right Value Ratio

Lets you type the percentage value of how strong you w ant the easing out to be.
Stay betw een 0% and 100%. If you go beyond 100%, your motion w ill overshoot.

Apply/Previous

Applies the easing parameters to the selected keyframes and then selects theprevious keyframe in the timeline.

Apply

Applies the easing parameters to the selected keyframes.

Apply/Next

Applies the easing parameters to the selected keyframes and then selects thenext keyframe in the timeline.

Close

Close the dialog box. If you did not apply the modifications, they w ill becancelled.

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Set Ease on Keyframes Dialog Box
The Set Ease on Keyframes dialog box allow s you to quickly change the percentage of ease before and after aselection of keyframes.

This dialog box is designed to quickly adjust the “time ratio” of the ease on your animations. To give you abetter idea of its effect, select a keyframe and open the Set Ease for Multiple Paramters dialog box. This dialog
box allow s you to adjust the ease of your animations using Bezier handles. Moving the Bezier handle laterally
changes the time ratio of the ease, and moving it vertically changes its value ratio—see Set Ease for Multiple
Parameters Dialog Box on page 175.

How to access the Set Ease on Keyframes dialog box
1. In the Timeline view , select one or several animation keyframes.
2. In the Timeline toolbar, click on the

Set Ease on Selected Keyframes button.

The Set Ease on Keyframes dialog box appears.

Parameter

Description

Allow s you to adjust the ease left of the selected keyframes.
Ease In (left)l

If the checkbox is unchecked, the ease left of the selected keyframes w ill be

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Parameter

Description

unchanged.
l

If the checkbox is checked, the ease left of the selected keyframes w ill be set to thepercentage in the input-field right of the checkbox.

Allow s you to adjust the ease right of the selected keyframes.
lEase Out (right)

If the checkbox is unchecked, the ease right of the selected keyframes w ill beunchanged.

l

If the checkbox is checked, the ease right of the selected keyframes w ill be set to thepercentage in the input-field right of the checkbox.

OK

Applies the selected changes and closes the dialog box.

CancelCloses the dialog box w ithout making any changes.

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference GuideShow Hidden Columns Dialog Box
The Show Hidden Columns dialog box lets you display all the columns contained in the exposure sheet. It canbe used to hide individual columns.

How to access the Show Hidden Columns dialog box
1. In the Xsheet view , do one of the follow ing:lClick the thick grey line that represents a hidden column.

lRight-click on the column header and select Show Hidden Columns.

lPress Alt + Shift + H.

The Show Hidden Columns dialog box opens.

Parameter

Description

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Show

Lets you select the hiddens columns to display in the Xsheet view .

Name

Name of the draw ing.

Type

Indicates the column type such as column, timing, and expression.

Check

Selects all columns.

Uncheck

Deselects all selected columns.

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OpenQuickTime Sound Options Dialog Box (GNU/Linux)
The OpenQuickTime Sound Options dialog box (titled MediaSettings) allow s you to configure the audio
compression settings w hen exporting a QuickTime movie on Linux.

On GNU/Linux, Harmony uses the OpenQuickTime framew ork to export QuickTime movies. This framew ork
uses its ow n user interfaces to allow you to configure the video and audio compression settings for a movie.
Because OpenQuickTime only comes bundled w ith non-prorprietary codecs, its compression options arelimited.

NOTESlFor tasks related to this dialog box, refer to the User Guide.

lThis dialog can only be accessed on GNU/Linux.

How to access the OpenQuickTime Sound Options dialog box
1. From the top menu, select File > Export > Movie.
The Export Movie dialog box appears.

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2. In the Movie Format drop-dow n, select QuickTime ProRes Movie (*.mov).
3. Click on the Movie Options button.
The QuickTime Movie Options dialog box appears.

4. In the Codec drop-dow n, select any of the movie options.

How to access the OpenQuickTime Sound Options dialog box from the Export
OpenGL Frames dialog
1. In the top menu, select File > Export > OpenGL Frames.
The Export OpenGL Frames dialog box appears.

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2. In the Format section, select Movie.
3. In the Movie Format drop-dow n, select QuickTime Movie (*.mov).
4. Click on the Sound Options button.

Parameter

Description

Lets you select a codec. By default, the follow ing codecs w ill be available:l

A- Law 2:1: This codec uses logarithms to compress audio data. The
resulting audio stream requires half the disk space of uncompressed audio
data, but is of noticeably low er quality.

l

IMA 4:1: This codec compresses audio data to require a quarter of the disk
space required for uncompressed audio data. It is not supported by a lot ofsoftw are.

l

Twos Complement - Little Endian PCM: A standard uncompressed audio
codec.

lTwos Complement - Big Endian PCM: A legacy standard uncompressedaudio codec. This codec may be compatible w ith older editing interfaces.

l(mu)- Law 2:1: Similarly to A-Law , this codec uses logarithms tocompress audio data. The resulting audio stream requires half the disk
space of uncompressed audio data, but is of noticeably low er quality.

codec

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NOTE
It is recommended to leave this option to its default value, Twos
Complement - Little Endian PCM, as it is commonly used for storing
uncompressed audio. Other encoding formats are likely to sacrifice audio
quality for negligible savings in disk space.

Sample rate

The sample rate at w hich to export your scene's audio. The only available option
is 22050 Hz, as it is the sample rate used internally by Harmony.

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QuickTime Sound Settings Dialog Box (W indows)
The Sound Settings dialog box allow s you to set the audio compression settings w hen you w ant to export a
QuickTime Movie (.mov) file.

NOTES
l

For tasks related to this dialog box, refer to the User Guide.

lThis dialog can only be accessed on W indow s and requires Apple QuickTime to be installed.

How to access the QuickTime Sound Settings dialog box
1. From the top menu, select File > Export > Movie.
The Export Movie dialog box appears.

2. In the Movie Format drop-dow n, select QuickTime ProRes Movie (*.mov).

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3. Click on the Movie Options button.
The QuickTime Movie Options dialog box appears.

4. In the Codec drop-dow n, select any of the movie options.

How to access the QuickTime Sound Settings dialog box from the Export OpenGL
Frames dialog
1. In the top menu, select File > Export > OpenGL Frames.
The Export OpenGL Frames dialog box appears.

2. In the Format section, select Movie.
3. In the Movie Format drop-dow n, select QuickTime Movie (*.mov).
4. Click on the Movie Options button.

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The QuickTime Movie Settings dialog box appears.

5. In the Sound section, click Settings.

Parameter

Description

Allow s you to select the compression algorithm to use the compress the movie'saudio track.
Compressor

NOTE
It is recommended to leave this setting to None, as other formats are likely
to sacrifice audio quality for negligible savings in disk space.

Allow s you to select the sample rate, or frequency, in w hich to export the audio
track for the movie.

Rate

NOTE
Harmony cannot export audio at a higher sample rate than 22.050 kHz. If
you select a higher sample rate, your project's audio w ill be upsampled,w hich means it w ill take more disc space w ithout increasing in quality.

Size

Allow s you to select the bit depth in w hich to encode the audio track. This
determines the amount of precision to record each w avelength in the audio track.

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Parameter

Description

NOTE
The standard bit depth is 16- bit. If you choose 8- bit, the amount of disk
space the audio track of your movie file requires w ill be halved, but theaudio quality w ill be significantly low er.

Allow s you to select w hether to export the movie's audio track using the Mono or
Stereo channel mode.
Use

NOTE
Stereo sound has a separate track for the left and right speakers, w hereas
mono sound only has a single audio track for all speakers.

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QuickTime Standard Video Compression Settings Dialog Box(W indows)
The Standard Video Compression Settings dialog box allow s you to configure the video compression settings
w hen exporting a QuickTime Movie (.mov) file.

NOTES
l

For tasks related to this dialog box, refer to the User Guide.

lThis dialog can only be accessed on W indow s and requires Apple QuickTime to be installed.

How to access the QuickTime Standard Video Compression Settings dialog box
1. From the top menu, select File > Export > Movie.
The Export Movie dialog box appears.

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2. In the Movie Format drop-dow n, select QuickTime ProRes Movie (*.mov).
3. Click on the Movie Options button.
The QuickTime Movie Options dialog box appears.

4. In the Codec drop-dow n, select any of the movie options.

How to access the QuickTime Standard Video Compression Settings dialog box fromthe Export OpenGL Frames dialog
1. In the top menu, select File > Export > OpenGL Frames.
The Export OpenGL Frames dialog box appears.

190Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

2. In the Format section, select Movie.
3. In the Movie Format drop-dow n, select QuickTime Movie (*.mov).
4. Click on the Movie Options button.
The QuickTime Movie Settings dialog box appears.

5. In the Video section, click Settings.

Parameter

Description

Compression Type

Allow s you to select the codec to use to compress the video stream of yourmovie. It is recommended to use one of the follow ing codecs, depending on your191

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Parameter

Description

usage scenario:l

H.264: A very effective lossy compression algorithm that is commonly
supported by w eb brow sers and most media players.

l

MPEG- 4 Video: A very effective lossy compression algorithm that iscommonly supported by media players, but less so by w eb brow sers.

lAnimation: A high quality compression algorithm that is commonly used
for media interchange and video editing.

TIPSl

You can export a video w ith transparency by selecting the Animation
codec and setting the Depth setting to Millions of Colors+.

l

You can export a video w ith virtually lossless compression by selecting
the Animation codec and setting Quality setting to Best.

MotionFrame Rate

The amount of frames per second for the video stream. Leave this setting toCurrent to use your project's frame rate.

Some codecs compress the video by recording a limited amount of keyframes,
w hich are frames in w hich the entire picture is encoded, pixel by pixel and, inbetw een, recording deltas, w hich are frames that are only defined by theirdifference w ith the previous frame. This significantly reduces the size of the movie
file. How ever, the less keyframes a movie has, the more it is likely to encounter
decoding errors, and the harder it is for players to scrub or jump to a specific timein the video. This option allow s you to decide w hen keyframes are inserted in thevideo stream.
Automatic: Lets the encoder decide w hen keyframes should be inserted.
Key Frames

Every ... frames: Allow s you to set the exact interval, in frames, at w hichkeyframes should be inserted.
All: Encodes every frame as a keyframe. This option w ill significantly impact filesize, but w ill make it easier to scrub through the video w ithout causing any
rendering error.

NOTE
If you are using the H.264 codec, you must set the Key Frames option to All,or you w ill get an error message w hen you confirm the compression
settings.

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Parameter

Frame Reordering

Description

Encodes frames in a different order than the one at w hich they are meant to be
displayed. This allow s for more efficient compression, but may not be compatible
w ith some players.

Compressor

Allow s you to set the colour depth for your video. A low er colour depth w ill
reduce the size of the video stream but w ill have significant impacts on picture
quality.
Depth

TIP
Set this to Millions of Colors+ if you w ant to export a video w ith
transparency.

Quality

Lets you choose a quality setting for the video compression. A higher quality
setting w ill increase the size of the movie file, but w ill look better. A low er quality
setting w ill reduce the size of the movie file, but w ill cause blurriness andcompression artifacts to appear in the picture.

Allow s you to choose betw een the follow ing scan modes:lInterlaced: Frames are encoded starting w ith their odd-numberedscanlines, then their even-numbered scanlines.

lProgressive: Frames are encoded w hole, from the highest scanline to thelow est scanline.

Scan Mode /Interlaced

NOTE
Some codecs w ill display a drop-dow n allow ing you to select Interlaced or
Progressive, w hile others w ill simply have an Interlaced checkbox.

Allow s you to select one of the follow ing aspect ratios:
Aspect Ratio

Filterl

4:3: For output on standard definition displays.

l

16:9: For output to w idescreen displays.

W hen exporting w ith the PNG compression type, this determines the algorithm
w ith w hich each pixel is encoded relative to other pixels. Leaving this option to
Best w ill export in the most space-efficient filter, w ithout compromising picture
quality. Picking a filter may increase rendering speed a bit, at the expense of some193

Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Parameter

Description

disk space.

Data Rate

Automatic

Lets the encoder use the optimal bit rate for your compression settings.

Allow s you to specify the encoding bit rate.

NOTE

Restrict To

This setting w ill override other compression settings, so that the specified
bit rate is respected.

Optimize the encoding to be responsive depending on the intended view ing
method:l

CD/DVD- ROM: Optimizes the bit rate for a video that w ill be played using
an optical disc player.

lDownload: Optimizes the bit rate for a file that is going to be

Optimized For
dow nloaded, then view ed from the user's hard drive.
lStreaming: Optimized the bit rate for a video that w ill be streamed fromthe w eb and played as the video is being dow nloaded.

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Tint Offset/Blend Dialog Box
You can offset, blend, or mix the colours in a colour palette using the sliders and increasing the Amount value.

How to access the Tint Offset/Blend dialog box
1. From the Colour View menu, select Palettes > Tint Panel or right-click and select Tint Panel.
The Blend/Offset Tint panel opens.

Parameter

Description

OffsetOffsets the selected colours by the adjustments made using the HSB and RGB
sliders. Use the Amount slider to adjust the degree of offset. Use the Alpha slider
to adjust the opacity of the selected colour.

Blend

Blends the selected colours w ith the colour sw atch in the top-right corner. Use
the Amount slider to adjust the degree of blend. A blend of 100% turns theselected colours into the same colour as the sw atch. Adjusting the HSB and RGB
sliders affect the sw atch colour, w hich in turn affects the selected colours on theleft. Use the Alpha slider to adjust the opacity of the sw atch.

Mixer

Select a Base and Tint colour to form a third colour sw atch. Use the slider justbeneath to mix the Base and Tint colours by different amounts. This w ill affectthe mixed sw atch w hether it is selected or not. Select either the Tint or Basesw atch and use the HSB and RGB sliders to adjust its colour. This w ill affect themixed sw atch colour, w hich in turn affects the selected colours on the left.

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Timing Node

The Timing-nodes exist in a new category of nodes called “Timing” in the node-library. These nodes are used
to either show a different render at the given frame, or to transform the content w ith a transformation from adifferent frame. The Timing-nodes exists as both Retime (for Images) and Retime Transformation (fortransformations).
The Retime node takes an image input and output, and w ill provide the retimed transformation and render ofthat image.
The Retime Transformation node takes a transformation input and output, and w ill provide the retimed
transformation.

How to access the Retime and Retime Transformation Timing dialog box
1. In the Node View press Enter.
2. Type in the name of the node you w ant to search.
3. Select the node.
4. Click the yellow box on the left to open the dialog box.

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference GuidelRetime Mode: Defines the w ay in w hich this node calculates the target frame to output.
lTarget Frame: It w ill use the Value attribute as an exact frame and outputs the content fromthat frame.

lFrame Offset: It w ill use the Value attribute as an offset to the current frame and outputs
the content from that offset frame.

lValue: It provides the target frame or offset frame, depending on the retime mode.

lHold First Frame: This defines the node’s render behaviour. In the event that the retimed frame isless than 1 W hen enabled, the hold first frame option w ill cause the node to display the first frame
until the Retime node hits a valid frame above 1. W hen disabled, the node w ill remain blank until avalid retimed frame is reached.

lDisable Selection: This option is available in all timing nodes. It is recommended to disable thetiming node w hen modifying content, and reapply it w hen the content is complete.

lHide from Timeline: This option w ill collapse all attached content above this node in the Timeline,
preventing it from being selected or modified directly in the Timeline.

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Toolbar Manager Dialog Box
The Toolbar Manager dialog box lets you customize the toolbar in any of the view s. You can add your favourite
tools to a toolbar for an efficient w orkflow .

How to access the Toolbar Manager dialog box
1. Right-click on a toolbar in any view and select Customize. Note that the menu w ill not appear if
you right-click on a disabled icon.

Parameter

Description

Available Tools

Displays the complete list of tools available for customizing a toolbar.

Toolbar

Displays a list of the tools currently available on the toolbar.

Default

Restores the toolbar w ith its default items.

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Vectorization Parameters Dialog Box
The Vectorization Parameters dialog box lets you vectorize pencil draw ings, along w ith any red, blue or green
pencil marks you may have used to indicate highlights and shadow s. The draw ing w ill be vectorized into pure
red, blue, green and black (RGB values), w hile creating colour art zones w herever lines connect. After painting
in your tones and highlights, change your pure RGB colours to transparent (0 Alpha) in the Colour Picker
w indow and w atch the indicator colour zone lines disappear.

How to open the Vectorization Parameters dialog box
1. From the top menu, select File > Import > From Scanner.
You can also open it from any other import option that allow s you to customize the vectorization
parameters (i.e. from the scanner).
2. In the Scan Draw ings w indow , do the follow ing:l

In the Layer section, decide on the layer options.

l

In the Import Options section, select the Convert to Toon Boom Vector Drawing
optionl

Click Preview.

3. In the Vectorization section, click the Vectorization Parameters

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Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Options Tab
The Options tab contains the main vectorization settings. More settings are available in the Help tab.

Parameter

Description

Input

The input filters are applied to the bitmap image before it is vectorized.

One Pass

One threshold value is applied to both the Line and Colour Art. For draw ings w ith
distinct vector-style lines of mattes, you only need one pass.

Tw o Passes

Applies a different threshold value to each layer. For greyscale draw ings, you
may w ant to perform the vectorization process tw ice to apply different thresholdvalues to the Line and Colour Art layers.

Threshold

Determines w hich values in the scanned image are considered part of the Lineand Colour Art layer and w hat w ill be eliminated from the vectorized draw ing;
0% is w hite and 100% is black. The threshold is betw een these tw o values.

Expand Bitmap

Lets you enter a value to scale the bitmap to detect small variations in the line.
Use this option if you scanned a greyscale image and w ant to preserve small
variations in the texture to apply to the line art.

Jag Filter

Lets you enter a value to scale back the bitmap to remove some of the line’sroughness. This is useless w hen you have a draw ing that appears quite rough; theJag filter w ill eliminate excess strokes in the final draw ing.

Line Art Threshold(%)

Determines w hich values in the scanned image are considered part of the Line Art
layer and w hat w ill be eliminated from the vectorized draw ing; 0% is w hite and100% is black. The threshold is betw een these tw o values.

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Colour Art Threshold(%)

OutputDetermines w hich values in the scanned image are considered part of the Colour
Art layer and w hat w ill be eliminated from the vectorized draw ing; 0% is w hiteand 100% is black. The threshold is betw een these tw o values.

The output filters are applied during the vectorization process.

No Colour Art

No Texture

Does not generate filling zones in the Colour Art layer.

Does not generate texture in the Line Art layer in the final images. Select thisoption to create solid lines in the final line art.

Generate Matte in
Underlay Layer

Creates an opaque zone behind your draw ing’s lines to avoid seeing through thelayers.

Colour as Texture

Converts colour values into a texture layer.

Optical Registration

DPI

Peg Side

The optical registration options are used to automatically align draw ings basedon the position of the peg holes on the animation paper. The peg holes must
appear in the scanned draw ings for the optical registration to w ork.

Lets you enter the dots-per-inch value of your image. You must enter the samevalue as the DPI used to scan the image.

Lets you select the position of the peg holes on your draw ings. Identify w hether
they are on the top, bottom, left or right.

Determines how exact the location of the peg holes must be for the softw are torecognize them. There are tw o values to choose from:
Strictness

Strict: The peg holes must be in a tightly defined area to be recognized.
Loose: The peg holes can be recognized somew here in a larger area. This is therecommended setting.

Field Chart

Post Processing

Lets you indicate the size of the animation paper, 12 or 16.

The Post Processing filters are applied to the final vector images.

Remove Holes

Removes holes of a specified value that might make painting difficult.

Remove Dirt

Removes stray marks and dirt of a specified value. Try a value around 500.

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Remove Hair Size

Removes small strokes that have no line art.

Remove Hair:
Number of Passes

The number of times the draw ing w ill be analyzed to identify hair marks.

Miscellaneous

Close Gaps

Closes gaps in the Colour Art so you can paint it.

Smooth Passes forLine Art Before
Breaking Triangles

The number of times the smoothing operation runs before creating the triangles
that break lines in the draw ing. If unnecessary triangles are appearing in thedraw ing, increase this value.

Smooth Passes forLine Art

The number of times the smoothing operation is performed after the triangles
have been created. This further smooths the line art.

Preview

Show Strokes

Show s the strokes in the Vectorized Image panel.

Stroke Thickness

Show s the size of the strokes.

Help Tab
The Help tab contains the most advanced vectorization settings w hich you type in the Advanced Option fields
at the bottom of the Vectorization Parameters dialog box.

File IO Options-file <filename (including extension)> [ options ]202

Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide-infile <filename (including extension)>; same as -file-outfile <filename>; alternate output file-informat <format>; the input format. Used if reading from stdin-debug; turn on debug mode
-noforce; don't force output if image is inconsistent-version; print version information and quit
-output_version <version>; output files of this version. Valid versions can be: 0 or 604-force_unamed_palette_for_texture; w ill generate a texture in TVG's internal palette

Registration Options-register <dpi side strictness>; perform optical registration.
•

Side can be one of left, right, top, bottom or l, r, t, b.

•

Strictness can be either loose, strict or l, s.

-register_center_peg_holes; w ill use only round holes in 16 fields page-rcph; short form of register_center_peg_holes-registration_looseness_factor <factor>; registration looseness factor (default 2.000000)-rlf; short form of registration_looseness_factor-rdebug; output registration debug messages-pegpitch <inch (default 8.000000)>; distance betw een peg bars
-threshr < (default 0.500000)>; threshold for optical registration; range 0.0 to 1.0-rmargin <inch (default 1)>; region size w here to look for peg bars
-peg_distance_from_center <inch (default 5.25)>; peg distance from centre of the image-pdfc; short form of -peg_distance_from_center-out_peg_position <side (default same)>; w anted position of the peg on the draw ing.
•

Can be one of right, left, top, bottom (or r, l, t, b) or same.

•

A rotation w ill be performed if it is different from the side passed to -register.

-output_peg_matrix; output the peg transformation matrix on standard output.
- scanner_calibrate; < (default 1.0000 1.0000) > x and y scale factors to be applied to scanner image.

Filtering Options-pixel <pixel_shape (default '4x3')>; Valid values: 4x3

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Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes-gap <w orldUnits (default 10)>; close gaps up to this big-pencil; generate line art only
-keep_dirt; don't filter out dirt
-thresh <threshold (default 0.2)>; range 0.0 to 1.0-rmv_hairs <w orldUnits (default 1)> <passes (default 1)>•

remove hairs of size smaller than "size" in "passes" passes-rmv_holes <area (default 7)>; remove holes smaller than "area"-rmv_dirt <area (default 1)>; remove dirt smaller than "area"•

try values betw een 100 and 500 for rmv_holes and rmv_dirt. The area is in w orld units squared-rmv_triangles <w orldUnits (default 30.000000)>; remove triangles at "pixels"•

distance from each other. Use -no_break to remove all triangles-no_texture; don't generate textured strokes-color_as_texture; w ill vectorize the alpha channel and put the RGB colour in a textured colour-noclosegap; disable all gap closing algorithms-no_break; disable the breaking of line art-jag_filter <pixels (default 0>; expand the pixels in the vectorization bitmap-expand_bitmap <pixels (default 0>; expand the pixels in the vectorization bitmap-fit_errorc <error (default 1.000000>; fitting error for the colour art-fit_errorl <error (default 1.000000>; fitting error for the line art-smoothl <passes (default 1>; number of smooth passes for line art-smoothc <passes (default 1>; number of smooth passes for colour art-first_smooth <passes (default 0>; number of smooth passes for line art before breaking triangles-first_smoothl <passes (default 0>; number of smooth passes for line art before breaking triangles-first_smoothc <passes (default 0>; number of smooth passes for line art in colour art pass (needs -2pass)-2pass; specify tw o sets of parameters; one for line art "l", one for colour art "c"(-thresh, -rmv_holes and -rmv_dirt w ill be overridden by -threshl, threshc, -rmv_holesl,-rmv_holesc, -rmv_dirtl and -rmv_dirtc)-threshl <threshold for line art (default 0.5)>; range 0.0 to 1.0-threshc <threshold for color art (default 0.5)>; range 0.0 to 1.0-jag_filterl <pixels (default 0>; expand the pixels in the vectorization bitmap for line art

204Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide-jag_filterc <pixels (default 0>; expand the pixels in the vectorization bitmap for colour art-expand_bitmapl <pixels (default 0>; expand the pixels in the vectorization bitmap for line art-expand_bitmapc <pixels (default 0>; expand the pixels in the vectorization bitmap for colour art-rmv_holesl <area (default 7)>; remove line art holes smaller than "area"-rmv_holesc <area (default 7)>; remove colour art holes smaller than "area"-rmv_dirtl <area (default 1)>; remove line art dirt smaller than "area"-rmv_dirtc <area (default 1)>; remove colour art dirt smaller than "area"
try values betw een 100 and 500 for rmv_holesl, rmv_holesc, rmv_dirtl and rmv_dirtc. The values are in
w orld units squared-margins <inch (default 0.25)>; remove margin around bitmap-top_margin <inch (default 0.25)>; remove margin at top of bitmap-bottom_margin <inch (default 0.25)>; remove margin at bottom of bitmap-left_margin <inch (default 0.25)>; remove margin at left of bitmap-right_margin <inch (default 0.25)>; remove margin at right of bitmap-remove_peg_bars; remove the peg bar holes-field_size <fields (default 12 or use value in scan file)>; set the draw ing to this field size
-fs; short hand for -field_size-peg_bar_size <inch (default 1)>; the size of the peg bar region-noframe; do not put a frame around the colour art-frame_fields <default -1.000000>; put a frame of the specified dimension around the colour art-downscale_input <default 1>; dow nscale the raw input by this integer factor-downscale_texture <default 1>; dow nscale the output texture by this integer factor-buildmatte; generate a matte on underlay for line test
-buildmatte_colourart; generate a matte on colour art for line test

NOTE
-buildmatte and -buildmatte_colourart are mutually exclusive- copystrokes; copy original strokes w hen building matte.

Options for bitmap that has no registration information-pixel_margins <inch (default 0)>; remove margin around bitmap

205Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes-top_pixel_margin <inch (default 0)>; remove margin at top of bitmap-bottom_pixel_margin <inch (default 0)>; remove margin at bottom of bitmap-left_pixel_margin <inch (default 0)>; remove margin at left of bitmap-right_pixel_margin <inch (default 0)>; remove margin at right of bitmap-dpi <(default -1)>; dpi information of input bitmap

RGB Keying Options-rgb; generate separate zones for red, green and blue lines-rgb_alpha <value (default 255)>; generate red, green and blue colour w ith alpha of this value-no_red; ignore red colour in vectorization-no_green; ignore green colour in vectorization-no_blue; ignore blue colour in vectorization-flatten; flatten the draw ing after generating colours-rmv_rgb_dirt <threshold area default 0.0>; remove red, green and blue regions smaller than area
-expand_bitmap_rgb <pixels (default 0>; expand the pixels in the vectorization bitmap for rgb-threshrgb <value> <threshold for rgb vectorization default 0.200000>;-threshsv <saturation threshold default 0.500000> <value threshold default 0.500000>; thresholds onsaturation and value to consider a pixel to be grey

Colour Vectorization Options-color_vectorize; perform a colour vectorization-file2 <colour art filename>; specify the colour art bitmap-penstyle <center alpha (0.0-20.0)> <edge alpha (0.0-20.0)> <gamma (0-10)><centre pressure effect (0.01.0)> <edge pressure effect (0.0-1.0)><texture bitmap dow nscaling (0.2-20)> <texture bitmap file (valid
filename or "" if no file)>; generate brush texture for the line art-pressure_variation <strategy (0, 1 or 2)> <min pressure (0.0-1.0)> <max pressure (0.0-1.0)> <max variation(0.0-1.0)>; specify a pressure strategy for the centre line.
-blur_radius <pixels (default 0)>; blur the penstyle texture generated-color_contour_smooth_passes <times (default 3)>; perform number of smooth passes on contour before
computing texture-ccsp <times (default 3)>; short for -color_contour_smooth_passes-color_rmv_holesl <w orld units (default 0.000000)>; remove holes of this size w hen computing texture-color_fill_holesl <w orld units (default 0.000000)>; fill holes of this size for colour line art

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Bubble Usage (implemented only for colour vectorization's line art)-create_bubbles; add bubbles into the LineArt. Implemented for colour vectorization only
-bubble_gap <value (default 3)>; max number of colour art points betw een 2 bubbles-bubble_length <value (default 10)>; max number of circles in a bubble-min_radius <value (default 1.5000)>; min radius of a circle in a bubble relative to the line thickness (must be>= 1.0)-max_radius <value (default 3.5000)>; max radius of a circle in a bubble relative to the line thickness (must be>= 1.0)-uniform_gap; the space betw een bubbles is constant

4 Colour Vectorization- 4colours [key:value] ... [key:value] ; The key value list can be empty. The list of keys is:
rgbdiff:value ; betw een [0.0-1.0] or [0-255]
dark:value ; betw een [0.0-1.0] or [0-255]
grey:value ; betw een [0.0-1.0] or [0-255]
white:value ; betw een [0.0-1.0] or [0-255]
dirt:value ; dirt area. 200 is a good value
rt:value ; betw een [0.0-1.0] or [0-255]
gt:value ; betw een [0.0-1.0] or [0-255]
bt:value ; betw een [0.0-1.0] or [0-255]

NOTE
There must be no space betw een the colon and the key/value. For example: -4colours rgbdiff:20
dark:20 grey:120 w hite:250 dirt:200 rt:240 gt:240 bt:240

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Versions Dialog Box
The Versions w indow lets you delete any unnecessary versions of scenes w hen w orking w ith Harmony
Server. W hen w orking w ith multiple versions of a scene, you may to clean up the database by deleting theones you no longer need.

How to access the Versions window
1. Make sure you have the necessary rights. If you do not, select File > Rights to Modify Scene.
2. Select File > Manage Versions.

Parameter

Description

Existing Versions

Displays the different versions of a scene that you can delete.

Description

Displays information about the selected version.

Removes the selected version of a scene.

DeleteIMPORTANTThis operation cannot be undone.

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OpenQuickTime Video Options Dialog Box (GNU/Linux)
The OpenQuickTime Video Options dialog box (titled MediaSettings) allow s you to configure the video
compression settings w hen exporting a QuickTime movie on Linux.

On GNU/Linux, Harmony uses the OpenQuickTime framew ork to export QuickTime movies. This framew ork
uses its ow n user interfaces to allow you to configure the video and audio compression settings for a movie.
Because OpenQuickTime only comes bundled w ith non-prorprietary codecs, its compression options arelimited.

NOTESlFor tasks related to this dialog box, refer to the User Guide.

lThis dialog can only be accessed on macOS.

How to access the OpenQuickTime Video Options dialog box
1. From the top menu, select File > Export > Movie.
The Export Movie dialog box appears.

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2. In the Movie Format drop-dow n, select QuickTime ProRes Movie (*.mov).
3. Click on the Movie Options button.
The QuickTime Movie Options dialog box appears.

4. In the Codec drop-dow n, select any of the movie options.

How to access the OpenQuickTime Video Options dialog box from the Export
OpenGL Frames dialog
1. In the top menu, select File > Export > OpenGL Frames.
The Export OpenGL Frames dialog box appears.

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2. In the Format section, select Movie.
3. In the Movie Format drop-dow n, select QuickTime Movie (*.mov).
4. Click on the Video Options button.

Parameter

Description

Allow s you to select a video compression algorithm. By default, the follow ing
codecs are available:lMotion- JPEG A: A very portable codec that performs lossy JPEG
compression and interlaces the frames. Motion-JPEG A compression isless efficient than Photo JPEG in terms of quality and file size, but may be
a more portable alternative for softw are that does not support Photo
JPEG.

l

Photo JPEG: Encodes the movie as a sequence of JPEG images. JPEG
images have lossy compression. This is the most efficient codec for file
size.

l

Portable Network Graphics (PNG): Encodes the movie as a sequence of
PNG images. PNG images have lossless compression.

l

Tag Image File Format (TIFF): Encodes the movie as a sequence of
uncompressed TIFF images. This codec is lossless.

l

Uncompressed (RGB): Encodes the movie as uncompressed bitmap data.
This codec is lossless.

codec

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NOTE
Portable Network Graphics (PNG) and Photo JPEG are the only codecs inthis list that are natively supported by both Harmonyand GNOME's Totem
Video Player. Other codecs may require additional softw are to play on
GNU/Linux w orkstations.

quality

W hen using a JPEG-based codec, this allow s you to set the JPEG compression
quality. By default, this w ill be set to 85. Possible values range from 0 to 100. The
higher the quality, the more disk space the resulting video file w ill take.

fieldDominanceFor codecs w ith interlacing. This is set to 1 by default. If set to 1, the first field w ill
be encoded on odd frames, and the second field w ill be encoded on even frames.
If set to 2, the first field w ill be encoded on even frames, and the second field w ill
be encoded on odd frames.

compression

The amount of lossless compression to perform w hen exporting in PNG format.
PNG compression is lossless, but higher compression settings w ill take longer toencode and decode.

packbits

For movies encoded in TIFF. W hen enabled, this option adds extra losslesscompression to the encoding.

lendian

For movies encoded in TIFF. W hen enabled, the video data is encoded in little
endian byte order, instead of big endian.

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W indows Media Video Settings Dialog Box (W indows)
The W MV Settings dialog box allow s you to configure the video and audio settings w hen exporting a movie in
W indow s Media Video (.wmv) format.

NOTES
l

For tasks related to this dialog box, refer to the User Guide.

lThis dialog can only be accessed on W indow s.

How to access the W MV Options dialog box
1. From the top menu, select File > Export > Movie.
The Export Movie dialog box appears.

2. In the Movie Format drop-dow n, select QuickTime ProRes Movie (*.mov).

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3. Click on the Movie Options button.
The QuickTime Movie Options dialog box appears.

4. In the Codec drop-dow n, select any of the movie options.

How to access the W MV Options dialog box from the Export OpenGL Frames dialog
1. In the top menu, select File > Export > OpenGL Frames.
The Export OpenGL Frames dialog box appears.

2. In the Format section, select Movie.
3. In the Movie Format drop-dow n, select W indows Media Video (*.wmv).
4. Click on the Movie Options button.

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Parameter

Description

Video

Variable Bit Rate
Quality

Allow s you choose a quality setting ranging from 5 to 100 for the video stream.
The higher the quality of the export, the larger the resulting file.

Uncheck this checkbox if you w ant to export a movie w ithout an audio track.

NOTE

Sound

The Sound section of this dialog is not available if you are exporting an
EDL/AAF/XML sequence, as this type of export creates video files w ith noaudio track and export sound clips in separate sound files.

Allow s you to select one of the preset combinations of audio sample rates,
sample sizes and channel modes for the audio stream:l

Sample rate: Available sample rates are 8000 Hz, 16000 Hz, 22050 Hz
and 44100 Hz. The higher the sample rate, the better the audio quality.

NOTE
Harmony cannot export audio at a higher sample rate than 22.050
kHz. If you select a higher sample rate, your project's audio w ill be
upsampled, w hich means it w ill take more disc space w ithout
increasing in quality.

ProfilelSample size: Also know n as bit depth, this determines the amount ofprecision used to record each w avelength in the audio track. The standard
size is 16- bit. If you choose 8- bit, the amount of disk space the audio trackof your movie file requires is halved, but the audio quality w ill besignificantly low er.

NOTE
Exporting in 8-bit audio requires Apple QuickTime to be installed.

l

Channel mode: Available channel modes are Stereo and Mono. Stereo
sound has a separate audio track for the left and the right speakers,
w hereas mono sound uses a single track for all speakers.

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Chapter 1: Dialog Boxes

Xsheet Column W idth Dialog Box
The Xsheet Column W idth dialog box lets modify the w idth of a column in the Xsheet view and use it as thedefault column w idth.

How to access the Xsheet Column W idth Dialog Box
1. In the Xsheet view , select a column.
2. From the Xsheet menu, select View > Set Columns W idth.
The Xsheet Column W idth dialog box opens.

Parameter

Description

Columns W idth (pixels)

Lets you set the w idth of the selected columns (in pixels).

Apply

Applies the value you entered to the selected column w ithout closing the dialog
box.

Set As Default

Uses the value you entered as the default for all columns in the Xsheet.

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217

Chapter 2: Menus

Chapter 2: Menus
The Menus section covers all the menu entries available in Harmony. There are several types of menus in
Harmony: main menus, quick-access menus and view menus. Menus contains most of the functions available.
They may also have a toolbar button or keyboard shortcut equivalent.
Main Menus

219

Animation Menu

220

Draw ing Menu

228

Edit Menu

237

File Menu

241

Help Menu

244

Insert Menu

246

Play Menu

248

Scene Menu

250

View Menu

252

W indow s Menu

258

View Menus

260

Camera View Menu

261

Colour View Menu

278

Draw ing View Menu

281

Function View Menu

294

Library View Menu

296

Reference View Menu

298

Onion Skin View Menu

300

Perspective View Menu

302

Script Editor View Menu

308

Side View Menu

313

Timeline View Menu

318

Top View Menu

323

Xsheet View Menu

328

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Main Menus
The top menu contains most of the commands available in Harmony. Depending on the view you're w orking inand the selected element, some commands are available and others not. The top menu is alw ays located atthe very top of the interface.

On macOS, there is also a Harmony Advanced category that contains the follow ing commands: Preferences,
About, and Quit.
Animation Menu

220

Drawing Menu

228

Edit Menu

237

File Menu

241

Help Menu

244

Insert Menu

246

Play Menu

248

Scene Menu

250

View Menu

252

W indows Menu

258

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Chapter 2: Menus

Animation Menu
The Animation menu lets you access tools, adjust animation timing, set morphing and parameters, lock or
unlock layers, and select elements in the Xsheet and Timeline view s.

How to access the Animation menulAt the top of the interface, select Animation.

Command

Description

AnimateW hen this option is selected, every time you use theTransform or
Advanced Animation tools to manipulate an element
Animate Current Framein your scene, the position of the element w ill be stored in a keyframe
at the current frame. This allow s you to animate elements in yourscene w ithout creating keyframes manually.

W hen this option is selected, if you use theTransform or
Advanced Animation tools to make transformations to an

Animate Onion Skin Range

element in your scene, the transformations w ill be stored as keyframes
at the beginning and at the end of the current Onion Skin range, as
w ell as on every existing keyframe in-betw een. This can be useful if
you w ant to reposition an element that you have already animated, but
only during a specific range of frames, w hich you can define byenabling Onion Skin and setting the Onion Skin range to cover that
range of frames.

W hen this option is selected, if you use theTransform or
Advanced Animation tools to make transformation to an
Animate Off

element in your scene, the transformations w ill affect the element
throughout the w hole scene. This can be useful if you w ant toreposition an element after you have already animated it.

Stop-Motion Keyframe

Converts the selected keyframes to stop-motion keyframes. Betw een
a stop-motion keyframe and the next keyframe, Harmony does not
generate any animation and the element remains static until the next
keyframe.

Delete Keyframe

Deletes the selected keyframes.

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Tools

Transform

Allow s you to select draw ing layers and position, rotate, scale andskew them.

TranslateLets you move the selected element along the X and Y axes.

RotateTurns a selected element around its pivot point.

Scale

Increases or decreases the size of a selected element. You can scale an
object up to make it larger or dow n to make it smaller. Press Shift toscale the element w hile maintaining its proportions.

Skew

Slants the selected element.

Maintain Size

Keeps elements the same size aspect ratio in the Camera view as you
move them tow ards or aw ay from the camera.

Lets you reposition the visual trajectory w ithout offsetting or
modifying your animation. By default, the trajectory is located at 0,0,0
fields. If your elements w ere draw n in a different location than the
Spline Offset

centre of the draw ing area, it w ill look like the trajectory is not aligned
w ith your draw ing. Also, if you have several elements attached to one
trajectory, you might w ant your trajectory to be at a different location
to represent the group's motion better.

Cell

Increase Exposure

Adds one more exposure to a selected cell; repeating this action adds
an extra cell each time. This is an efficient w ay to extend a draw ing's
exposure and is alw ays set in Insert mode. Increasing an exposure
pushes the existing exposure forw ard.

Decrease Exposure

Decreases exposure of a selected cell by one; repeating this action
decreases one exposure adds an extra cell each time. This is anefficient w ay to shorten a draw ing's exposure. Decreasing an exposure
pulls in the existing exposure.

Set Exposure toLets you set the exposure to 1, 2, 3 or a custom exposure.

Extend Exposure

Lets you enter the frame up to w hich you w ant to extend the exposure.

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You can expose the draw ing in the frames and replace the draw ings
that w ere originally there or move the subsequent frames forw ard intime.

Add Key Exposure

Adds a key exposure to the selected cell.

Remove Key Exposure

Removes key exposures from the selected cells.

W hen w orking w ith draw ings to adjust the timing of a mouth in alipsync, for example, and forcing the use of specific key exposures,
unnecessary key exposures w ill be created. You can delete these
duplicates w ithout affecting the rest of the draw ing. The first draw ingof the selection w ill be used for the range.
Remove Duplicate Key Exposure

NOTE
Duplicate key exposures may occur w hen pasting w ith the
Enforce Key Exposure option selected.

Fill Empty Cells

Fills the empty frames in the selection w ith the exposure just before.
For example, if you select a range of frame that starts w ith an exposeddraw ing and then ends w ith empty cells, all of the empty cells in theselection w ill be filled w ith the exposed draw ing just before the empty
cells.

Insert Blank Cell

Adds an empty cell betw een other cells.

Clear Exposure

Removes the exposure from the selected cell.

Clear Exposure and Pull

Replaces the exposure from the selected cell w ith exposures that
follow it.

Fill Selection

Lets you fill the same value over an entire selection. The selection canbe over one cell, a cell range in one column, a cell range over manycolumns, an entire column, or many columns. You can use numbers,
w ords, letters, or any alphanumeric value.

Sequence Fill

Lets you create a numbered sequence over a selection. The sequencecan be forw ard, backw ard, single, double or higher increment, as acycle, and so on. The selection can be over one cell or a cell range in
one column or more or an entire column or many entire columns.

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Fill Cells Randomly

Lets you fill in random values over a selection. You can give amaximum and a minimum value and create a range for Harmony tochoose the random values from. The selection can be over one cell or acell range in one column or more or an entire column or many entire
columns.

Hold Exposure

Lets you expose a draw ing for three, four, or five cells and so on.

Morphing

Create Morphing

Allow s you to create and configure a morphing sequence, w hich w ill
automatically generate the in-betw eens betw een tw o draw ings in thecurrent layer.

Insert Morphing Key Draw ing

Creates a morphing keyframe from a selected morphing frame.

Delete Morphing

Once a cell is selected in a morphing sequence, deletes the entire
sequence betw een the tw o keyframes.

Convert Morphing to Draw ing

Contour Hint

Lets you convert your morphing inbetw eens to real draw ings you can
edit. This is useful w hen manually editing a morphing sequence or if
you prefer to have animation timing in double frame (on tw os) insteadof single frame (on ones).

The Contour Hint point is used on the colour fill zone and brush lines;
in other w ords, on Contour vectors. It allow s you to control the line
thickness and contour position. Also, if a contour is not animatedcorrectly, you can use hints to correct the animation. For example, if aflag is not w aving properly.
W hen adding a Contour Hint point, make sure to place it far enoughaw ay from the contour so you can see it snap to the contour.
Contour Hint points are yellow .

Zone Hint

The Zone Hint point is used on a colour zone to control the proximity
rule. The Zone Hint is placed in the centre of the colour zone.
Sometimes a colour zone is not associated w ith the corresponding one
by default. For example, in a splash animation there are many w ater
droplets that are the same colour. Harmony automatically morphs thedroplet to the nearest one. This is not alw ays the one you may havepredicted. A Zone Hint w ill force a colour zone to morph w ith anotherone.
Zone Hint points are cyan in colour.

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Chapter 2: Menus

Pencil Hint

A Pencil Hint point is used to control a pencil line, also know n as
central vector. It can be used on draw ings that w ere done using thePencil, Polyline, Ellipse, Line and Rectangle tools. Like the Contour
Hint, the Pencil Hint snaps to the central vector. Make sure to place it
far enough aw ay from the line so you w ill see it snap w hen you moveit.
Pencil Hint points are magenta in colour.

An Appearing Point Hint is used to control the trajectory of an

Appearing Point Hint

appearing shape. A shape w ill appear in the destination draw ing w hen
there is no corresponding shape in the source draw ing. If you do notplace an Appearing Point Hint to control the point of appearance, theshape w ill appear from its centre and expand outw ards.
Appearing Point Hint points are violet in colour.

Vanishing Point Hint

A Vanishing Point Hint is used to control the trajectory of a vanishing
shape. A shape w ill vanish from the source draw ing w hen there is nocorresponding shape in the destination draw ing. If you do not place a
Vanishing Point Hint to control the point of disappearance, the shape
w ill vanish into its centre.
Vanishing Point Hint points are green in colour.

Sw itch Betw een Morphing Key
Draw ings

Toggles betw een the tw o key draw ings in your morphing sequence.
This option is useful w hile setting hints. You can use the default
keyboard shortcut F4 to toggle betw een your draw ings.

Go to First Frame

Goes to the first frame of your morphing sequence.

Go to Previous Frame

Goes to the previous frame of the selected frame in the morphing
sequence.

Go to Next Frame

Goes to the next frame of the selected frame in the morphing
sequence.

Go to Last Frame

Goes to the last frame of your morphing sequence.

Suggest Hints

Automatically sets hint points on key draw ings as a help tool. If you're
not sure w here to set hints, you can use this option. It w ill set the main
hints w hich you can then fine tune.

Hide Hints

Temporarily hides the hint points from the key draw ings. Use this224

Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

option w hen you have a series of hint points hiding some lines you
w ould like to see.

Lip-Sync

Change Mouth Shape toLets you change the mouth shape to one of the follow ing: A, B, C, D, E,
F, G, X.

Auto Lip-Sync Detection

Generates a sound detection for lip-sync.

Map Lip-Sync

Automatically maps draw ings in an element to the mouth chart you
have generated for a sound. This can save time w hen you are lipsynching a voice track.

Flip Horizontal

Flips the selection horizontally.

Flip Vertical

Flips the selection vertically.

Flip Scale X

Once your draw ing layer is rotated, the original horizontal and verticalaxes change. The Flip Scale X and Flip Scale Y w ill perform a flip on
your draw ing layer follow ing its original axis.Remembers the original
X-axis of the layer and flips the element follow ing it.

Flip Scale Y

Remembers the original Y-axis of the layer and flips the element
follow ing it.

Flip

Linear Motion

Sw itches betw een a linear and curved corner.

Lock in Time

Indicates w hether the point is locked to a specific frame (keyframe) or
only locked to a specific position and the curve can flow through it
freely as other points are being added, moved, or adjusted (control
point).

No Z Dragging

Keeps the Z value constant w hen you drag a character using theTransform or Translate tool.

Substitute Draw ing Previous

Replaces the draw ing or cell's symbol on the current frame by theprevious draw ing.

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Chapter 2: Menus

Substitute Draw ing Next

Replaces the draw ing or cell's symbol on the current frame by the next
draw ing.

Go to Previous Keyframe

Goes to the previous keyframe.

Go to Next Keyframe

Goes to the next keyframe.

Select Previous Keyframe /Point

Select the previous keyframe/point.

Select Next Keyframe /Point

Select the next keyframe/point.

Select Child

Lets you select the first element parented to the selected peg elementin the Timeline view .

Select Children

Lets you select all elements parented to the selected peg element in
the Timeline view .

Select Parent

Lets you select the parent of the selected element in the Timelineview .

Select Previous Sibling

Lets you select the previous element (above current element) in theTimeline view .

Select Next Sibling

Lets you select the next element (below current element) in theTimeline view .

Lock

Reset

Lock

Locks one or a multiple selection of layers.

UnlockUnlocks one or a multiple selection of locked layers.

Lock All

Locks all the layers in the Timeline view .

Unlock All

Unlocks all the layers in the Timeline view .

Lock All Others

Locks every layer except the selected ones.

Returns the value of the selected element to the initial value of the226Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

active tool. For example, if the Rotate tool is active, the transformation
angle w ill be reset to 0 and if the Transform tool is active, all thetransformation values w ill be reset.

Reset All

Resets all transformations on the current frame in a selected layer.
Your keyframe w ill remain, but all the values w ill return to the starting
value. All transformations are reset regardless of the tool you're using.

Resets all transformations on the current frame except the Z position.
Reset All Except Z

This is useful w hen doing cut-out animation. Cut-out puppets often
have a particular Z ordering for the different view s of a character. Youmight w ant to reset the transformation, but not necessarily the Z
position.

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Drawing Menu
The Draw ing menu lets you access many tools related to draw ing, painting, dirt removal, optimizing strokes,
and more.

How to access the Drawing menulAt the top of the interface, select Drawing.

Command

Description

Draw ing Tools

Allow s you to select one of the draw ing tools available in Harmony.

SelectAllow s you to select and reposition, scale, rotate and skew brush strokes, pencil
lines, shapes and other parts of your artw ork.

Contour Editor

Allow s you to edit the vector contours of brush strokes, pencil lines and shapes inyour artw ork. You can add, remove, tw eak and move vector points, move theBezier handles of the vector points as w ell as deform vector outlines.

Centerline Editor

Allow s you to tw eak and deform a brush stroke by manipulating the points at thecentre of its line rather than its contour.

Pencil Editor

Allow s you to adjust the thickness of a pencil line at its different points andcorners, tw eak the shape of its extremities and scale its texture.

CutterAllow s you to cut a part of your artw ork, then reposition, scale, rotate and skew
it.

Smooth Editor

Allow s you to optimize contours and lines by removing its extra points, making
them easier to edit.

Perspective

Allow s you to deform artw ork by applying a perspective effect on it.

Envelope

Allow s you to deform and w arp artw ork by moving points and tw eaking lines in a
grid.

Reposition All
Draw ings

Allow s you to reposition, scale, rotate and skew all draw ings in the current layer.

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Draw ing Pivot

Allow s you to position the pivot on a draw ing layer by clicking w here you w ant
its location to be.

Brush

A pressure-sensitive tool for creating a contour shape w ith a thick and thin line
effect, as if created w ith a paint brush.

PencilA pressure-sensitive tool for draw ing outlines. Pencil lines are made of central
vector lines, making them easier to tw eak and edit than brush strokes.

Text

Allow s you to add text and to format it.

EraserA pressure-sensitive tool for erasing parts of a draw ing.

Colour Eyedropper

Allow s you to select a colour by clicking on a colour in your artw ork.

Pencil Texture
Eyedropper

Allow s you to select a pencil texture by clicking on a textured pencil line.

Morphing

Allow s you to create and configure a morphing sequence, w hich w ill
automatically generate the in-betw eens betw een tw o draw ings in the current
layer.

Line

Draw s a straight line segment going from one point to the other.

Rectangle

Draw s a rectangle.

EllipseDraw s an ellipse.

Polyline

Allow s you to draw shapes, segmented lines or complex curved lines by clicking
to create each point in the sequence of line segments.

Paint

Allow s you to fill colour zones w ith a colour or texture.

Ink

Allow s you to recolour pencil lines w ith precision by changing the colour of one
segment at a time.

Repaint Brush

Like the Brush tool, but only paints over existing brush strokes.

Close Gap

Allow s you to close open shapes so that they can be filled w ith the Paint tool. By

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draw ing a stroke near a small gap in a shape, this tool w ill create a small invisible
stroke connecting the tw o closest points around the gap.

StrokeAllow s you to create invisible lines that can serve as colour zones that can be
filled, or close the gaps in existing colour zones.

Edit Gradient/Texture

Allow s you to adjust the position, angle and size of gradients and textures in acolour zone.

Hand

Allow s you to pan the Camera and Draw ing view s.

Zoom

Allow s you zoom in and out of the Camera and Draw ing view s.

Rotate View

Lets you rotate the Camera and Draw ing view s just like w ith a real animation
disc.

Shift and Trace

Allow s you to temporarily move draw ings so you can trace over them in otherdraw ings using Onion Skin.

Clean Up

Remove Dirt

Opens the Remove Dirt dialog box w here you can specify the number and size ofdots removal from a selected draw ing.

Remove Hair

Opens the Remove Hair dialog box w here you can specify the number and lengthof hairs for removal from a selected draw ing. This removes any small strokes
created in the Colour Art layer from very thick lines or filled zones. Increase thevalue to select larger strokes for removal from the draw ing.

Close Gaps

Closes small gaps in a draw ing by creating small, invisible strokes betw een thetw o closest points to close the colour zone. You do not need to trace directly overthe gap. You can draw it a few millimeters aw ay. The tw o closest points
automatically close the gap.

Remove Art Inside
Selection

Removes any art inside a selection. It is recommended that you clean your Colour
Art level as w ell. If you have a stroke accumulation in the Colour Art, it can result
in large output files, especially if you w ork in high definition resolutions.

Remove Art Inside
Selection on All
Draw ings

Removes any art inside all draw ings selected w ith the Permanent Selection
option in the Select tool.

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Remove Art Outside
Selection

Removes any art existing outside a selection. It is recommended that you clean
the Colour Art level as w ell. If you have a stroke accumulation in the Colour Art, it
can result in large output files, especially if you w ork in high-definition
resolutions.

Remove Art Outside
Selection on All
Draw ings

Removes any art outside all draw ings selected w ith the Permanent Selection
option in the Select tool.

Paint

NOTE
The Paint commands require you to use the Permanent Selection option in the Select tool so you can maintain aselection over multiple draw ings.

Unpaint Selection

Unpaints any art existing inside a selection.

Unpaint Selection on
All Draw ings

Unpaints all art contained inside a selection on all the draw ings w ithin the samelayer.

Unpaint Outside
Selection

Unpaints any art existing outside a selection. If no selection have been draw nusing the Select tool, the entire draw ing w ill be unpainted.

Unpaint Outside
Selection on All
Draw ings

Unpaints all art outside a selection on all the draw ings w ithin the same layer.

Repaint Selection

Repaints any art inside a selection.

Repaint Selection on
All Draw ings

Repaints any art inside a selection on all the draw ings contained w ithin the samelayer.

Repaint Outside
Selection

Repaints any art outside a selection. If no selection has been draw n using the
Select tool, the entire draw ing w ill be repainted.

Repaint Outside
Selection on All
Draw ings

Repaints any art outside a selection on all the draw ings contained w ithin thesame layer.

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ConvertPencil Lines to Brush
StrokesConverts the selected centreline pencil strokes into contour strokes brush lines.

Brush Strokes toPencil Lines

Converts selected contour strokes into centreline pencil strokes. The brush stroke
thickness w ill be lost.

Strokes to Pencil
Lines

Break Apart Text
LayersConverts the selected invisible line to a pencil line.

Text is treated as a single draw ing object. This separates the text so eachcharacter becomes an individual draw ing object you can select and modify
independently.

Optimize

FlattenMerges draw ing objects and brush strokes into a single layer. If you draw newlines to fix a draw ing or line w ith many brush strokes, it can be useful to flatten
them all into a single shape. By default, lines are draw n one on top of each other.
If you intend to repaint the lines or modify their shape, it w ill be easier if they areflattened.

SmoothSmooths selected draw ing strokes and removes extra points.

Create Contour
Strokes

Adds a permanent invisible line around a shape that w as draw n directly inHarmony. This allow s you to unpaint lines w ith the Paint tool but maintain the
shape of the lines, should you need to repaint later.

Remove Contour
Strokes

Remove any permanently invisible lines that w ere created w hile scanning andvectorizing draw ings or manually adding contour strokes. This is useful for
removing the intersection triangles created during vectorization.

Remove Extra Strokes

Removes strokes inside painted area. This option only w orks after the painted
draw ing is flattened.

Optimize

Reduces the number of layers, such as overlapping brush strokes, in the selecteddraw ing objects. Draw ing objects w ill only be flattened and optimized if theselected objects do not change the appearance of the final image w hen they are
merged.

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Crop Brush Textures

Reduce Draw ing
Texture Resolution

Crops an unnecessarily large texture bitmap that lies unseen beneath the vector
contour of a textured line. This often occurs w hen you cut and paste textured
lines from one draw ing into another. If you cut a portion from a textured line andpaste it into a different draw ing, Harmony pastes the entire unseen texture
bitmap from the source draw ing into the new one, even if you only took a small
portion of the source draw ing. Using the Crop Brush Texture command w ill cropaw ay extraneous texture that does not touch the vector area. If there are many
textured lines in your scene, this w ill greatly reduce the file size.

W hen you import and vectorize as texture (colour) a high resolution image, thesize of your draw ing can be heavy. You can reduce the size and resolution of the
textures in a draw ing.

Transform

Flip Horizontal

Flips the current selection horizontally.

Flip Vertical

Flips the current selection vertically.

Rotate 90 CW

Rotates the current selection 90 degrees clockw ise.

Rotate 90 CCW

Rotates the current selection 90 degrees counter-clockw ise.

Rotate 180

Rotates the current selection 180 degrees.

Arrange

Bring to Front

Moves the selected art to the front (on top).

Bring Forw ard

Moves the selected art one level forw ard (closer to the front).

Send Backw ard

Moves the selected art one level low er (behind).

Send to Back

Moves the selected art behind everything (bottom / back).

Create Empty Draw ing

Creates a draw ing in the selected cell, replacing any draw ing that may already be
exposed in that cell and the follow ing ones until it meets another draw ing, key
exposure or a blank cell.

Duplicate Draw ings

Creates a duplicate of the selected draw ing in the layer. The duplicate draw ing

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w ill be exposed at the selected frame instead of the original draw ing. Hence, thiscommand allow s you to instantly start w orking on a duplicate of the current
draw ing and retain the original.

NOTE
W hen duplicating a draw ing, the exposure at the selected cell is replaced
w ith the new draw ing, up until the next key exposure.

Delete Selected Draw ings

Permanently removes selected draw ings. Once you save your project, thesedraw ings cannot be recovered.

Rename Draw ing

Lets you give a selected draw ing a new name.

Rename Draw ing w ith Prefix

Lets you rename a draw ing sequence w ith a prefix, w hich can be quite useful for
cut-out puppet breakdow n and deformation animation. This applies to any
deformation w ork done in pre-Harmony 12 versions.

Rename by Frame

Lets you rename a series of draw ings relative to their frame position. This isuseful in hand-draw n animation.

Select Strokes w ith Current
ColourLets you select draw ing elements and painted areas w ith the same colour as thecurrently selected colour in your colour palette.

Distribute to Layers

Every selected stroke in the Camera view is placed on separate layers; one layer
per stroke. If artw ork is composed of several strokes, you must group them to put
them on the same layer.
This operation cannot be done in the Draw ing view .

Create Colour Art from Line
Art

Lets you use the outline you traced on one of the four embedded layers (line art,
colour art, overlay, underlay) and create invisible strokes to paint your draw ings
on separate layers. This provides more inking and painting flexibility.
You can also configure this option to create the invisible strokes on any of thefour embedded layers.

Create Breaking Triangles

Useful for brush strokes, creates triangular breaks at natural line intersections.
These intersections are the probable locations w here colour line breaks may
occur, such as w here a sleeve meets a hand.
This makes it easier to soft trace lines in different colours w hen there areflattened or unflattened clean brush strokes.

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Generate Auto-Matte

Fills colour based on currently selected colour sw atch on different draw ing
layers (overlay, underlay) so overlapping lines are more visible during a line test.

Adjust Line Texture Opacity

Lets you adjust the contrast and opacity of textured lines in a draw ing.

Allow s you to change the pixel density of textured brush strokes in vectordraw ings in your scene.
Change Vector Draw ing
Brush Resolution

NOTE
W hen you create a new vector draw ing, its pixel density for textured brushstrokes is based on the settings in the Draw ing Resolution tab of the Scene
Settings dialog.

Allow s you to change the pixel density and canvas size of existing bitmap
draw ings in your scene.
Change Bitmap Draw ing
Resolution

NOTE
W hen you create a new bitmap draw ing, its canvas size and pixel density
are based on the settings in the Draw ing Resolution tab of the Scene
Settings dialog.

Previous Draw ing

W hen a cell is selected in the Timeline or Xsheet view , displays the previous
draw ing.

Next Draw ing

W hen a cell is selected in the Timeline or Xsheet view , displays the next draw ing.

Previous Layer

W hen a cell is selected in the Timeline or Xsheet view , displays the previous
layer.

Next Layer

Once a cell is selected in the Timeline or Xsheet view , you can navigate betw een
the draw ings, frames, and layers. Displays the previous draw ing, next draw ing,
previous layer or next layer.
W hen a cell is selected in the Timeline or Xsheet view , displays the next layer.

Colour Protection

Toggle Current
Colour Protection

Temporarily enables/disables the Colour Protection feature so you can quickly
correct w rongly inked or painted areas under protected colour w ithout
readjusting the Current Colour Protection option.

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Respect Colour
Protection

In the Colour view , you can protect a colour sw atch to avoid repainting or
unpainting the zones linked to that sw atch. If you using the Paint tool and thisoption is deselected, you w ill repaint or unpaint the protected colours on yourdraw ings until you enable the option again.

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Edit Menu
The Edit menu lets you repeat and undo actions, cut/copy/paste selected objects, select and manipulate
objects, w ork w ith symbols, and access the Preferences dialog box.

How to access the Edit menulFrom the top menu, select Edit.

Command

Description

Undo

Removes the last change made to your project. Harmony supports
multiple undo, so you can undo changes you made in the order you
made them.

Redo

Redoes an operation you have undone. This command is active only
after you use the Undo command.

Cut

Removes selected objects. You can then paste the object or its
properties to another object.

Copy

Copies selected objects and properties.

Paste

Places an object you cut or copied into the location you select in aview .

Paste in Place

Pastes the copied object in the same place as the original.

Opens the Paste Special dialog box w hich lets you determine howtemplates and symbols are imported in the Timeline view .
Paste Special
There are advanced paste options for draw ings, timings, keyframes,
layers, as w ell as palettes and symbols.

Paste Special Again

Pastes new draw ings w ith the previous Paste Special settings.

Paste Cycle

Cycles a portion of an animation. You can increase or decrease thenumber of cycles to paste and select a type of cycle: Normal, Reverse,
Forw ard-Reverse and Reverse-Forw ard.

Paste Reverse

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after copying.

DeleteRemoves selected objects.

Select All

Selects all draw ing objects in the current draw ing w indow in the
Draw ing, Timeline and Camera view s. This helps you manage multiple
objects as one w hen moving them.

Deselect All

Deselects all selected objects in the Draw ing and Camera view s.

Invert Selection

Deselects the currently selected items and selects all other items thatw ere not selected. For example, if some lines are selected in adraw ing, this command w ill deselect them and select any other lines
in the draw ing that w ere not selected.

Auto-Apply

Automatically applies changes you make to a property w indow or
dialog box. Harmony applies the modification automatically anddisplays the result in the Camera view . W hen w orking on a heavy
scene, it is useful to turn off this option.If you w ant to alw ays w ork in
Auto-Apply mode, you can deselect the Auto-Apply option in the
Preferences dialog box (General tab). Then, each time you start
Harmony, the Auto-Apply mode w ill be off. You must click the Apply
button to see any modifications.

Create Symbol

Creates a symbol from selected draw ing elements in the Draw ing or
Camera view or a layer or cells in the Timeline view .

Extracts a symbol's contents and places it on the root timeline. Its
contents w ill be copied and inserted into the root timeline. The symbol
w ill not be removed from the Timeline view once it is expanded.
Expand Symbol

The symbol's layers w ill be parented to it in case you created motions
and transformations on the draw ing layer that contain the symbol.
Breaking the hierarchy could result in the loss of any scaling andanimation you may have created.

Duplicate Selected Symbol

Creates a duplicate of a selected symbol. If other symbols are nested
inside the new symbol, they are not duplicated. If you modify them, theoriginal and other instances w ill also be modified.

Create Draw ing from Draw ing Selection

Breaks a character into its main body parts. There is no need to create
any layers prior to this process. Make sure your model is w ell centeredand sized in the Camera view .

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Clone: Draw ings Only

Creates a copy of the draw ings in the selected layer in the Timelineview or column in the Xsheet view . The timing it not copied.

Clone: Draw ings and Timing

Creates a copy of the draw ings and their timings in the selected layer
in the Timeline view or column in the Xsheet view .

Duplicate

Duplicates a layer to have a copy of the draw ings that are independent
from the original ones, as w ell as an independent timing (exposure).
W hen you need the draw ings to be modified independently, you w ill
w ant to duplicate the layer instead of cloning it.

There are tw o methods of merging draw ings.
l

You can merge selected draw ings in adjacent elements. The
columns and layers w ill be left intact, and each new mergeddraw ing w ill reside in the frames of the left-most column or
low er layer.

l

You can merge elements. All draw ings w ill be merged. Unused
columns and layers w ill be deleted, but the original draw ing
files are still accessible.

Merge

Group

Group

Groups selected draw ing objects in the Camera or Draw ing view .

Ungroup

Ungroups a selected group of draw ing objects in the Camera or
Draw ing view .

Edit Draw ing Mode

W hen the Auto-Get Rights to Modify Draw ings option is selected in
the Preferences dialog box (General tab), the system automaticallygets the rights to modify draw ings w hen you select a draw ing.
Otherw ise, you must manually get the rights to modify draw ings.

Edit Palette List Mode

W hen the Auto-Get Rights to Modify Palette option is selected in the
Preferences dialog box (General tab), the system automatically getsthe rights to modify palettes and palette lists w hen you select a colour
from a palette. Otherw ise, you must manually get the rights to modify
a palette or palette list.

Get Rights to Modify Draw ing

Manually releases the rights to modify a selected draw ing.

Release Rights to Modify Draw ing

Manually releases rights to modify a selected draw ing.

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Force Release Rights to Modify Draw ing

This option is alw ays available even if the Get Rights to Modify All
Scene Assets option is not selected in the Database Selector dialog
box.

Preferences

Opens the Preferences dialog box w here you can set your preferencesfor Harmony.

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File Menu
The File menu lets you open, close, save, scan, print, and import and export files.

How to access the File menulFrom the top menu, select File.

Command

Description

New

Creates a new scene w hile closing any scene already open. The New Scene dialog box
opens, asking for directory, name, and resolution information.

Open

Displays the Open Scene dialog box w here you can brow se for a scene file. You can
open a new scene from the current one and the previous scene w ill close.

Open Recent

Displays a list of the most recently opened scenes.

Clear

Clears the list of recently opened scenes.

Close

Closes the currently opened scene, but does not close the Harmony application.

Save

Saves all changes made to the opened scene, draw ings, palettes, and palette lists.

Lets you do the follow ing:lSave the scene as the current version.

lSave different versions representing different stages of the production of yourscene.

lSave different versions representing different scene setups.

lChoose specific assets that you w ant to save, such as draw ings or palettes.

Advanced Save

Rights to Modify
Scene Version

Allow s you to modify the selected version of the scene as w ell as to manage andoverw rite other versions. Other users w ill not be able to open a different version of thescene until you close the scene.

Rights to Modify
Scene

Allow s you to modify the currently selected scene version only. Unless the Get rights tomodify the scene option is also checked, you w ill not be able to change other versions of
the scene. This allow s other users to modify different versions of the scene w hile you are
w orking on the selected version.

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Determines w hich draw ing files have been modified on disk since you loaded them. All
updated draw ings w ill be reloaded.
Read Changed
Draw ings

NOTE
Reloading a locked draw ing w ill discard unsaved changes.

Manage Versions

Allow s you to manage all the versions of the current scene.

Manage Local Cache

Opens the Manage Local Cache dialog, in w hich you can see all the Harmony Server
database scenes that w ere cached locally, delete unused caches and check if the data ina scene's cache matches the data on the database server.

Saves the current file w ith a different name and at a different location.

Save As

Saves the current state of a scene as another scene. The Save As w indow prompts you
for a new name and a different location for this scene before saving it. This w ill create acomplete scene directory for the new scene.

NOTE
The scene name cannot exceed 23 characters.

Save as New Version

Saves the current scene as another version. The Save Version dialog box prompts you togive a name for this new version. This w ill create a new .xstage file in your current
project directory.

Back Up Scene

Backs up the current scene to a location you choose.

Update Database
Scene

Updates your database w ith only the changes you made to the scene. To do this, youmust enter your host name and host port in the Preferences dialog box, General tab.

Dow nload Database
Changes

If any changes w ere made to the scene you dow nloaded, you can perform an update by
dow nloading these changes, w hich w ill be integrated into your scene.

Remove Unused Files

Removes the unused palettes from the scene list.

ImportFrom Scanner

Imports draw ings from a TW AIN scanner.

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ImagesImports bitmap images w hich you can choose to vectorize.

Movie

Lets you convert a QuickTime movie to an image sequence and audio file.

Sound

Lets you import sound files into your project.

Colour Model

Lets you import TVG draw ing file into your project. Once imported, it is display in the
Model view for use as a colour model w hich you can load into any Harmony scene.

SW F,
Illustrator Filesto LibraryLets you import SW F files into your project.

ImagesExports a scene as a bitmap image sequence. If there is sound in your scene, it w ill not
be exported w ith the images.

Movie

Exports animation as a QuickTime movie.

ExportExports a Flash movie file.
SW F

Harmony supports exporting Flash movie files w ith a limited subset of vector andbitmap effects, the latter w hich can be preview ed in Render View

mode.

OpenGL
FramesExports OpenGL frames (fast display mode) for a quick screen renders of a scene that
contain no transparency channel. Heavier scenes containing 3D, multiple effects andcamera moves can be fairly long to export.

XsheetPrints the exposure sheet so you can take it to your animation table, provide a copy tothe animator, or create your Xsheet skeleton directly in Harmony.

Print

Quit

Closes the application.

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Help Menu
The Help menu lets you display the Harmony documentation, W elcome screen and end user license
agreement, as w ell as access the Toon Boom w ebsite, and identify the product name and version number.

How to access the Help menulAt the top of the interface, select Help.

Command

Description

Online Help

Opens the Harmony Help system, complete w ith instructions on how
to use the system. This requires an internet connection.

Getting Started

Opens the Harmony Getting Started Guide (in PDF format) in abrow ser w indow . Requires Acrobat Reader.

Toon Boom on the W eb

Opens the Toon Boom w ebsite, w hich features a Support andCommunity > Forum section.

The Customer Experience Improvement Program allow s Toon Boom

Customer Experience Improvement
Programto collect usage information. The data does not contain any personallyidentifiable information and cannot be used to identify you. The data
w ill consist of a basic hardw are description, a project summary andusage information. The information is used only for softw are
improvement purposes, as w ell as for sharing w ith third parties for thesame reason.
This program is enabled by default but is voluntary. If you prefer not toparticipate, you can opt out w hen you first launch the softw are, byusing a global preference, or by a command line argument.

About

Identifies the product name and version number.

Show W elcome Screen

Displays the Harmony W elcome screen.

Show End User License Agreement

Displays the End User License Agreement.

Debug Mode

W hen enabled, information is logged in the Message Log view about
the preview generated in the Camera view , each time the preview isrefreshed. In OpenGL preview mode, summary information is logged
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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

the preview . In Render Preview mode, detailed information about eachcomposite and effect that is processed is logged.

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Insert Menu
The Insert menu lets you create empty symbols in the Library view , different types of layers in the Timelineview , keyframes and control points.

How to access the Insert menulAt the top of the interface, select Insert.

Command

Description

Create Empty Symbol in Library

Creates an empty symbol in the Library view to w hich you can edit
(add content).

Bone

Adds a new Bone layer to the Timeline view .

CameraAdds a new Camera layer to the Timeline view .

Colour-Card

Adds a new Colour-Card layer to the Timeline view .

Draw ing

Adds a new Draw ing layer to the Timeline view and a column in the
Xsheet view .

Game Bone

Adds a new Game Bone layer to the Timeline view .

Kinematic Output

Adds dd a new Kinematic Output layer to the Timeline view .

Peg

Adds a new Peg layer to the Timeline view .

Quadmap

Adds a new Quadmap layer to the Timeline view .

Effects

Adds a new layer in the Timeline view w ith the effect you select:
Blending, Blur, Blur-Gaussian, Brightness-Contrast, Colour-Override,
Colour-Scale, Cutter, Glow , Highlight, Shadow , Tone, or Transparency.

Keyframe

Adds a keyframe to the selected cell in the Timeline view .

Keyframe and Duplicate Draw ing

Adds a keyframe to the selected draw ing layer cell in the Timelineview and creates a duplicate of the draw ing, w hich sits on top of theoriginal draw ing.

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Position Keyframe

Adds a position keyframe w hereby keyframes w ill only be added on
the X, Y and Z parameters of the selected layer. Keyframes are notadded on the Angle, Scale and Skew parameters.

Control Point

Adds a control point to the trajectory of the selected element or peg in
the Camera view w hen the element or peg is in a 3D path. Note thatyou must have a 3D path in the peg portion in order to add a control
point.

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Play Menu
The Play menu lets you play back animation and sound. Use it to scrub the sound to create your lip-sync, loop
the playback, navigate through frames, and change the playback range and speed.

How to access the Play menulAt the top of the interface, select Play.

Command

Description

Play

Plays the scene in the Camera or Draw ing view .

Renders your scene's frames, then opens the rendered frames in Playfor playback.
Render and PlayThis allow s you to preview your scene's animation in real time, w ith
the effects rendered and w ith no risk of slow dow n.

Exports your scene as it appears in the Camera view into a movie file,then opens it in your w orkstation's default video player.

Record and PlayThis allow s you to preview your animation w ithout any risk ofslow dow n, but it does not preview the effects in your scene. How ever,
it is much faster than Render and Play.
This button automates the usage of the Export OpenGL Frames dialog
see

Test SW F Movie

Quickly exports your scene as a Flash Movie (.swf), then opens it inyour w orkstation's default w eb brow ser.

Stop

Stops playback.

Mini Playback

Open the Mini Playback dialog. This dialog allow s you to set theamount of frames before and after the current frame to playback w hen
using Mini Playback, to set the speed of Mini Playback and to start Mini
Playback.

Start Mini Playback

Begins Mini Playback using the last settings entered in the Mini
Playback dialog. By default, Mini Playback w ill play 5 frames before
and after the current frame, at the scene's frame rate.

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Playback Speed

Opens the Set New Frame Rate dialog box w here you can set theframe rate at w hich the playback plays.

Loop

If pressed, your scene w ill repeat indefinitely w hen playing.
Otherw ise, it w ill stop w hen the end is reached.

Enable Sound

Turns on sound during playback.

Enable Sound Scrubbing

Turns on sound scrubbing during playback.

Start Frame

Opens the Set Playback Start Frame dialog box , in w hich you canenter the frame number from w hich to start playback.

Stop Frame

Opens the Set Playback Stop Frame dialog box, in w hich you can set
the frame number at w hich to stop playback.

First Frame

Moves the red playhead to the first frame.

Previous Frame

Moves the red playhead to the previous frame.

Next Frame

Moves the red playhead to the next frame.

Last Frame

Moves the red playhead to the last frame.

Go to Frame

Opens the Go to Frame dialog box w here you can enter the frame
number on w hich the red playhead to be positioned in the Timelineview .

Enable Playback

Top View

Plays back your animation in the Top view .

Side View

Plays back your animation in the Side view .

Perspective View

Plays back your animation in the Perspective view .

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Scene Menu
The Scene menu lets you set the scene length, add frames to the scene, view different displays of the scene,
set render options, access the Scene Settings dialog box and Elements Manager w indow , and verify thedraw ing and palette files in your project.

How to access the Scene menulAt the top of the interface, select Scene.

Command

Description

Scene Length

Lets you set the length of the scene in frames.

Frame

Add Frames at Start

Adds the number of frames you specify to the beginning of the scene.

Add Frames at End

Adds the number of frames you specify to the end of the scene.

Add Frames Before Selection
Adds the number of frames you specify before or after your selection.
Add Frames After Selection

Remove Selected Frames

Deletes the selected frames from your scene.

CameraDefault Camera

Lets you select a camera. If you only add one camera to your scene,
you w ill only see Default Camera in your list.

Default Display

Display All
Show s the contents of a specific Display node, updating the contentsof the Camera, Top, Side, Perspective, and Timeline view s.
Display

Scene Settings

Opens the Scene Settings dialog box w here you can set the resolution,alignment, bitmap resolution and many other parameters.

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RenderAuto Render

Automatically recalculates the preview image w henever you modify aparameter. If your scene is heavy and you do not w ant the preview
rendered automatically, deselect the Auto-Render option and do thepreview update manually.Note that this w ill slow dow n Harmony as it
takes resources to update every frame.

Renders a frame each time the current frame is changed.
Auto Render W rite

You must have a W rite node in your node structure to use thiscommand.

Cancel Preview Render

Cancels a render that w as started.

Element Manager

Opens the Element Manager w indow w here you can add, delete or
modify elements (draw ing folders) in your scene. If you have draw ing
folders that are not linked to a column in your scene, use the Element
Manager to delete them if needed. See xref Reference > W indow s >Element Manager.

Check Files

Verifies the integrity of the draw ing and palette files in your project.

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View Menu
The View menu lets you manipulate the view by zooming, panning, or rotating. You can also display the gridand change its size, use the onion skin feature to help w ith draw ing, and set the preview resolution.

How to access the View menulAt the top of the interface, select View.

Command

Description

Cycles through the follow ing display modes:

Toggle Full ScreenlNormal Full- Screen: The main application w indow becomesfull screen.

lView Full- Screen: The selected view becomes full screen andall other view s are collapsed.

l

Normal: The main application w indow is restored to its original
size and collapsed view s are expanded.

Zoom In

Zooms in the view .

Zoom Out

Zooms out the view .

Rotate View CW

Rotates the Camera view 30 degrees clockw ise, like an animationtable.

Rotate View CCW

Rotates the Camera view 30 degrees counter-clockw ise, like ananimation table.

Mirror View

Temporarily flips the Camera or Draw ing view horizontally, allow ing
you to view and edit your artw ork as if it w as being mirrored.

Reset Zoom

Resets the view ’s zoom to its default position.

Reset Rotation

Resets the view ’s rotation to its default position.

Reset Pan

Resets the view ’s pan to its default position.

Reset View

Resets the view to its default position.

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Next Colour

Goes to the next colour in the Colour view .

Previous Colour

Goes to the previous colour in the Colour view .

GridShow Grid

Displays the grid.

Grid Outline Only

Displays the outline of the grid only.

Underlay

Displays the grid under the draw ing elements.

Overlay

Displays the grid over the draw ing elements.

Square Grid

Displays a standard square grid.

12 Field Grid

Displays a 12-field size grid.

16 Field Grid

Displays a 16-field size grid.

Onion Skin

Show Onion Skin

Lets you preview the previous and next draw ings. By default, theprevious draw ings appear in a shade of red and the next draw ings are
displayed w ith a shade of green. You can change these colours in the
Preferences dialog box.

Add to Onion Skin

Adds a series of selected elements to the onion skin preview .

Remove from Onion Skin

Removes a series of selected elements from the onion skin preview .

Remove Unselected from Onion
Skin

Removes all elements except the ones selected from the onion skinpreview .

Add All to Onion Skin

Adds all of the scene's elements to the onion skin preview .

Remove All from Onion Skin

Removes all of the scene's elements from the onion skin preview .

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Onion Skinning by Frames

Selects the draw ings to display in the Onion Skin by their frame
number relative to the current frame. For example, if the Onion Skin is
set to include 2 draw ings before and after the current frame, it w ill
include the draw ings up to tw o frames before and up to tw o frames
after the current frame, even if those draw ings are the same as the one
in the current frame. This is more useful for cut-out animation as itallow s you to position a draw ing relative to its position in adjacentframes.

NOTE
This option only w orks in the Camera view .

Onion Skinning by Draw ings

Selects the draw ings to display in the Onion Skin by the amount ofdifferent draw ings before and after the current frame. For example, if
the Onion Skin is set to include 2 draw ings before and after the current
frame, this w ill display the nearest tw o different draw ings before andafter the draw ing in the current frame in the Onion Skin, even if thosedraw ings are further than 2 frames aw ay from the current frame. Thisis more useful for frame-by-frame animation.

NOTE
W hen this option is enabled, the handles allow ing you to adjust
the extent of the Onion Skin in the Timeline view are notavailable.

No Previous Draw ing

Removes the previous draw ing's onion skin and displays only the next
draw ing.

Previous Draw ing

Displays the previous draw ing.

Previous Tw o Draw ings

Displays the previous tw o draw ings.

Previous Three Draw ings

Displays the previous three draw ings.

No Next Draw ing

Do not show the onion skin for all of the next draw ings.

Next Draw ing

Show the onion skin for the next draw ing.

Next Tw o Draw ings

Show the onion skin for the next tw o draw ings.

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Next Three Draw ings

Show the onion skin for the next three draw ings.

Reduce One Previous Draw ing

Reduces the number of previous visible draw ings by one.

Add One Previous Draw ing

Adds one draw ing to the number of previous visible draw ings.

Reduce One Next Draw ing

Reduces the number of next visible draw ings by one.

Add One Next Draw ing

Adds one draw ing to the number of next visible draw ings.

Light Table

Turns on the light table so you can see the previous and subsequent
active layers in w ashed-out colours. It is useful for seeing the otherlayers w hen designing, animating or cleaning up your animation.

Backlight

Produces a silhouette effect by changing the draw ing’s coloured areas
into a single dark, solid colour. Use this to verify the completeness of
the ink and paint process. Any unpainted zones can be seen as thelight show s through the unpainted areas of the silhouetted draw ing.

Show

Symbol Pivot

Displays a symbol's pivot. The Symbol pivot is similar to the Draw ing
pivot. Each symbol cell can have its ow n pivot and act the same as theDraw ing pivot. The Symbol pivot can also be referred to as embedded
pivot. Inside a symbol, each draw ing can have its ow n pivot.

Safe Area

Displays the TV safety zone and the centre of the camera frame. The
safe area adapts to the scene resolution, as w ell as the safety zone
and frame’s centre.

Camera Mask

Displays a black mask around the scene’s frame to avoid seeing theunnecessary artw ork. This option is handy w hen you're animating andsetting up the scene. It allow s you to see your scene’s composition
better.

Control

Displays the controls of the selected element.

Current Draw ing on Top

Displays the selected draw ing on top of everything w hile you draw . By
enabling this option, each time you select a draw ing tool, the selecteddraw ing is displayed in front of everything in the Camera view . The
Timeline view ordering remain unchanged.You only need to enable

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this option once, it is not necessary to do it each time you select adraw ing tool.

Outline Locked Draw ings

Displays draw ing that are locked in the Timeline view (cannot be
selected in the Camera view ) as w ireframes.

Show Strokes

Displays the strokes in your draw ings so that the invisible lines standout.

Show Strokes w ith Colour W ash

Displays strokes w ith w ashed-out colours.

Hide All Controls

Hides the controls of the selected element.

Alignment Guides

Alignment Guides

W hen enabled, alignment guides w ill be visible in the Camera andDraw ing view s.
Show Alignment Guides

This is enabled by default. Disabling this option w ill hide and disablealignment guides, meaning that animation and draw ing tools w ill not
snap to them, even if theSnap to Alignment Guides option isenabled in the Tool Properties view .

It is possible to reposition alignment guides in the current panel bydragging them using theTransform tool. Enabling this option w ill

Lock Alignment Guides

lock the alignment guides in their current position, allow ing you tomanipulate layers and artw ork in your scene w ithout accidentally
moving alignment guides.

Clear Alignment Guides

Removes all the alignment guides from your scene.

Adds a horizontal alignment guide to the middle of the stage.

New Horizontal Alignment
Guide

TIP
You can move the alignment guide from its default position
using theNew Vertical Alignment Guide

Transforml tool or the

Select tool.

Adds a vertical alignment guide to the middle of the stage.

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TIP
You can move the alignment guide from its default position
using thePreview Manager

Transforml tool or the

Select tool.

Opens the Preview Manager w here you can set options for the qualityof preview s, and clearing and updating the cache.

Preview Resolution

Same as Scene Resolution

3/4 of Scene Resolution

1/2 of Scene Resolution

Lets you choose a resolution for preview ing a scene.

1/3 of Scene Resolution

1/4 of Scene Resolution

CustomLets you select a resolution from a list of presets or enter X and Y
values for a custom preview resolution.

Let's you increase or decrease the preview quality of raw bitmap
images. By default, bitmap files imported in Harmony w ill display in a
low resolution in the Camera view to avoid hindering performance.

TIP

Bitmap File Quality

You can change the default resolution in w hich bitmap files are
displayed in the Camera view by changing the Small Bitmap
Resolution preference located in the Camera tab of thePreferences dialog.

NOTE
This only affects the w ay bitmap images display in the OpenGL
preview of the scene in the Camera view . The preview quality ofbitmap images does not affect the final render.

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W indows Menu
The W indow s menu lets you customize your w orkspace to suit your w orking style, save it as a new
w orkspace, and load it from the W orkspace toolbar. You can also show or hide the different toolbars andview s in Harmony.

How to access the W indows menulFrom the top menu, select W indows.

Command

Description

Restore Default W orkspace

Returns modified w orkspaces to their original default layout if you do
not like the current modifications or inadvertently closed somew indow s.

W orkspace

W orkspace Manager

Opens the W orkspace Manager w here you can modify, create, delete,rename and reorder your w orkspaces.

Save W orkspace

Saves the current w orkspace along w ith any modifications you made.

Save W orkspace As...

Saves the w orkspace as a new version to avoid overw riting the currentone.

W orkspace

Lets you open w orkspaces designed specifically for animating,compositing, hand draw ing, scripting and the default w orkspace.

Allow s you to add or remove toolbars from your w orkspace.

Toolbars

NOTE
For information on the different toolbars in Harmony, see
Toolbars.

CameraShow s or hides the Camera view .

ColourShow s or hides the Colour view .

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Draw ing

Show s or hides the Draw ing view .

FunctionShow s or hides the Function view .

Layer Properties

Show s or hides the Layer Properties view .

LibraryShow s or hides the Library view .

Message Log

Show s or hides the Message Log view .

ModelShow s or hides the Model view .

Perspective

Show s or hides the Perspective view .

SideShow s or hides the Side view .

Timeline

Show s or hides the Timeline view .

Tool Properties

Show s or hides the Tool Properties view .

TopShow s or hides the Top view .

XsheetShow s or hides the Xsheet view .

Integrated Help

Show s or hides the Integrated Help view .

Metadata Editor

Show s or Hides the Metadata Editor view .

Script Editor

Show s or hides the Script Editor view .

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View Menus
A view menu contains commands specifically related to that view .

How to access a view menu
1. In the top-left corner of a view , click the Menu

button.

Camera View Menu

261

Colour View Menu

278

Drawing View Menu

281

Function View Menu

294

Library View Menu

296

Reference View Menu

298

Onion Skin View Menu

300

Perspective View Menu

302

Script Editor View Menu

308

Side View Menu

313

Timeline View Menu

318

Top View Menu

323

Xsheet View Menu

328

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Camera View Menu
The Camera View menu lets you do many things in the Camera view , including selecting and editing objects indifferent view s, changing the display, setting morphing parameters, accessing tools and many more.

How to access the Camera menul

In the upper-left corner of the Camera view , click the menu

Commandbutton.

Description

Edit

Cut

Removes selected objects. You can then paste the object or its properties toanother object.

Copy

Copies selected objects and properties.

Paste

Places an object you cut or copied into the location you select in a view .

DeleteRemoves selected objects.

Select All

Selects all draw ing objects in the current draw ing w indow in the Draw ing,
Timeline and Camera view s. This helps you manage multiple objects as one
w hen moving them.

Deselect All

Deselects all selected objects in the Draw ing and Camera view s.

Select Strokes W ith
Current Colour

Selects all the strokes that are filled w ith the colour or texture that’s currently
selected in the Colour view .

Select Strokes W ith
Current Pencil
TextureSelects all the pencil lines that use the pencil line texture that’s currently
selected in the Colour view .

Invert Selection

Deselects the currently selected items and selects all other items that w ere notselected. For example, if some lines are selected in a draw ing, this command w illdeselect them and select any other lines in the draw ing that w ere not selected.

Select Child SkippingLets you select the first element parented to the selected peg element in the261

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Effects

Timeline view skipping effects in the hierarchy.

Select Child

Lets you select the first element parented to the selected peg element in theTimeline view .

Select Children

Lets you select all elements parented to the selected peg element in the Timelineview .

Select Parent

Lets you select the parent of the selected element in the Timeline view skipping

Skipping Effects

effects in the hierarchy.

Select Parent

Lets you select the parent of the selected element in the Timeline view .

Select Previous
Sibling

Lets you select the previous element (above current element) in the Timelineview .

Select Next Sibling

Lets you select the next element (below current element) in the Timeline view .

Group: Groups selected draw ing objects in the Camera or Draw ing view .
Group
Ungroup: Ungroups a selected group of draw ing objects in the Camera or
Draw ing view .

View

Zoom In: Zooms in the view .

Zoom Out: Zooms out the view .

Rotate View CW : Rotates the Camera view 30 degrees clockw ise, like ananimation table.
Navigation
Rotate View CCW : Rotates the Camera view 30 degrees counter-clockw ise, likean animation table.

Reset Zoom: Resets the view ’s zoom to its default position.

Reset Rotation: Resets the view ’s rotation to its default position.

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Reset Pan: Resets the view ’s pan to its default position.

Reset View: Resets the view to its default position.

Sw itch to Colour Art

Preview Line
Art and Colour

Displays the Colour Art layer. W hen sw itching art layers, you can edit the
selected layer w ithout affecting the other one.

Displays all Art layers.

Art

Open GL View

Render View

Sw itches the Camera view to fast display, letting you see your animation play inreal time. The OpenGL display requires less memory. The final look of youreffects is not show n in the OpenGL View Mode. You must sw itch to the RenderView Mode to see your effects.

Sw itches the Camera view to a fully rendered display show ing the final image ofthe current frame. If a modification is done to your current frame or if you move toa different frame, click the Update Preview button to update the display if yourpreview does not update automatically.The Render View Mode display lets you
see the final look of your frames including effects and antialiasing. You cannot
play back your scene in Render View Mode. To see your scene fully rendered andto play it back, you must press the Render and Play button in the Playback
toolbar.

Matte View

Sw itches the Camera view to a matte display show ing the alpha channel of theelements in your scene. The transparency level ranges from 0 to 100 percent.
Zero percent is completely transparent and represented by black and 100
percent is completely opaque and represented by w hite. Everything in betw een
these extremes has a transparency level somew here betw een 1 and 99 percent
and is represented in various shades of grey.

Show Grid: Displays the grid.

Grid Outline Only: Displays the outline of the grid only.

Grid

Underlay: Displays the grid under the draw ing elements.

Overlay: Displays the grid over the draw ing elements.

Square Grid: Displays a standard square grid.

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12 Field Grid: Displays a 12-field size grid.

16 Field Grid: Displays a 16-field size grid.

Show Onion Skin: Lets Lets you preview the previous and next draw ings. By
default, the previous draw ings appear in a shade of red and the next draw ings
are displayed w ith a shade of green. You can change these colours in the
Preferences dialog box.

Add to Onion Skin: Adds Adds a series of selected elements to the onion skinpreview .

Remove from Onion Skin: Removes Removes a series of selected elements fromthe onion skin preview .

Remove Unselected from Onion Skin: Removes Removes all elements except
the ones selected from the onion skin preview .

Add All to Onion Skin: Adds Adds all of the scene's elements to the onion skinpreview .

Onion Skin

Remove All from Onion Skin: Removes Removes all of the scene's elementsfrom the onion skin preview .

Onion Skinning by Drawing:

No Previous Drawing:

Previous Drawing: Displays the previous draw ing.

Previous Two Drawings: Displays the previous tw o draw ings.

Previous Three Drawings: Displays the previous three draw ings.

No Next Drawing: Displays no next draw ing.

Next Drawing: Displays the next draw ing.

Next Two Drawings: Displays the next tw o draw ings.

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Next Three Drawings: Displays the next three draw ings.

Reduce One Previous Drawing: Reduces the number of previous visible
draw ings by one.

Add One Previous Drawing: Adds one draw ing to the number of previous visible
draw ings.

Reduce One Next Drawing: Reduces the number of next visible draw ings byone.

Add One Next Drawing: Adds one draw ing to the number of next visible
draw ings.

Light Table

Backlight

Turns on the light table so you can see Turns on the light table so you can see theprevious and subsequent active layers in w ashed-out colours. It is useful forseeing the other layers w hen designing, animating or cleaning up your animation.

Produces Produces a silhouette effect by changing the draw ing’s coloured areas
into a single dark, solid colour. Use this to verify the completeness of the ink andpaint process. Any unpainted zones can be seen as the light show s through theunpainted areas of the silhouetted draw ing.

Symbol Pivot: Displays a symbol's pivot. The Symbol pivot is similar to theDraw ing pivot. Each symbol cell can have its ow n pivot and act the same as theDraw ing pivot. The Symbol pivot can also be referred to as embedded pivot.
Inside a symbol, each draw ing can have its ow n pivot.

Safe Area: Displays Displays the TV safety zone and the centre of the camera
frame. The safe area adapts to the scene resolution, as w ell as the safety zone
and frame’s centre.
Show

Camera Mask: Displays Displays a black mask around the scene’s frame to avoid
seeing the unnecessary artw ork. This option is handy w hen you're animating andsetting up the scene. It allow s you to see your scene’s composition better.

Control: Displays the controls of the selected element.

BBox Selection Style: Lets you change the display style of selected elements toa bounding box style. This removes the default overlay highlight and leaves only
the bounding box around the selected element.

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Outline Locked Drawings: Draw ings that are locked in the Timeline view (cannot
be selected in the Camera view ) are displayed as w ireframes.

Show Current Drawing on Top: Displays Displays the selected draw ing on topof everything w hile you draw . By enabling this option, each time you select adraw ing tool, the selected draw ing is displayed in front of everything in the
Camera view . The Timeline view ordering remain unchanged.You only need toenable this option once, it is not necessary to do it each time you select a draw ing
tool.

Show Strokes: Displays the strokes in your draw ings so that the invisible lines
stand out.

Show Strokes with Colour W ash: Displays strokes w ith w ashed-out colours.

Highlight Selected Colour:

Show Scan Information: Displays a status bar show ing the scanning information
at the bottom of the Draw ing and Camera view .

Hide All Controls

Hides the controls of the selected element.

Render Current Frame

Renders only the current frame.

Auto Render

Automatically recalculates the preview image w henever you modify a parameter.
If your scene is heavy and you do not w ant the preview rendered automatically,
deselect the Auto-Render option and do the preview update manually.Note that
this w ill slow dow n Harmony as it takes resources to update every frame.

Layer Properties

Displays the Layer Properties w indow of the selected layer in the Timeline view .

Preview Manager

Opens the Preview Manager w here you can set options for the quality ofpreview s, and clearing and updating the cache.

Bitmap File Quality

Let's you increase or decrease the preview quality of raw bitmap images. By
default, bitmap files imported in Harmony w ill display in a low resolution in the
Camera view to avoid hindering performance.

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TIP
You can change the default resolution in w hich bitmap files are displayed in
the Camera view by changing the Small Bitmap Resolution preference
located in the Camera tab of the Preferences dialog.

NOTE
This only affects the w ay bitmap images display in the OpenGL preview ofthe scene in the Camera view . The preview quality of bitmap images does
not affect the final render.

Draw ing

Remove Dirt: Opens the Remove Dirt dialog box w here you can specify the
number and size of dots removal from a selected draw ing.

Remove Hair: Opens the Remove Hair dialog box w here you can specify the
number and length of hairs for removal from a selected draw ing. This removes
any small strokes created in the Colour Art layer from very thick lines or filledzones. Increase the value to select larger strokes for removal from the draw ing.

Close Gaps: Closes small gaps in a draw ing by creating small, invisible strokes
betw een the tw o closest points to close the colour zone. You do not need to trace
directly over the gap. You can draw it a few millimeters aw ay. The tw o closest
points automatically close the gap.

Clean Up

Remove Art Inside Selection: Removes any art inside a selection. It is
recommended that you clean your Colour Art level as w ell. If you have a stroke
accumulation in the Colour Art, it can result in large output files, especially if you
w ork in high definition resolutions.

Remove Art Inside Selection On All Drawings: Removes any art inside all
draw ings selected w ith the Permanent Selection option in the Select tool.

Remove Art Outside Selection: Removes any art existing outside a selection. It is
recommended that you clean the Colour Art level as w ell. If you have a stroke
accumulation in the Colour Art, it can result in large output files, especially if you
w ork in high-definition resolutions.

Remove Art Outside Selection On All Drawings: Removes any art outside all
draw ings selected w ith the Permanent Selection option in the Select tool.

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Unpaint Selection: Unpaints any art existing inside a selection.

Unpaint Selection on All Drawings: Unpaints all art contained inside a selection
on all the draw ings w ithin the same layer.

Unpaint Outside Selection: Unpaints any art existing outside a selection. If noselection have been draw n using the Select tool, the entire draw ing w ill be
unpainted.

Unpaint Outside Selection on All Drawings: Unpaints all art outside a selection
on all the draw ings w ithin the same layer.
Paint
Repaint Selection: Repaints any art inside a selection.

Repaint Selection on All Drawings: Repaints any art inside a selection on all thedraw ings contained w ithin the same layer.

Repaint Outside Selection: Repaints any art outside a selection. If no selection
has been draw n using the Select tool, the entire draw ing w ill be repainted.

Repaint Outside Selection on All Drawings: Repaints any art outside a selection
on all the draw ings contained w ithin the same layer.

Pencil Lines to Brush Strokes: Converts the selected centreline pencil strokes
into contour strokes brush lines.

Brush Strokes to Pencil Lines: Converts selected contour strokes into centreline
pencil strokes. The brush stroke thickness w ill be lost.
ConvertStrokes to Pencil Lines: Converts the selected invisible line to a pencil line.

Brush Apart Text Layers: Text is treated as a single draw ing object. This
separates the text so each character becomes an individual draw ing object you
can select and modify independently.

Optimize

Flatten: Merges Merges draw ing objects and brush strokes into a single layer. If
you draw new lines to fix a draw ing or line w ith many brush strokes, it can be
useful to flatten them all into a single shape. By default, lines are draw n one on
top of each other. If you intend to repaint the lines or modify their shape, it w ill beeasier if they are flattened.

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Smooth: Smooths selected draw ing strokes and removes extra points.

Create Contour Strokes: Adds a permanent invisible line around a shape thatw as draw n directly in Harmony. This allow s you to unpaint lines w ith the Paint
tool but maintain the shape of the lines, should you need to repaint later.

Remove Contour Strokes: Remove any permanently invisible lines that w ere
created w hile scanning and vectorizing draw ings or manually adding contour
strokes. This is useful for removing the intersection triangles created duringvectorization.

Remove Extra Strokes: Removes strokes inside painted area. This option only
w orks after the painted draw ing is flattened.

Optimize: Reduces Reduces the number of layers, such as overlapping brushstrokes, in the selected draw ing objects. Draw ing objects w ill only be flattened
and optimized if the selected objects do not change the appearance of the final
image w hen they are merged.

Crop Brush Textures: Crops Crops an unnecessarily large texture bitmap thatlies unseen beneath the vector contour of a textured line. This often occurs w hen
you cut and paste textured lines from one draw ing into another. If you cut a
portion from a textured line and paste it into a different draw ing, Harmony pastes
the entire unseen texture bitmap from the source draw ing into the new one, even
if you only took a small portion of the source draw ing. Using the Crop Brush
Texture command w ill crop aw ay extraneous texture that does not touch thevector area. If there are many textured lines in your scene, this w ill greatly reduce
the file size.

Reduce Drawing Texture Resolution:
W hen you import and vectorize as texture (colour) a high resolution image, thesize of your draw ing can be heavy. You can reduce the size and resolution of the
textures in a draw ing.

Bring to Front: Moves the selected art to the front (on top).

Bring Forward: Moves the selected art one level forw ard (closer to the front).
Arrange
Send Backward: Moves the selected art one level low er (behind).

Send to Back: Moves the selected art behind everything (bottom / back).

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Flip Horizontal: Flips the current selection horizontally.

Flip Vertical: Flips the current selection vertically.

Transform

Rotate 90 CW : Rotates the current selection 90 degrees clockw ise.

Rotate 90 CCW : Rotates the current selection 90 degrees counter-clockw ise.

Rotate 180: Rotates the current selection 180 degrees.

Create Empty
Draw ing

Creates Creates a draw ing in the selected cell, replacing any draw ing that may
already be exposed in that cell and the follow ing ones until it meets anotherdraw ing, key exposure or a blank cell.

Creates a duplicate of the selected draw ing in the layer. The duplicate draw ing
w ill be exposed at the selected frame instead of the original draw ing. Hence, thiscommand allow s you to instantly start w orking on a duplicate of the current
draw ing and retain the original.
Duplicate Draw ings

NOTE
W hen duplicating a draw ing, the exposure at the selected cell is replaced
w ith the new draw ing, up until the next key exposure.

Delete Selected
Draw ings

Permanently removes selected draw ings. Once you save your project, thesedraw ings cannot be recovered.

Rename Draw ing

Lets you give a selected draw ing a new name.

Create Colour Art
From Line Art

Lets you use the outline you traced on one of the four embedded layers (line art,
colour art, overlay, underlay) and create invisible strokes to paint your draw ings
on separate layers. This provides more inking and painting flexibility.
You can also configure this option to create the invisible strokes on any of thefour embedded layers.

Automatically creates a matte from a selected draw ing or all draw ings on a layer.

Generate Auto-Matte

Opens the auto-Matte dialog box w here you can set the radius of the lines
depending on how precise or rough your line is.
You can also select the source and destinatin layers from w hich the matte w ill becreated.

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Adjust Line Texture
Opacity

Change Bitmap
Draw ing Resolution

Lets you adjust the contrast and opacity of textured lines in a draw ing.

Lets you Lets you change the resolution of bitmap art for individual draw ings.
You can reduce the resolution of your bitmap file as w ell as increase it. Be careful
because enlarging the bitmap resolution on an existing draw ing w ill result in aloss of quality.Harmony w ill perform a pixel smoothing pass (resampling) andcreate additional pixels to avoid losing too much quality, but only to a certain
extent. This feature is very useful w hen you need to have a full resolution of abitmap image (such as imported bitmaps as .psd or .tga for the background) for
tracing to create a matte directly in Harmony.By default, Harmony creates small
thumbnail images w hen imported as bitmap in order to increase performance byusing a small thumbnail image instead of using the original large size bitmap foranimation w ork in Harmony. This w ill make difficult to view details or trace dueto the low resolution (blurry). This option temporary increases the resolution ofbitmaps up to their original bitmap resolution to make tracing easier.

Previous Draw ing

Next Draw ing

Previous Layer

Once a cell is selected in the Timeline or Xsheet view , you can navigate betw een
the draw ings, frames, and layers. Displays the previous draw ing, next draw ing,
previous layer or next layer.
Displays the previous draw ing, next draw ing, previous layer or next layer.

Next Layer

Toggle Current Colour Protection: Temporarily enables/disables the Colour
Protection feature so you can quickly correct w rongly inked or painted areas
under protected colour w ithout readjusting the Current Colour Protection option.
Colour Protection
Respect Colour Protection: In the Colour view , you can protect a colour sw atch
to avoid repainting or unpainting the zones linked to that sw atch. If you using the
Paint tool and this option is deselected, you w ill repaint or unpaint the protectedcolours on your draw ings until you enable the option again.

Draw ing Tools

SelectAllow s you to select and reposition, scale, rotate and skew brush strokes, pencil
lines, shapes and other parts of your artw ork.

Contour Editor

Allow s you to edit the vector contours of brush strokes, pencil lines and shapes inyour artw ork. You can add, remove, tw eak and move vector points, move theBezier handles of the vector points as w ell as deform vector outlines.

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Centerline Editor

Allow s you to tw eak and deform a brush stroke by manipulating the points at thecentre of its line rather than its contour.

Pencil Editor

Lets you modify the thick and thin contour of a pencil line (basically a central
vector shape). Shape control points along the central spine allow you to adjust
the stroke curve and position.

CutterAllow s you to cut a part of your artw ork, then reposition, scale, rotate and skew
it.

Smooth Editor

Allow s you to optimize contours and lines by removing its extra points, making
them easier to edit.

Perspective

Allow s you to deform artw ork by applying a perspective effect on it.

Envelope

Allow s you to deform and w arp artw ork by moving points and tw eaking lines in a
grid.

Reposition All
Draw ings

Allow s you to reposition, scale, rotate and skew all draw ings in the current layer.

Draw ing Pivot

Allow s you to position the pivot on a draw ing layer by clicking w here you w ant
its location to be.

Brush

A pressure-sensitive tool for creating a contour shape w ith a thick and thin line
effect, as if created w ith a paint brush.

PencilA pressure-sensitive tool for draw ing outlines. Pencil lines are made of central
vector lines, making them easier to tw eak and edit than brush strokes.

Text

Allow s you to add text and to format it.

EraserA pressure-sensitive tool for erasing parts of a draw ing.

Colour Eyedropper

Allow s you to select a colour by clicking on a colour in your artw ork.

Pencil Texture
Eyedropper

Allow s you to select a pencil texture by clicking on a textured pencil line.

Morphing

Allow s you to create and configure a morphing sequence, w hich w ill

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automatically generate the in-betw eens betw een tw o draw ings in the current
layer.

Line

Draw s a straight line segment going from one point to the other.

Rectangle

Draw s a rectangle.

EllipseDraw s an ellipse.

Polyline

Allow s you to draw shapes, segmented lines or complex curved lines by clicking
to create each point in the sequence of line segments.

Paint

Allow s you to fill colour zones w ith a colour or texture.

Ink

Allow s you to recolour pencil lines w ith precision by changing the colour of one
segment at a time.

Repaint Brush

Lets you repaint existing brush strokes. The new brush strokes w ill be cropped to
fit in existing artw ork.

Close Gap

Allow s you to close open shapes so that they can be filled w ith the Paint tool. By
draw ing a stroke near a small gap in a shape, this tool w ill create a small invisible
stroke connecting the tw o closest points around the gap.

StrokeAllow s you to create invisible lines that can serve as colour zones that can be
filled, or close the gaps in existing colour zones.

Edit Gradient/Texture

Allow s you to adjust the position, angle and size of gradients and textures in acolour zone.

Hand

Allow s you to pan the Camera and Draw ing view s.

Zoom

Allow s you zoom in and out of the Camera and Draw ing view s.

Rotate View

Lets you rotate the Camera and Draw ing view s just like w ith a real animation
disc.

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Insert Keyframe

Adds a keyframe on the selected cell in the Timeline view .

Insert Control Point

Adds a control point to a 3D path function.

Set Stop-Motion
Keyframe

Converts the selected keyframes to stop-motion keyframes. Betw een a stopmotion keyframe and the next keyframe, Harmony does not generate any
animation and the element remains static until the next keyframe.

Converts the selected keyframes to motion keyframes. W ith motion keyframes,
Set Motion Keyframe

Harmony generates the interpolation betw een the motion keyframe and the next
keyframe. This means that a value for each frame betw een the keyframes iscalculated by Harmony to progress from the value of the previous keyframe tothe value of the next keyframe.

Flip

Flips the position of an element on its axis.

Set Ease for Multiple
Parameters

Lets you set the ease in and ease out on multiple functions and keyframes. This
opens the Set Ease For Multiple Parameters w here you can modify the Bezier orEase curve. You can apply easing parameters to a certain type of function only,
such as rotation or scale.

Linear Motion

Transforms a curved path to a linear path removing tension, bias, and continuity.

Lock in Time

Indicates Indicates w hether the point is locked to a specific frame (keyframe) or
only locked to a specific position and the curve can flow through it freely as otherpoints are being added, moved, or adjusted (control point).

No Z Dragging

Keeps the Z value constant w hen you drag a character using the Transform orTranslate tool.

Substitute Draw ing
Previous
Replaces the draw ing or cell's symbol on the current frame by the next draw ing.
Substitute Draw ing
Next

Select Previous
Keyframe/Point
Select the previous keyframe/point.
Select Next
Keyframe/Point

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Lock

Locks a layer so it cannot be selected in the Camera view .

Reset

Returns Returns the value of the selected element to the initial value of the active
tool. For example, if the Rotate tool is active, the transformation angle w ill bereset to 0 and if the Transform tool is active, all the transformation values w ill bereset.

Reset All

Resets Resets all transformations on the current frame in a selected layer. Your
keyframe w ill remain, but all the values w ill return to the starting value. Alltransformations are reset regardless of the tool you're using.

Reset All Except Z

Resets Resets all transformations on the current frame except the Z position. Thisis useful w hen doing cut-out animation. Cut-out puppets often have a particular
Z ordering for the different view s of a character. You might w ant to reset thetransformation, but not necessarily the Z position.

Animation Tools

Transform

Allow s you to select draw ing layers and position, rotate, scale and skew them.

TranslateLets you move the selected element along the X and Y axes.

RotateTurns a selected element around its pivot point.

Scale

Increases or decreases the size of a selected element. You can scale an object up
to make it larger or dow n to make it smaller. Press Shift to scale the element
w hile maintaining its proportions.

Maintain Size

Keeps elements the same size aspect ratio in the Camera view as you move them
tow ards or aw ay from the camera.

Skew

Slants the selected element.

Reposition Draw ing

Lets you reposition, scale, rotate or skew all draw ing strokes on every draw ing
included in a layer.

Spline Offset

Lets you Lets you reposition the visual trajectory w ithout offsetting or modifying
your animation. By default, the trajectory is located at 0,0,0 fields. If yourelements w ere draw n in a different location than the centre of the draw ing area,
it w ill look like the trajectory is not aligned w ith your draw ing. Also, if you haveseveral elements attached to one trajectory, you might w ant your trajectory to be275

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at a different location to represent the group's motion better.

Inverse Kinematic
Tool

Allow s you to pose a character model by pulling on its extremities, such as hands
and feet, and have the other connected limbs follow . Can be used on any piece
connected in a hierarchy.

IK Constraints

Set IK Nail

Blocks the X, Y and Z positions.

Set IK Hold
Orientation

Blocks the angle.

Set IK Hold X

Blocks only the X position.

Set IK Hold Y

Blocks only the Y position.

Set IK Min Angle
Sets limitations on the angle parameter to prevent the puppet from bending too
far.
Set IK Max Angle

Remove All
Constraints

Removes all nails except the minimum and maximum angles.

Morphing

Morphing

Contour Hint

Allow s you to create and configure a morphing sequence, w hich w ill
automatically generate the in-betw eens betw een tw o draw ings in the current
layer.

The Contour Hint point is used on the colour fill zone and brush lines; in otherw ords, on Contour vectors. It allow s you to control the line thickness and contour
position. Also, if a contour is not animated correctly, you can use hints to correct
the animation. For example, if a flag is not w aving properly.
W hen adding a Contour Hint point, make sure to place it far enough aw ay fromthe contour so you can see it snap to the contour.
Contour Hint points are yellow .

Zone Hint

The Zone Hint point is used on a colour zone to control the proximity rule. The

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Zone Hint is placed in the centre of the colour zone. Sometimes a colour zone is
not associated w ith the corresponding one by default. For example, in a splash
animation there are many w ater droplets that are the same colour. Harmony
automatically morphs the droplet to the nearest one. This is not alw ays the one
you may have predicted. A Zone Hint w ill force a colour zone to morph w ith
another one.
Zone Hint points are cyan in colour.

A Pencil Hint point is used to control a pencil line, also know n as central vector. It

Pencil Hint

can be used on draw ings that w ere done using the Pencil, Polyline, Ellipse, Lineand Rectangle tools. Like the Contour Hint, the Pencil Hint snaps to the central
vector. Make sure to place it far enough aw ay from the line so you w ill see it snap
w hen you move it.
Pencil Hint points are magenta in colour.

Vanishing Point Hint

A Vanishing Point Hint is used to control the trajectory of a vanishing shape. A
shape w ill vanish from the source draw ing w hen there is no corresponding shapein the destination draw ing. If you do not place a Vanishing Point Hint to control
the point of disappearance, the shape w ill vanish into its centre.
Vanishing Point Hint points are green in colour.

An Appearing Point Hint is used to control the trajectory of an appearing shape.

Appearing Point Hint

A shape w ill appear in the destination draw ing w hen there is no corresponding
shape in the source draw ing. If you do not place an Appearing Point Hint tocontrol the point of appearance, the shape w ill appear from its centre and expand
outw ards.
Appearing Point Hint points are violet in colour.

Sw itch Betw een
Morphing Key
Draw ings

Toggles Toggles betw een the tw o key draw ings in your morphing sequence. This
option is useful w hile setting hints. You can use the default keyboard shortcut F4
to toggle betw een your draw ings.

Suggest HInts

Automatically sets Automatically sets hint points on key draw ings as a help tool.
If you're not sure w here to set hints, you can use this option. It w ill set the main
hints w hich you can then fine tune.

Hide Hints

Temporarily Temporarily hides the hint points from the key draw ings. Use thisoption w hen you have a series of hint points hiding some lines you w ould like to
see.

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Colour View Menu
The Colour View menu lets you access commands related to the Colour view such as creating new palettes,
adding new colour sw atches, and displaying the Tint panel.

How to access the Colour menul

In the upper-left corner of the Colour view , click the menu

Commandbutton.

Description

Palettes

Creates a new colour palette.

New

By default, Toon Boom Harmony Advanced is set to the Basic mode. For simple
productions, it is recommended to use the Basic mode. This setting stores thepalettes automatically for you and saves them at the Scene level. W hen you use
the Advanced Palette Lists mode, you can decide at w hich level you w ant to store
your palettes: Environment, Job, Scene, or Element.

Link

Lets you access other palettes created in the project and link them to your scene.

ImportImports a colour palette located on your hard drive.

RemoveRemoves the selected palette from the palette list.

Remove and Delete
on Disk

Removes the selected palette from the palette list and deletes the palette filefrom the disk.

RenameLets you five the selected colour palette a new name.

Duplicate

Creates a copy of the original palette, using the same names and colour values,
but has a different ID and is independent from the original palette. This ensuresthat both the duplicate and original palettes are completely independent.

Clone

Creates a copy of the master palette. The colours in each palette have the same
properties. The colours have the same identification number pointing to the same
colour zones, but they can have different names and RGBA values.

Pencil Texture

Displays the colour palette containing the pencil line textures.

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PaletteMove Up

Moves the selected colour palette up one level.

Move Dow n

Moves the selected colour palette dow n one level.

Colour Editor

Opens the Colour Editor w here you can pick and edit colour sw atches.

Tint Panel

Opens the Tint panel w here you can modify a series of colours to blend a tint inthem or offset their RGBA values.

Current PaletteOverrides

W hen clone palettes are present in the palette list, by default, priority is given to
the palette that is the highest in the palette list to decide w hich colours to apply
to draw ings. W ith this option enabled, priority is given to the currently selected
palette. Selecting any of the clone palettes w ill make draw ings use colours fromthe selected palette instead.

Display Colour
Values

Display the colour values beside their colour sw atches in the palette list.

Colours

Cut

Cuts the selected colour sw atch from the palette.

Copy

Copies the selected colour sw atch w hich you can paste in a different palette.

Copy Colour ID

Copies a colour sw atch's colour ID so you can keep a reference file of colour IDs
or use them w ith custom plug-ins. Example of a colour ID: 075cf5b552401130.

Paste Colour Values

Pastes the colour value of the copied sw atch over an existing colour sw atch.

Paste As New
Colours

Creates a new colour sw atch from the colour value of the copied sw atch.

Paste As Clones

Pastes a copied colour to a new palette as a clone of the original one. Both colour
use the same colour ID. They have to be in different palettes.

New

Creates a new colour sw atch from the colour sw atch that w as last selected.

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Edit

Opens the Colour Picker w indow in w hich you can edit the selected colour
sw atch.

DeleteDeletes the selected colour sw atch from the palette.

New Texture

Lets you add a bitmap colour sw atch to your palette. You can load photos andtextures and paint your draw ings w ith it. The bitmap image must be a .tga or .psd
file format.

Edit Texture

Opens the brow ser to replace the texture used in a textured colour sw atch. Allzones using the sw atch w ill be updated w ith the new texture.

Scale Dow n Texture

Lets you set a new maximum texture size or scaling factor.

New Default Colour

Creates a new colour using the default colour set in the preferences.

Protect Colour

Locks a selected colour, so if you ever paint over it accidentally, the w ork alreadydone w ill not be affected. You can also block the filling colours if you painted allof the animation in Line Art and plan to repaint the lines.

Displays the colour sw atches w ith its corresponding name inside the sw atch.
Sw atch Mode

Independent Bitmap
Colour

W hen this option is not selected, the names of the colour sw atches are displayed
beside the sw atch.

Bitmap colour selection is independent from the vector colour selection.

Bitmap Colour Sliders

RGB

Displays the colour picking sliders as RGB (red, green, blue).

HSV

Displays the colour picking sliders as HSV (hue, saturation, value).

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Drawing View Menu
The Draw ing View menu lets you access tools, set morphing parameters, lock or unlock layers, and selectelements in the Draw ing view .

How to access the Drawing menul

In the upper-left corner of the Draw ing view , click the menu

Commandbutton.

Description

Edit

Cut

Removes selected objects. You can then paste the object or its properties toanother object.

Copy

Copies selected objects and properties.

Paste

Places an object you cut or copied into the location you select in a view .

DeleteRemoves selected objects.

Select All

Selects all draw ing objects in the current draw ing w indow in the Draw ing,
Timeline and Camera view s. This helps you manage multiple objects as one
w hen moving them.

Deselect All

Deselects all selected objects in the Draw ing and Camera view s.

Select Stroke W ith
Current Colour

Selects all the strokes that are filled w ith the colour or texture that’s currently
selected in the Colour view .

Select Strokes W ith
Current Pencil
TextureSelects all the pencil lines that use the pencil line texture that’s currently
selected in the Colour view .

Invert Selection

Deselects the currently selected items and selects all other items that w ere notselected. For example, if some lines are selected in a draw ing, this command w illdeselect them and select any other lines in the draw ing that w ere not selected.

View

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Zoom In

Zooms in the view .

Zoom Out

Zooms out the view .

Reset Zoom

Resets the view ’s zoom to its default position.

Rotate View CW

Rotates the Camera view 30 degrees clockw ise, like an animation table.

Rotate View CCW

Rotates the Camera view 30 degrees counter-clockw ise, like an animation table.

Reset Rotation

Resets the view ’s rotation to its default position.

Reset Pan

Resets the view ’s pan to its default position.

Reset View

Resets the view to its default position.

Sw itch to Colour Art

Displays the Colour Art layer. W hen sw itching art layers, you can edit the
selected layer w ithout affecting the other one.

Preview Line
Art and Colour
Art

Displays all Art layers.

Show Grid: Displays the grid.

Grid Outline Only: Displays the outline of the grid only.

Underlay: Displays the grid under the draw ing elements.

Grid

Overlay: Displays the grid over the draw ing elements.

Square Grid: Displays a standard square grid.

12 Field Grid: Displays a 12-field size grid.

16 Field Grid: Displays a 16-field size grid.

Onion Skin

Show Onion Skin: Lets Lets you preview the previous and next draw ings. By

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default, the previous draw ings appear in a shade of red and the next draw ings
are displayed w ith a shade of green. You can change these colours in the
Preferences dialog box.

Show Centre Line:No Previous Drawing: Displays no previous draw ing.

Previous Drawing: Displays the previous draw ing.

Previous Two Drawings: Displays the previous tw o draw ings.

Previous Three Drawings: Displays the previous three draw ings.

No Next Drawing: Displays no next draw ing.

Next Drawing: Displays the next draw ing.

Next Two Drawings: Displays the next tw o draw ings.

Next Three Drawings: Displays the next three draw ings.

Reduce One Previous Drawing: Reduces the number of previous visible
draw ings by one.

Add One Previous Drawing: Adds one draw ing to the number of previous visible
draw ings.

Reduce One Next Drawing: Reduces the number of next visible draw ings byone.

Add One Next Drawing: Adds one draw ing to the number of next visible
draw ings.

Light Table

Turns on the light table so you can see Turns on the light table so you can see theprevious and subsequent active layers in w ashed-out colours. It is useful forseeing the other layers w hen designing, animating or cleaning up your animation.

Backlight

Produces Produces a silhouette effect by changing the draw ing’s coloured areas
into a single dark, solid colour. Use this to verify the completeness of the ink and283

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paint process. Any unpainted zones can be seen as the light show s through theunpainted areas of the silhouetted draw ing.

Show

Show Strokes

Displays the strokes in your draw ings so that the invisible lines stand out.

Show Strokes w ith
Colour W ash

Displays strokes w ith w ashed-out colours.

Highlight Selected
ColourIdentify a selected colour sw atch used in a draw ing.

Show Morphing Key
Draw ing Thumbnail

W hen using the Morphing tools, this displays the source or destination draw ing
as a reference in the bottom corner of the Draw ing view .

Show Scan
Information

Displays a status bar show ing the scanning information at the bottom of theDraw ing and Camera view .

Desk

No Thumbnail

Small Thumbnail
Changes the size of the draw ing desk thumbnails.
Medium Thumbnail

Large Thumbnail

Remove Selected
Draw ing

Clears selected draw ing from draw ing desk.

Remove All Draw ings

Clears all draw ing from draw ing desk.

Draw ing

Clean Up

Remove Dirt: Opens the Remove Dirt dialog box w here you can specify the
number and size of dots removal from a selected draw ing.

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Remove Hair: Opens the Remove Hair dialog box w here you can specify the
number and length of hairs for removal from a selected draw ing. This removes
any small strokes created in the Colour Art layer from very thick lines or filledzones. Increase the value to select larger strokes for removal from the draw ing.

Close Gaps: Closes small gaps in a draw ing by creating small, invisible strokes
betw een the tw o closest points to close the colour zone. You do not need to trace
directly over the gap. You can draw it a few millimeters aw ay. The tw o closest
points automatically close the gap.

Remove Art Inside Selection: Removes any art inside a selection. It is
recommended that you clean your Colour Art level as w ell. If you have a stroke
accumulation in the Colour Art, it can result in large output files, especially if you
w ork in high definition resolutions.

Remove Art Inside Selection On All Drawings: Removes any art inside all
draw ings selected w ith the Permanent Selection option in the Select tool.

Remove Art Outside Selection: Removes any art existing outside a selection. It is
recommended that you clean the Colour Art level as w ell. If you have a stroke
accumulation in the Colour Art, it can result in large output files, especially if you
w ork in high-definition resolutions.

Remove Art Outside Selection On All Drawings: Removes any art outside all
draw ings selected w ith the Permanent Selection option in the Select tool.

Unpaint Selection: Unpaints any art existing inside a selection.

Unpaint Selection on All Drawings: Unpaints all art contained inside a selection
on all the draw ings w ithin the same layer.

Unpaint Outside Selection: Unpaints any art existing outside a selection. If noselection have been draw n using the Select tool, the entire draw ing w ill be
unpainted.
Paint
Unpaint Outside Selection on All Drawings: Unpaints all art outside a selection
on all the draw ings w ithin the same layer.

Repaint Selection: Repaints any art inside a selection.

Repaint Selection on All Drawings: Repaints any art inside a selection on all thedraw ings contained w ithin the same layer.

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Repaint Outside Selection: Repaints any art outside a selection. If no selection
has been draw n using the Select tool, the entire draw ing w ill be repainted.

Repaint Outside Selection on All Drawings: Repaints any art outside a selection
on all the draw ings contained w ithin the same layer.

Pencil Lines to Brush Strokes: Converts the selected centreline pencil strokes
into contour strokes brush lines.

Brush Strokes to Pencil Lines: Converts selected contour strokes into centreline
pencil strokes. The brush stroke thickness w ill be lost.
ConvertStrokes to Pencil Lines: Converts the selected invisible line to a pencil line.

Brush Apart Text Layers: Text is treated as a single draw ing object. This
separates the text so each character becomes an individual draw ing object you
can select and modify independently.

Flatten: Merges Merges draw ing objects and brush strokes into a single layer. If
you draw new lines to fix a draw ing or line w ith many brush strokes, it can be
useful to flatten them all into a single shape. By default, lines are draw n one on
top of each other. If you intend to repaint the lines or modify their shape, it w ill beeasier if they are flattened.

Smooth: Smooths selected draw ing strokes and removes extra points.

Create Contour Strokes: Adds a permanent invisible line around a shape thatw as draw n directly in Harmony. This allow s you to unpaint lines w ith the Paint
tool but maintain the shape of the lines, should you need to repaint later.
Optimize
Remove Contour Strokes: Remove any permanently invisible lines that w ere
created w hile scanning and vectorizing draw ings or manually adding contour
strokes. This is useful for removing the intersection triangles created duringvectorization.

Remove Extra Strokes: Removes strokes inside painted area. This option only
w orks after the painted draw ing is flattened.

Optimize: Reduces Reduces the number of layers, such as overlapping brushstrokes, in the selected draw ing objects. Draw ing objects w ill only be flattened
and optimized if the selected objects do not change the appearance of the final
image w hen they are merged.

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Crop Brush Textures: Crops Crops an unnecessarily large texture bitmap thatlies unseen beneath the vector contour of a textured line. This often occurs w hen
you cut and paste textured lines from one draw ing into another. If you cut a
portion from a textured line and paste it into a different draw ing, Harmony pastes
the entire unseen texture bitmap from the source draw ing into the new one, even
if you only took a small portion of the source draw ing. Using the Crop Brush
Texture command w ill crop aw ay extraneous texture that does not touch thevector area. If there are many textured lines in your scene, this w ill greatly reduce
the file size.

Reduce Drawing Texture Resolution:
W hen you import and vectorize as texture (colour) a high resolution image, thesize of your draw ing can be heavy. You can reduce the size and resolution of the
textures in a draw ing.

Bring to Front: Moves the selected art to the front (on top).

Bring Forward: Moves the selected art one level forw ard (closer to the front).
Arrange
Send Backward: Moves the selected art one level low er (behind).

Send to Back: Moves the selected art behind everything (bottom / back).

Flip Horizontal: Flips the current selection horizontally.

Flip Vertical: Flips the current selection vertically.

Transform

Rotate 90 CW : Rotates the current selection 90 degrees clockw ise.

Rotate 90 CCW : Rotates the current selection 90 degrees counter-clockw ise.

Rotate 180: Rotates the current selection 180 degrees.

Create Empty
Draw ing

Creates Creates a draw ing in the selected cell, replacing any draw ing that may
already be exposed in that cell and the follow ing ones until it meets anotherdraw ing, key exposure or a blank cell.

Duplicate Draw ings

Creates a duplicate of the selected draw ing in the layer. The duplicate draw ing
w ill be exposed at the selected frame instead of the original draw ing. Hence, thiscommand allow s you to instantly start w orking on a duplicate of the current
draw ing and retain the original.

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NOTE
W hen duplicating a draw ing, the exposure at the selected cell is replaced
w ith the new draw ing, up until the next key exposure.

Delete Selected
Draw ings

Permanently removes selected draw ings. Once you save your project, thesedraw ings cannot be recovered.

Rename Draw ing

Lets you give a selected draw ing a new name.

Create Colour Art
From Line Art

Lets you use the outline you traced on one of the four embedded layers (line art,
colour art, overlay, underlay) and create invisible strokes to paint your draw ings
on separate layers. This provides more inking and painting flexibility.
You can also configure this option to create the invisible strokes on any of thefour embedded layers.

Automatically creates a matte from a selected draw ing or all draw ings on a layer.

Generate Auto-Matte

Opens the auto-Matte dialog box w here you can set the radius of the lines
depending on how precise or rough your line is.
You can also select the source and destinatin layers from w hich the matte w ill becreated.

Adjust Line Texture
Opacity

Lets you adjust the contrast and opacity of textured lines in a draw ing.

Change Bitmap
Draw ing Resolution

Lets you Lets you change the resolution of bitmap art for individual draw ings.
You can reduce the resolution of your bitmap file as w ell as increase it. Be careful
because enlarging the bitmap resolution on an existing draw ing w ill result in aloss of quality.Harmony w ill perform a pixel smoothing pass (resampling) andcreate additional pixels to avoid losing too much quality, but only to a certain
extent. This feature is very useful w hen you need to have a full resolution of abitmap image (such as imported bitmaps as .psd or .tga for the background) for
tracing to create a matte directly in Harmony.By default, Harmony creates small
thumbnail images w hen imported as bitmap in order to increase performance byusing a small thumbnail image instead of using the original large size bitmap foranimation w ork in Harmony. This w ill make difficult to view details or trace dueto the low resolution (blurry). This option temporary increases the resolution ofbitmaps up to their original bitmap resolution to make tracing easier.

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Previous Draw ing

Next Draw ing

Previous Layer

Once a cell is selected in the Timeline or Xsheet view , you can navigate betw een
the draw ings, frames, and layers. Displays the previous draw ing, next draw ing,
previous layer or next layer.
Displays the previous draw ing, next draw ing, previous layer or next layer.

Next Layer

Toggle Current Colour Protection: Temporarily enables/disables the Colour
Protection feature so you can quickly correct w rongly inked or painted areas
under protected colour w ithout readjusting the Current Colour Protection option.
Colour Protection
Respect Colour Protection: In the Colour view , you can protect a colour sw atch
to avoid repainting or unpainting the zones linked to that sw atch. If you using the
Paint tool and this option is deselected, you w ill repaint or unpaint the protectedcolours on your draw ings until you enable the option again.

Draw ing Tools

SelectAllow s you to select and reposition, scale, rotate and skew brush strokes, pencil
lines, shapes and other parts of your artw ork.

Contour Editor

Allow s you to edit the vector contours of brush strokes, pencil lines and shapes inyour artw ork. You can add, remove, tw eak and move vector points, move theBezier handles of the vector points as w ell as deform vector outlines.

Centerline Editor

Allow s you to tw eak and deform a brush stroke by manipulating the points at thecentre of its line rather than its contour.

Pencil Editor

Lets you modify the thick and thin contour of a pencil line (basically a central
vector shape). Shape control points along the central spine allow you to adjust
the stroke curve and position.

CutterAllow s you to cut a part of your artw ork, then reposition, scale, rotate and skew
it.

Smooth Editor

Allow s you to optimize contours and lines by removing its extra points, making
them easier to edit.

Perspective

Allow s you to deform artw ork by applying a perspective effect on it.

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Envelope

Allow s you to deform and w arp artw ork by moving points and tw eaking lines in a
grid.

Reposition All
Draw ings

Allow s you to reposition, scale, rotate and skew all draw ings in the current layer.

Draw ing Pivot

Allow s you to position the pivot on a draw ing layer by clicking w here you w ant
its location to be.

Brush

A pressure-sensitive tool for creating a contour shape w ith a thick and thin line
effect, as if created w ith a paint brush.

PencilA pressure-sensitive tool for draw ing outlines. Pencil lines are made of central
vector lines, making them easier to tw eak and edit than brush strokes.

Text

Allow s you to add text and to format it.

EraserA pressure-sensitive tool for erasing parts of a draw ing.

Colour Eyedropper

Allow s you to select a colour by clicking on a colour in your artw ork.

Pencil Texture
Eyedropper

Allow s you to select a pencil texture by clicking on a textured pencil line.

Morphing

Allow s you to create and configure a morphing sequence, w hich w ill
automatically generate the in-betw eens betw een tw o draw ings in the current
layer.

Line

Draw s a straight line segment going from one point to the other.

Rectangle

Draw s a rectangle.

EllipseDraw s an ellipse.

Polyline

Allow s you to draw shapes, segmented lines or complex curved lines by clicking
to create each point in the sequence of line segments.

Paint

Allow s you to fill colour zones w ith a colour or texture.

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Ink

Allow s you to recolour pencil lines w ith precision by changing the colour of one
segment at a time.

Repaint Brush

Lets you repaint existing brush strokes. The new brush strokes w ill be cropped to
fit in existing artw ork.

Close Gap

Allow s you to close open shapes so that they can be filled w ith the Paint tool. By
draw ing a stroke near a small gap in a shape, this tool w ill create a small invisible
stroke connecting the tw o closest points around the gap.

StrokeAllow s you to create invisible lines that can serve as colour zones that can be
filled, or close the gaps in existing colour zones.

Edit Gradient/Texture

Allow s you to adjust the position, angle and size of gradients and textures in acolour zone.

Hand

Allow s you to pan the Camera and Draw ing view s.

Zoom

Allow s you zoom in and out of the Camera and Draw ing view s.

Rotate View

Lets you rotate the Camera and Draw ing view s just like w ith a real animation
disc.

Morphing

Morphing

Contour Hint

Allow s you to create and configure a morphing sequence, w hich w ill
automatically generate the in-betw eens betw een tw o draw ings in the current
layer.

The Contour Hint point is used on the colour fill zone and brush lines; in otherw ords, on Contour vectors. It allow s you to control the line thickness and contour
position. Also, if a contour is not animated correctly, you can use hints to correct
the animation. For example, if a flag is not w aving properly.
W hen adding a Contour Hint point, make sure to place it far enough aw ay fromthe contour so you can see it snap to the contour.
Contour Hint points are yellow .

Zone Hint

The Zone Hint point is used on a colour zone to control the proximity rule. The
Zone Hint is placed in the centre of the colour zone. Sometimes a colour zone is
not associated w ith the corresponding one by default. For example, in a splash

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animation there are many w ater droplets that are the same colour. Harmony
automatically morphs the droplet to the nearest one. This is not alw ays the one
you may have predicted. A Zone Hint w ill force a colour zone to morph w ith
another one.
Zone Hint points are cyan in colour.

A Pencil Hint point is used to control a pencil line, also know n as central vector. It
can be used on draw ings that w ere done using the Pencil, Polyline, Ellipse, Lineand Rectangle tools. Like the Contour Hint, the Pencil Hint snaps to the central
Pencil Hint

vector. Make sure to place it far enough aw ay from the line so you w ill see it snap
w hen you move it.
Pencil Hint points are magenta in colour.

Vanishing Point Hint

A Vanishing Point Hint is used to control the trajectory of a vanishing shape. A
shape w ill vanish from the source draw ing w hen there is no corresponding shapein the destination draw ing. If you do not place a Vanishing Point Hint to control
the point of disappearance, the shape w ill vanish into its centre.
Vanishing Point Hint points are green in colour.

An Appearing Point Hint is used to control the trajectory of an appearing shape.
A shape w ill appear in the destination draw ing w hen there is no corresponding
shape in the source draw ing. If you do not place an Appearing Point Hint toAppearing Point Hint

control the point of appearance, the shape w ill appear from its centre and expand
outw ards.
Appearing Point Hint points are violet in colour.

Sw itch Betw een
Morphing Key
Draw ings

Toggles Toggles betw een the tw o key draw ings in your morphing sequence. This
option is useful w hile setting hints. You can use the default keyboard shortcut F4
to toggle betw een your draw ings.

Go to First Frame

Goes to the first frame of your morphing sequence.

Go to Previous Frame

Goes to the previous frame of the selected frame in the morphing sequence.

Go to Next Frame

Goes to the next frame of the selected frame in the morphing sequence.

Go to Last Frame

Goes to the last frame of your morphing sequence.

Suggest HInts

Automatically sets Automatically sets hint points on key draw ings as a help tool.
If you're not sure w here to set hints, you can use this option. It w ill set the main
hints w hich you can then fine tune.

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Hide Hints

Temporarily Temporarily hides the hint points from the key draw ings. Use thisoption w hen you have a series of hint points hiding some lines you w ould like to
see.

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Function View Menu
The Functions View menu lets you do many things in the Camera view , including selecting and editing objects
in different view s, changing the display, setting morphing parameters, accessing tools and many more.

How to access the Function menul

In the upper-left corner of the Function view , click the menu

Commandbutton.

Description

Edit

Cut

Removes selected objects. You can then paste the object or its properties toanother object.

Copy

Copies selected objects and properties.

Paste

Places an object you cut or copied into the location you select in a view .

DeleteRemoves selected objects.

Select Next Keyframe

Selects the next keyframe.

Select Previous
Keyframe

Selects the previous keyframe.

Select Left Handle

Selects the left handle of the selected keyframe.

Select Right Handle

Selects the right handle of the selected keyframe.

Select All

Selects all objects in the Function view . This helps you manage multiple objects
as one.

Deselect All

Deselects all selected objects in the Function view .

View

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference GuideShow Current Frame

Displays the current frame

Toggle Grid

Enables the display of the grid.

Reset Zoom

Resets the view ’s zoom to its default position.

Reset Pan

Resets the view ’s pan to its default position.

Reset View

Resets the view to its default position.

Function List

Auto Load Selection

Sets the Function view to automatically load the functions of layers w hen thenode is selected in the Node View .

Clear

W ill clear all functions in the Function view .

Load Selection

Loads the functions of the current node selection.

Add Selection

Adds the functions of the currently selected node.

Remove Selection

W ill remove the function of the currently selected node from the Function view .

Show Motion: Displays the function for Motion (the Pos_x and Pos_y).

Show Rotation: Displays the function for Rotation (Angle_z).
Show
Show Scale: Displays the function for Scaling (Scale_x and Scale_y).

Show Skew: Displays the function for Skew .

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Library View Menu
The Library View menu lets you access commands specific to the Library view , such as opening a Library or
getting the rights to modify a library folder.

How to access the Library menul

In the upper-left corner of the Library view , click the menu

Commandbutton.

Description

View

List

Displays the contents of the selected folder as a list.

Thumbnails

Displays the contents of the selected folder as a thumbnails.

Details

Displays the details of the selected file.

Generate Thumbnails

Creates a thumbnail to display in the preview w indow .

Edit

Creates a new symbol from a draw ing or part of a draw ing in the Draw ing or
Camera view , or a layer in the Timeline view .

New Symbol

If your selection is in the Timeline , the new symbol appears in the Symbol folder.
The current selection is not replaced by the new symbol. The new symbol only
appears in the library. You must drag it into your scene to use it.
If your selection is in the Draw ing or Camera view , the new symbol appears in the
Symbol folder and in the Timeline view as a new layer.

Cut

Cuts the selected file in the Library view .

Copy

Copies the selected file in the Library view .

Paste

Pastes the selected file in the Library view .

DeleteDeletes the selected file in the Library view .

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Delete Thumbnails

Deletes any thumbnails that w ere generated for display in the preview w indow .

Places you inside the symbol w here you can edit it.
Edit Symbol

To return to the project's timeline, click the Top

button in the Camera view 's

top-left corner, press Ctrl + Shift + E (W indow s/Linux) or ⌘ + Shift + E (macOS).

Remove Unused Files

Removes any files not in use in the selected template.

Rename Template

Lets you rename a selected template.

Import Files

Imports vector files such as AI, PDF, and SW F. You requires the right to modify
the library in w hich you w ant to import the files.

Folders

New Folder

Creates a new folder in the Library view . Before you can create a new folder, youmust have the right to modify the folder in w hich you are creating the new folder.

RefreshUpdates the view and its contents.

Open LibraryLets you open a library on your computer.

Close Library

Unlinks a library folder from your library list.

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Reference View Menu
The Reference View menu lets you load models and view them in different w ays, as w ell as access somedraw ing tools.

How to access the Reference menul

In the upper-left corner of the Reference view , click the menu

Icon

Tool/Command

button.

Description

View Menu

Previous

Show s the previous model loaded in the
Reference view .

NextShow s the next model loaded in the Reference
view .

Import References

Imports a TVG draw ing as a model in the
Reference view .

Use Current Draw ing as
Reference

Loads the currently selected draw ing in thescene as a model in the Reference view .

Load Default References

Loads TVG draw ings placed in a custom
models folder located in the scene folder.

Unload Current

Unloads the image from the Reference View .

Delete Current

Deletes the image in the Reference view .

Zoom In

Zooms in the view .

Zoom Out

Zooms out the view .

Reset Zoom

Resets the view ’s zoom to its default position.

Reset Pan

Resets the view ’s pan to its default position.

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Reset View

Resets the view to its default position.

Rotate View CW

Rotates the Camera view 30 degrees
clockw ise, like an animation table.

Rotate View CCW

Rotates the Camera view 30 degrees counterclockw ise, like an animation table.

Resets the view ’s rotation to its default

Reset Rotation

position.

SelectActivates the Select tool. This tools is alsoavailable on the Tools toolbar.

Cutter Selection

Allow s to cut a section of the model to paste itin your scene.

Colour Eyedropper

Activates the Colour Eyedropper tool. This
tools is also available on the Tools toolbar.

Activates the Zoom tool. This tools is also

Zoom

available on the Tools toolbar.

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Onion Skin View Menu
The Onion Skin view menu contains extra options for controlling the Advanced Onion Skin. It is accessible via
the Onion Skin view —see Onion Skin View on page 675.

How to access the Onion Skin view menu
1. In the top-left corner of the Onion Skin view , click on theCommandView Menu button.

Description

Enables Advanced Onion Skin. Advanced Onion Skin allow s you to select, on the fly, w hichdraw ings to include in your Onion Skin, even if those draw ings are not consecutive draw ings, as
w ell as the opacity scales for the draw ings before and after the current frame.
Advanced
Onion Skin

The controls for selecting w hich draw ings to display in the Onion Skin as w ell as their opacity
sliders are only accessible w hen Advanced Onion Skin is enabled. Otherw ise, w hen using
regular Onion Skin, the opacity of draw ings in the Onion Skin is determined by the Onion Skin
settings in the Preferences dialog. The amount of draw ings to include in the Onion Skin is set
using the Onion Skin Add / Reduce One Previous Draw ng and Onion Skin Add / Reduce One
Next Draw ing commands, available in the Camera and Draw ing toolbars as w ell as in View >Onion Skin in the top menu.

Original Colors

Displays the onion skin using the actual colours of the draw ings.

Coloured

Displays the onion skin using the colours selected for the previous and next draw ings in theOnion Skin view .

ColouredOutlines

Displays the onion skin using the colours selected for the previous and next draw ings, but only
as outlines instead of filled shapes.

Onion Skin by
FramesSelects the draw ings to display in the Onion Skin by the amount of different draw ings before
and after the current frame. For example, if the Onion Skin is set to include 2 draw ings before
and after the current frame, this w ill display the nearest tw o different draw ings before andafter the draw ing in the current frame in the Onion Skin, even if those draw ings are further than
2 frames aw ay from the current frame. This is more useful for frame-by-frame animation.

NOTE
W hen this option is enabled, the handles allow ing you to adjust the extent of the Onion
Skin in the Timeline view are not available.

Onion Skin by

Selects the draw ings to display in the Onion Skin by the amount of different draw ings before

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Command

Description

and after the current frame. For example, if the Onion Skin is set to include 2 draw ings before
and after the current frame, this w ill display the nearest tw o different draw ings before andafter the draw ing in the current frame in the Onion Skin, even if those draw ings are further than
2 frames aw ay from the current frame. This is more useful for frame-by-frame animation.
Draw ings

NOTE
W hen this option is enabled, the handles allow ing you to adjust the extent of the Onion
Skin in the Timeline view are not available.

Displays onion skins w ith a lighter, less saturated colour. The further aw ay the draw ing is fromthe current frame, the more w ashed its colour appears.
Apply Colour
W ash

NOTE
The minimum and maximum colour w ash values for Onion Skin can be customized in the
Draw ing tab of the Preferences dialog.

In the Draw ing View , w hen the Light Table is enabled, making other layers visible alongside
the current layer, this w ill make the Onion Skin for other visible layers appear alongside theOnion Skin for the current layer. Draw ings for elements above the current layer w ill appear inblue, and draw ings for elements below w ill appear in yellow .
Enable Onion
Skin for Other
Elements

NOTE
The draw ings from other elements that get displayed in the Onion Skin are the draw ings
that are exposed at the same time as the draw ings displayed in the current layer's OnionSkin.

W hen enabled, the opacity sliders in the Onion Skin view w ill move simultaneously as you
adjust one of them, so that the opacity levels for previous and next draw ings progresses fromthe opacity level of the first draw ing to the opacity level of the last draw ing.
Link Sliders

W hen this mode is enabled, you can adjust the first and last sliders for previous or next
draw ings, then, optionally, adjust a single one of the sliders in-betw een to create a segmented
progression.
How ever, if you w ant to make the opacity of Onion Skin draw ings to vary in any w ay that ismore complex, you must disable this option.

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Perspective View Menu
The Perspective View menu lets you select and edit elements, manipulate the view during scene setup, setparameters for animation and access animation tools.

How to access the Perspective menul

In the upper-left corner of the Perspective view , click the menu

Commandbutton.

Description

Edit

Cut

Removes selected objects. You can then paste the object or its properties toanother object.

Copy

Copies selected objects and properties.

Paste

Places an object you cut or copied into the location you select in a view .

DeleteRemoves selected objects.

Select All

Selects all draw ing objects in the current draw ing w indow in the Draw ing,
Timeline and Camera view s. This helps you manage multiple objects as one
w hen moving them.

Deselect All

Deselects all selected objects in the Draw ing and Camera view s.

Invert Selection

Deselects the currently selected items and selects all other items that w ere
not selected. For example, if some lines are selected in a draw ing, thiscommand w ill deselect them and select any other lines in the draw ing thatw ere not selected.

Select Child Skipping
Effects

Lets you select the first element parented to the selected peg element in theTimeline view skipping effects in the hierarchy.

Select Child

Lets you select the first element parented to the selected peg element in theTimeline view .

Select Children

Lets you select all elements parented to the selected peg element in the302Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Timeline view .

Select Parent Skipping
Effects

Lets you select the parent of the selected element in the Timeline view
skipping effects in the hierarchy.

Select Parent

Lets you select the parent of the selected element in the Timeline view .

Select Previous Sibling

Lets you select the previous element (above current element) in the Timelineview .

Select Next Sibling

Lets you select the next element (below current element) in the Timeline view .

Zoom In

Zooms into the view , tow ards the view 's pivot point, up to 80,000%.

Zoom Out

Zooms out of the view , aw ay from the view 's pivot point, up to 1%.

Move Forw ard

Moves infinitely forw ard into the view , using the direction set by the current
position and angle of rotation.

Move Backw ard

Moves infinitely backw ards out of the view , using the direction set by thecurrent position and angle of rotation.

Reset Zoom

Resets the view ’s zoom to its default position.

Reset Pan

Resets the view ’s pan to its default position.

Reset View

Resets the view to its default position.

Layer Properties

Show s or hides the Layer Properties view .

Light Table

Turns on the light table so you can see Turns on the light table so you can see
the previous and subsequent active layers in w ashed-out colours. It is usefulfor seeing the other layers w hen designing, animating or cleaning up youranimation.

Camera Cone

Displays the camera cone.

View

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Control

Displays the controls of the selected element.

Hide All Controls

Hides the controls of the selected element.

Enable Playback

Plays back your animation in the Perspective view .

Animation

Animate Animate

AnimateCurrent
Frame

W hen this option is selected, every time you use theTransform or
Advanced Animation tools to manipulate an element in your scene,
the position of the element w ill be stored in a keyframe at the current frame.
This allow s you to animate elements in your scene w ithout creating keyframes
manually.

W hen this option is selected, if you use theAnimate Onion
Skin Range

Transform or

Advanced Animation tools to make transformations to an element in yourscene, the transformations w ill be stored as keyframes at the beginning and at
the end of the current Onion Skin range, as w ell as on every existing keyframe
in-betw een. This can be useful if you w ant to reposition an element that you
have already animated, but only during a specific range of frames, w hich you
can define by enabling Onion Skin and setting the Onion Skin range to coverthat range of frames.

W hen this option is selected, if you use theAnimate Off

Transform or

Advanced Animation tools to make transformation to an element in yourscene, the transformations w ill affect the element throughout the w hole
scene. This can be useful if you w ant to reposition an element after you havealready animated it.

Insert Keyframe

Adds a keyframe to the currently selected frame in the Timeline view .

Insert Control Point

Adds a control point to the motion path at the currently selected frame. This
control point does not appear in the Timeline, but can be used to reshape themotion path. In order for this command to w ork, layers must be set to 3D Path.

Set Stop-Motion
Keyframe

Converts the selected keyframes to stop-motion keyframes. Betw een a stopmotion keyframe and the next keyframe, Harmony does not generate any
animation and the element remains static until the next keyframe.

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Set Motion Keyframe

Converts the selected keyframes to motion keyframes. W ith motion
keyframes, Harmony generates the interpolation betw een the motion
keyframe and the next keyframe. This means that a value for each frame
betw een the keyframes is calculated by Harmony to progress from the valueof the previous keyframe to the value of the next keyframe.

Flip Horizontal: Flips the current selection horizontally.

Flip Vertical: Flips the current selection vertically.

Flip

Flip Scale X: Once your draw ing layer is rotated, the original horizontal andvertical axes change. The Flip Scale X and Flip Scale Y w ill perform a flip on
your draw ing layer follow ing its original axis.Remembers the original X-axis of
the layer and flips the element follow ing it.

Flip Scale Y: Remembers the original Y-axis of the layer and flips the element
follow ing it.

Set Ease for Multiple
Parameters

Opens the Set Ease for Multiple Parameters dialog box w here you can change
the velocity of selection functions.

Linear Motion

Straightens out the motion path on either sides of the selected control point.

Lock in Time

Indicates w hether the point is locked to a specific frame (keyframe) or only
locked to a specific position and the curve can flow through it freely as otherpoints are being added, moved, or adjusted (control point).

No Z Dragging

Locks the Z value w hen you're animating in 3D space. This means you can
only reposition your object along the x and y axes.

Substitute Draw ing
Previous

Replaces the draw ing or cell's symbol on the current frame by the next
draw ing.

Substitute Draw ing Next

Select Previous
Keyframe /Point

Select the previous keyframe/point.

Select Next Keyframe/PointSelect Next Keyframe /Point

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Lock: Locks Locks one or a multiple selection of layers.

Unlock: Unlocks Unlocks one or a multiple selection of locked layers.

Lock

Lock All: Locks Locks all the layers in the Timeline view .

Unlock All: Unlocks Unlocks all the layers in the Timeline view .

Lock All Others: Locks Locks every layer except the selected ones.

Reset

Returns Returns the value of the selected element to the initial value of theactive tool. For example, if the Rotate tool is active, the transformation angle
w ill be reset to 0 and if the Transform tool is active, all the transformation
values w ill be reset.

Reset All

Resets Resets all transformations on the current frame in a selected layer.
Your keyframe w ill remain, but all the values w ill return to the starting value.
All transformations are reset regardless of the tool you're using.

Reset All Except Z

Resets Resets all transformations on the current frame except the Z position.
This is useful w hen doing cut-out animation. Cut-out puppets often have aparticular Z ordering for the different view s of a character. You might w ant toreset the transformation, but not necessarily the Z position.

Animation Tools

Transform

Allow s you to select draw ing layers and position, rotate, scale and skew them.

TranslateLets you move the selected element along the X and Y axes.

RotateTurns a selected element around its pivot point.

Scale

Increases or decreases the size of a selected element. You can scale an object
up to make it larger or dow n to make it smaller. Press Shift to scale theelement w hile maintaining its proportions.

Maintain Size

Keeps elements the same size aspect ratio in the Camera view as you movethem tow ards or aw ay from the camera.

Skew

Slants the selected element.

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Spline Offset

Lets you Lets you reposition the visual trajectory w ithout offsetting or
modifying your animation. By default, the trajectory is located at 0,0,0 fields. If
your elements w ere draw n in a different location than the centre of thedraw ing area, it w ill look like the trajectory is not aligned w ith your draw ing.
Also, if you have several elements attached to one trajectory, you might w ant
your trajectory to be at a different location to represent the group's motion
better.

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Script Editor View Menu
The Script Editor view menu gives you access to all of the commands needed for editing and testing scripts in
the Script Editor view —see Script Editor View on page 685.

How to access the Script Editor view menu
1. Add the Script Editor view to your w orkspace by doing one of the follow ing:l

In the top-right corner of an existing view , click on the

Add View button and select Script

Editor.
l

In the top menu, select W indows > Script Editor.

2. In the top-left corner of the Script Editor view , click on the

ButtonMenu button.

Description

File

Creates a new script. W hen you click on this button, you are first prompted to typein a name for the script. Then, you w ill be prompted to select w hich location tosave the script in:l

User: Saves the script to a directory in your user preferences directory. You
w ill be able to run and edit the script from any scene as long as you arelogged in as the same user.

NOTE
If you are using Harmony Stand Alone, the script w ill be saved to thepreferences for your account on your computer. if you are using
Harmony Server, the script w ill be saved to the preferences for yourHarmony database user.

New ScriptlGlobal: If you are using Harmony Server, select this option to save thescript to the Harmony database's global script directory. Anyone w ho islogged in to the database w ill be able to edit and run this script.

lEnvironment: If you are using Harmony Server, select this option to savethe script to the current scene's environment. Anyone w ill be able to edit
and run the script as long as they are w orking on a scene inside thisenvironment.

lJob: If you are using Harmony Server, select this option to save the script tothe current scene's job. Anyone w ill be able to edit and run the script aslong as they are w orking on a scene inside this job.

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ButtonDescriptionl

Scene: Save the script to the scene's scripts sub-folder. Anyone w ill beable to edit and run the script w hen w orking on this specific scene.

lSystem Variable: Save the script to the directory in the TOONBOOM_GLOBAL_SCRIPT_LOCATION environment variable. This option is only
available if this environment variable is set.

NOTE
For more information on script locations, see Script list on page 685.

Allow s you to import a script from your machine into Harmony. W hen you click on
this button, you are prompted to brow se for and select a script on your file system.
Then, you are prompted to select w hich location to import the script in:l

User: Saves the script to a directory in your user preferences directory. You
w ill be able to run and edit the script from any scene as long as you arelogged in as the same user.

NOTE
If you are using Harmony Stand Alone, the script w ill be saved to thepreferences for your account on your computer. if you are using
Harmony Server, the script w ill be saved to the preferences for yourHarmony database user.

lGlobal: If you are using Harmony Server, select this option to save thescript to the Harmony database's global script directory. Anyone w ho islogged in to the database w ill be able to edit and run this script.

lEnvironment: If you are using Harmony Server, select this option to savethe script to the current scene's environment. Anyone w ill be able to edit
and run the script as long as they are w orking on a scene inside thisenvironment.

lJob: If you are using Harmony Server, select this option to save the script tothe current scene's job. Anyone w ill be able to edit and run the script aslong as they are w orking on a scene inside this job.

l

Scene: Save the script to the scene's scripts sub-folder. Anyone w ill beable to edit and run the script w hen w orking on this specific scene.

lSystem Variable: Save the script to the directory in the TOONBOOM_GLOBAL_SCRIPT_LOCATION environment variable. This option is only
available if this environment variable is set.

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ButtonDescription

NOTES
l

W hen you import a script, any user interface (.ui) or icon (.png) file thatis in the same directory and has the same filename as the script w ill also
be imported.

l

For more information on script locations, see Script Editor View on page
685.

Deletes the selected script.

NOTES
l

You cannot delete a script if it is in the Application Resources location, as
those are scripts that are installed w ith Harmony.

l

If you delete a script that w as originally in Application Resources but
w hich you copied to another location so you could make changes to it, theoriginal version of the script in the Application Resources folder w ill be
restored to the list.

Delete Script

Refresh Script File
List

Refresh the list of scripts in the Script Editor. If there are new scripts in your user
preferences or your scene's scripts sub-folder, click on this button to be able toopen them in the Script Editor.

EditorAllow s you to type in the path and name for your preferred text editing softw are.

NOTES
l

On macOS, only typing the name of your preferred text editing softw areis enough if that application supports the AppleScript Open Document
protocol.

l

On W indow s and GNU/Linux, unless your text editor is in your system's
PATH environment variable, you w ill have to type in the full path to theeditor.

Set External Editor

External Editor

Opens the selected script in the chosen external text editing softw are.

Play/Debug

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ButtonDescription

Prompts you to select w hich script and w hich function to use w ith the Run and
Debug commands.

NOTES
Set Targetl

You can set the entire script as the target by selecting the <Nothing>
function from the functions list.

l

You cannot link an entire script to a toolbar button. Only functions w ithin
scripts can be added as toolbar buttons. Therefore, running or debugging
an entire script rather than one of its functions should be done for testing
purposes only.

Runs the target script and function.

NOTES
l

If you have not set a target script and function, you w ill be prompted to
set one w hen you select this command.

l

You can set or change the target script and function by selecting Set
Target from this menu.

l

If you are editing <<<Sandbox>>>, this button w ill simply run w hat you
typed into the sandbox, regardless of w hether another target is set.

Run

Open the target script and function in the Qt Script Debugger, in w hich you can test
and debug the function.

NOTES
Debug

l

If you have not set a target script and function, you w ill be prompted to
set one w hen you select this command.

l

You can set or change the target script and function by selecting Set
Target from this menu.

l

If you are editing <<<Sandbox>>>, this button w ill simply debug w hat
you typed into the sandbox, regardless of w hether another target is set.

Stop

If a script is currently running, this interrupts its execution.

Scripting Interface
Documentation

Opens the reference documentation for the Harmony scripting interface in a w eb
brow ser.

Help

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ButtonDescription

NOTE
This documentation is installed w ith Harmony and does not require Internet
access.

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Side View Menu
The Side View menu lets you position elements in 3D space, set parameters for animation and accessanimation tools—see Side View on page 690.

How to access the Side menul

In the upper-left corner of the Side view , click the menu

Commandbutton.

Description

Edit

Cut

Removes selected objects. You can then paste the object or its properties toanother object.

Copy

Copies selected objects and properties.

Paste

Places an object you cut or copied into the location you select in a view .

DeleteRemoves selected objects.

Select All

Selects all draw ing objects in the current draw ing w indow in the Draw ing,
Timeline and Camera view s. This helps you manage multiple objects as one
w hen moving them.

Deselect All

Deselects all selected objects in the Draw ing and Camera view s.

Invert Selection

Deselects the currently selected items and selects all other items that w ere
not selected. For example, if some lines are selected in a draw ing, thiscommand w ill deselect them and select any other lines in the draw ing thatw ere not selected.

Select Child Skipping
Effects

Lets you select the first element parented to the selected peg element in theTimeline view skipping effects in the hierarchy.

Select Child

Lets you select the first element parented to the selected peg element in theTimeline view .

Select Children

Lets you select all elements parented to the selected peg element in the313Chapter 2: Menus

Timeline view .

Select Parent Skipping
Effects

Lets you select the parent of the selected element in the Timeline view
skipping effects in the hierarchy.

Select Parent

Lets you select the parent of the selected element in the Timeline view .

Select Previous Sibling

Lets you select the previous element (above current element) in the Timelineview .

Select Next Sibling

Lets you select the next element (below current element) in the Timeline view .

Zoom In

Zooms in the view .

Zoom Out

Zooms out the view .

Reset Zoom

Resets the view ’s zoom to its default position.

Reset Pan

Resets the view ’s pan to its default position.

Reset View

Resets the view to its default position.

Layer Properties

Show s or hides the Layer Properties view .

Camera Cone

Displays the camera cone.

Control

Displays the controls of the selected element.

Hide All Controls

Hides the controls of the selected element.

Enable Playback

Plays back your animation in the Perspective view .

View

Animation

Animate314

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AnimateCurrent
Frame

W hen this option is selected, every time you use theTransform or
Advanced Animation tools to manipulate an element in your scene,
the position of the element w ill be stored in a keyframe at the current frame.
This allow s you to animate elements in your scene w ithout creating keyframes
manually.

W hen this option is selected, if you use theAnimate Onion
Skin Range

in-betw een. This can be useful if you w ant to reposition an element that you
have already animated, but only during a specific range of frames, w hich you
can define by enabling Onion Skin and setting the Onion Skin range to coverthat range of frames.

W hen this option is selected, if you use theAnimate Off

Insert Keyframe

Transform or

Advanced Animation tools to make transformations to an element in yourscene, the transformations w ill be stored as keyframes at the beginning and at
the end of the current Onion Skin range, as w ell as on every existing keyframe

Transform or

Advanced Animation tools to make transformation to an element in yourscene, the transformations w ill affect the element throughout the w hole
scene. This can be useful if you w ant to reposition an element after you havealready animated it.

Adds a keyframe to the selected cell in the Timeline view .

Insert Control Point

Set Stop-Motion
Keyframe

Converts the selected keyframes to stop-motion keyframes. Betw een a stopmotion keyframe and the next keyframe, Harmony does not generate any
animation and the element remains static until the next keyframe.

Set Motion Keyframe

Converts the selected keyframes to motion keyframes. W ith motion
keyframes, Harmony generates the interpolation betw een the motion
keyframe and the next keyframe. This means that a value for each frame
betw een the keyframes is calculated by Harmony to progress from the valueof the previous keyframe to the value of the next keyframe.

Flip Horizontal: Flips the current selection horizontally.

Flip Vertical: Flips the current selection vertically.
Flip
Flip Scale X: Once your draw ing layer is rotated, the original horizontal andvertical axes change. The Flip Scale X and Flip Scale Y w ill perform a flip on
your draw ing layer follow ing its original axis.Remembers the original X-axis of315Chapter 2: Menus

the layer and flips the element follow ing it.

Flip Scale Y: Remembers the original Y-axis of the layer and flips the element
follow ing it.

Set Ease for Multiple
Parameters

Linear Motion

Opens the Set Ease for Multiple Parameters dialog box w here you can change
the velocity of selection functions.

Transforms a curved path to a linear path removing tension, bias, andcontinuity.

Lock in Time

Indicates Indicates w hether the point is locked to a specific frame (keyframe)or only locked to a specific position and the curve can flow through it freely asother points are being added, moved, or adjusted (control point).

No Z Dragging

Keeps the Z value constant w hen you drag a character using the Transform orTranslate tool.

Substitute Draw ing
Previous

Replaces the draw ing or cell's symbol on the current frame by the next
draw ing.

Substitute Draw ing Next

Select Previous
Keyframe /Point

Select the previous keyframe/point.

Select Next Keyframe/PointSelect Next Keyframe /Point

Lock: Locks Locks one or a multiple selection of layers.

Unlock: Unlocks Unlocks one or a multiple selection of locked layers.

Lock

Lock All: Locks Locks all the layers in the Timeline view .

Unlock All: Unlocks Unlocks all the layers in the Timeline view .

Lock All Others: Locks Locks every layer except the selected ones.

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Reset

Returns Returns the value of the selected element to the initial value of theactive tool. For example, if the Rotate tool is active, the transformation angle
w ill be reset to 0 and if the Transform tool is active, all the transformation
values w ill be reset.

Reset All

Resets Resets all transformations on the current frame in a selected layer.
Your keyframe w ill remain, but all the values w ill return to the starting value.
All transformations are reset regardless of the tool you're using.

Reset All Except Z

Resets Resets all transformations on the current frame except the Z position.
This is useful w hen doing cut-out animation. Cut-out puppets often have aparticular Z ordering for the different view s of a character. You might w ant toreset the transformation, but not necessarily the Z position.

Animation Tools

Transform

Allow s you to select draw ing layers and position, rotate, scale and skew them.

TranslateLets you move the selected element along the X and Y axes.

RotateTurns a selected element around its pivot point.

Scale

Increases or decreases the size of a selected element. You can scale an object
up to make it larger or dow n to make it smaller. Press Shift to scale theelement w hile maintaining its proportions.

Maintain Size

Keeps elements the same size aspect ratio in the Camera view as you movethem tow ards or aw ay from the camera.

Spline Offset

Lets you Lets you reposition the visual trajectory w ithout offsetting or
modifying your animation. By default, the trajectory is located at 0,0,0 fields. If
your elements w ere draw n in a different location than the centre of thedraw ing area, it w ill look like the trajectory is not aligned w ith your draw ing.
Also, if you have several elements attached to one trajectory, you might w ant
your trajectory to be at a different location to represent the group's motion
better.

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Timeline View Menu
The Timeline View menu lets you modify layers, keyframe and timing.

How to access the Timeline menul

In the upper-left corner of the Timeline view , click the menu

Parameter

button.

Description

ImportFrom Scanner

Imports draw ings from a TW AIN scanner.

ImagesImports bitmap images w hich you can choose to vectorize.

SoundsLets you import sound files into your project.

Cut cells from Xsheet

Removes selected objects. You can then paste the object or its properties toanother object.

Copy cells fromXsheetCopies selected objects and properties.

Paste

Places an object you cut or copied into the location you select in a view .

Paste Special

Lets you copy and paste selected draw ings into a different layer or paste theselection in the same layer to duplicate the draw ings.

Paste Special Again

Pastes new draw ings w ith the previous Paste Special settings.

Paste Cycle

Cycles a portion of an animation. You can increase or decrease the number ofcycles to paste and select a type of cycle: Normal, Reverse, Forw ard-Reverse andReverse-Forw ard.

Paste Reverse

Reverses the timing of draw ings or keyframes in range of selection after copying.

Edit

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DeleteRemoves selected objects.

Modify Paste Presets

Lets you modify existing presets w hen pasting keyframes and exposures. There
are three presets you can modify: the default presets for both key frames andexposures, key frames only and exposures only.

Select All

Selects all draw ing objects in the current draw ing w indow in the Draw ing,
Timeline and Camera view s. This helps you manage multiple objects as one
w hen moving them.

Deselect All

Deselects all selected objects in the Draw ing and Camera view s.

Invert Selection

Deselects the currently selected items and selects all other items that w ere notselected. For example, if some lines are selected in a draw ing, this command w illdeselect them and select any other lines in the draw ing that w ere not selected.

Select Synced Layers

Selects all the layers synced to the selected layer. The selected layer must be a
synced in order for this option to be enabled.

Select Child Skipping
Effects

Lets you select the first element parented to the selected peg element in theTimeline view skipping effects in the hierarchy.

Select Child

Lets you select the first element parented to the selected peg element in theTimeline view .

Select Children

Lets you select all elements parented to the selected peg element in the Timelineview .

Select Parent
Skipping Effects

Lets you select the parent of the selected element in the Timeline view skipping
effects in the hierarchy.

Select Parent

Lets you select the parent of the selected element in the Timeline view .

Select Previous
Sibling

Lets you select the previous element (above current element) in the Timelineview .

Select Next Sibling

Lets you select the next element (below current element) in the Timeline view .

Lock

Lock: Locks Locks one or a multiple selection of layers.

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Unlock: Unlocks Unlocks one or a multiple selection of locked layers.

Lock All: Locks Locks all the layers in the Timeline view .

Unlock All: Unlocks Unlocks all the layers in the Timeline view .

Lock All Others: Locks Locks every layer except the selected ones.

Timeline Tag: You can tag elements in the Timeline or Node view s to view only
those elements. W hen you tag elements, an asterisk appears beside the item in
the Timeline view . Once your elements are tagged and you have sw itched over toView Tagged Layers mode, the Timeline view w ill display only tagged elements.
The red bar on the left of the layers indicates you are in this view mode.
Tag
Timeline Untag: Untags selected layer in the Timeline view .

Timeline Untag All: Untags all tagged elements.

Timeline Untag All Others: Untags all elements except the selected one.

Mark Current Frame: Places a scene marker on the current frame on w hich theplayhead is parked. The marker appears in the frame counter area of the Timelineview . You can customize the colour of the scene marker and add text to display as
a tooltip w hen you hover over the marker—see .

Scene Markers

Create Scene Marker: Creates a scene marker from a selected frame range in theframe counter area of the Timeline view .

Edit Scene Marker: Lets you edit an existing scene marker.
NOTE: It's important to select the entire length of the scene marker, otherw ise
the Timeline Scene Marker dialog box w ill not open for editing.

Delete Scene Marker: Removes an existing scene marker.

Share Functions

Lets you share an existing function curve. By default, all function curves can only
be used and modified using their original parameter. If you w ant another layer orparameter to use the same function curve, you must share it.

View

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Cycle to Next View
Mode

Displays the new view mode.

Normal View Mode

Displays the Normal view mode, the default in the Timeline view . It show s
everything connected to the chosen display. In this mode, anything not connectedto the currently set default display w ill not be show n in the Timeline view . This
also means that you cannot add certain elements to the Timeline view , as bydefault, w hen added they are not connected to any display or composite node.
An example of such an element is a peg.

Selection Only Mode

Displays only elements currently selected in the Camera or Node view . This
makes it easier to concentrate on one or a few elements at a time.

Lets you see only elements w hich have been assigned a Tagged status. An itemthat has been tagged w ill appear in the Timeline view w ith a small asterisk
beside its name.
View Tagged Layers

Once your elements are tagged and you have sw itched over to View Tagged
Layers mode, the Timeline view w ill display only tagged elements. The red baron the left of the layers indicates you are in this view mode. W hile in this mode,
the asterisks are not displayed beside the tagged elements.

Show Functions

Centre on Selection

Scrolls the layers list to the currently selected layer. This is useful if you w ant toselect a layer in the Camera view , then manipulate its timing Timeline view .

Change Track Colour

Opens the colour picker w indow to modify the colour of the selected layer.

Default Track Colour

Resets the layer colour.

Collapse/Expand

Toggles betw een expanding and collapsing all parent layers in the Timelineview .

Collapse All

Collapses all parented layers in the Timeline view .

Expand All

Expands all parented layers in the Timeline view .

Set Tempo Marker

Lets you set a marker that synchronizes your animation w ith a musical score. This
lets you reproduce the FPB (Frames Per Beat) and use the tempo signature as
tempo markers. The Xsheet view lets you pace your animation according to thetempo or beat of the soundtrack music or to any rhythmic sound, such as the321Chapter 2: Menus

ticking of a clock or w ater leaking from a spout. See .

LayersAdd Synced Draw ing Layer

Sync Layer W ith

Creates a new draw ing layer w hose timing is synced immediately w ith thecurrently selected draw ing layer.

Opens the Convert to Synced Draw ing Layer dialog box. In this dialog box, every
other draw ing layer in the project can be selected, parented and have its timing
synced to the currently selected layer.

Unsync Layer

Unsyncs the parent layer of a synced pairing, w hen the child layer is selected.

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Top View Menu
The Top View menu lets you position elements in 3D space, set parameters for animation and accessanimation tools—see Top View on page 703.

How to access the Top menul

In the upper-left corner of the Top view , click the menu

Commandbutton.

Description

Edit

Cut Draw ing Object

Removes selected objects. You can then paste the object or its properties toanother object.

Copy Draw ing Object

Copies selected objects and properties.

Paste

Places an object you cut or copied into the location you select in a view .

Delete Draw ing Object

Removes selected objects.

Select All

Selects all draw ing objects in the current draw ing w indow in the Draw ing,
Timeline and Camera view s. This helps you manage multiple objects as one
w hen moving them.

Deselect All

Deselects all selected objects in the Draw ing and Camera view s.

Invert Selection

Deselects the currently selected items and selects all other items that w ere
not selected. For example, if some lines are selected in a draw ing, thiscommand w ill deselect them and select any other lines in the draw ing thatw ere not selected.

Select Child

Lets you select the first element parented to the selected peg element in theTimeline view .

Select Children

Lets you select all elements parented to the selected peg element in theTimeline view .

Select Parent

Lets you select the parent of the selected element in the Timeline view .

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Select Previous Sibling

Lets you select the previous element (above current element) in the Timelineview .

Select Next Sibling

Lets you select the next element (below current element) in the Timeline view .

Zoom In

Zooms in the view .

Zoom Out

Zooms out the view .

Reset Zoom

Resets the view ’s zoom to its default position.

Reset Pan

Resets the view ’s pan to its default position.

Reset View

Resets the view to its default position.

Layer Properties

Show s or hides the Layer Properties view .

Camera Cone

Displays the camera cone.

Control

Displays the controls of the selected element.

Hide All Controls

Hides the controls of the selected element.

Enable Playback

Plays back your animation in the Perspective view .

View

Animation

AnimateAnimateCurrent
Frame

Animate Onion
Skin Range

W hen this option is selected, every time you use theTransform or
Advanced Animation tools to manipulate an element in your scene,
the position of the element w ill be stored in a keyframe at the current frame.
This allow s you to animate elements in your scene w ithout creating keyframes
manually.

W hen this option is selected, if you use theTransform or

Advanced Animation tools to make transformations to an element in your324

Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

scene, the transformations w ill be stored as keyframes at the beginning and at
the end of the current Onion Skin range, as w ell as on every existing keyframe
in-betw een. This can be useful if you w ant to reposition an element that you
have already animated, but only during a specific range of frames, w hich you
can define by enabling Onion Skin and setting the Onion Skin range to coverthat range of frames.

W hen this option is selected, if you use theAnimate Off

Transform or

Advanced Animation tools to make transformation to an element in yourscene, the transformations w ill affect the element throughout the w hole
scene. This can be useful if you w ant to reposition an element after you havealready animated it.

Insert Keyframe

Adds a keyframe to the selected cell in the Timeline view .

Insert Control Point

Set Stop-Motion
Keyframe

Converts the selected keyframes to stop-motion keyframes. Betw een a stopmotion keyframe and the next keyframe, Harmony does not generate any
animation and the element remains static until the next keyframe.

Converts the selected keyframes to motion keyframes. W ith motion
Set Motion Keyframe

keyframes, Harmony generates the interpolation betw een the motion
keyframe and the next keyframe. This means that a value for each frame
betw een the keyframes is calculated by Harmony to progress from the valueof the previous keyframe to the value of the next keyframe.

Flip Horizontal: Flips the current selection horizontally.

Flip Vertical: Flips the current selection vertically.

Flip

Flip Scale X: Once your draw ing layer is rotated, the original horizontal andvertical axes change. The Flip Scale X and Flip Scale Y w ill perform a flip on
your draw ing layer follow ing its original axis.Remembers the original X-axis of
the layer and flips the element follow ing it.

Flip Scale Y: Remembers the original Y-axis of the layer and flips the element
follow ing it.

Set Ease for Multiple
Parameters

Opens the Set Ease for Multiple Parameters dialog box w here you can change
the velocity of selection functions.

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Linear Motion

Lock in Time

Indicates Indicates w hether the point is locked to a specific frame (keyframe)or only locked to a specific position and the curve can flow through it freely asother points are being added, moved, or adjusted (control point).

No Z Dragging

Substitute Draw ing
Previous

Replaces the draw ing or cell's symbol on the current frame by the next
draw ing.

Substitute Draw ing Next

Select Previous
Keyframe /Point

Select the previous keyframe/point.

Select Next Keyframe/PointSelect Next Keyframe /Point

Lock: Locks Locks one or a multiple selection of layers.

Unlock: Unlocks Unlocks one or a multiple selection of locked layers.

Lock

Lock All: Locks Locks all the layers in the Timeline view .

Unlock All: Unlocks Unlocks all the layers in the Timeline view .

Lock All Others: Locks Locks every layer except the selected ones.

Reset

Returns Returns the value of the selected element to the initial value of theactive tool. For example, if the Rotate tool is active, the transformation angle
w ill be reset to 0 and if the Transform tool is active, all the transformation
values w ill be reset.

Reset All

Resets Resets all transformations on the current frame in a selected layer.
Your keyframe w ill remain, but all the values w ill return to the starting value.
All transformations are reset regardless of the tool you're using.

Reset All Except Z

Resets Resets all transformations on the current frame except the Z position.
This is useful w hen doing cut-out animation. Cut-out puppets often have a326

Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

particular Z ordering for the different view s of a character. You might w ant toreset the transformation, but not necessarily the Z position.

Animation Tools

Transform

Allow s you to select draw ing layers and position, rotate, scale and skew them.

TranslateLets you move the selected element along the X and Y axes.

RotateTurns a selected element around its pivot point.

Scale

Increases or decreases the size of a selected element. You can scale an object
up to make it larger or dow n to make it smaller. Press Shift to scale theelement w hile maintaining its proportions.

Maintain Size

Keeps elements the same size aspect ratio in the Camera view as you movethem tow ards or aw ay from the camera.

Lets you Lets you reposition the visual trajectory w ithout offsetting or
modifying your animation. By default, the trajectory is located at 0,0,0 fields. If
your elements w ere draw n in a different location than the centre of theSpline Offset

draw ing area, it w ill look like the trajectory is not aligned w ith your draw ing.
Also, if you have several elements attached to one trajectory, you might w ant
your trajectory to be at a different location to represent the group's motion
better.

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Chapter 2: Menus

Xsheet View Menu
The Xsheet View menu lets you modify columns, keyframe and timing.

How to access the Xsheet menul

In the upper-left corner of the Xsheet view , click the menu

Parameter

button.

Description

File

Images: Imports bitmap images w hich you can choose to vectorize.

ImportFrom Scanner: Imports draw ings from a TW AIN scanner.

Sounds: Lets you import sound files into your project.

Print

Prints the exposure sheet so you can take it to your animation table, provide a
copy to the animator, or create your Xsheet skeleton directly in Harmony.

Cut cells from Xsheet

Removes selected objects. You can then paste the object or its properties toanother object.

Copy cells fromXsheetCopies selected objects and properties.

Paste

Places an object you cut or copied into the location you select in a view .

Paste Special

Lets you copy and paste selected draw ings into a different layer or paste theselection in the same layer to duplicate the draw ings.

Paste Special Again

Pastes new draw ings w ith the previous Paste Special settings.

Paste Cycle

Cycles a portion of an animation. You can increase or decrease the number ofcycles to paste and select a type of cycle: Normal, Reverse, Forw ard-Reverse andReverse-Forw ard.

Edit

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Paste Reverse

Reverses the timing of draw ings or keyframes in range of selection after copying.

DeleteRemoves selected objects.

Select All

Selects all draw ing objects in the current draw ing w indow in the Draw ing,
Timeline and Camera view s. This helps you manage multiple objects as one
w hen moving them.

Deselect All

Deselects all selected objects in the Draw ing and Camera view s.

Insert Mode

Adds a new value or a new value sequence over existing ones, the new values
are inserted betw een the old ones. The existing timing sequence is pushed dow n
the column. The Insert mode opposite of the Overw rite mode, w hich is the Xsheet
default mode.

Gestural Drag Mode

Lets you drag a cell to any other frame in the same column or into anothercolumn.
This feature does not apply to Annotation columns.

Send to Function
View

Sends selected objects to the Function view w here you can edit and adjust its
function curve and parameters.

Zoom In Xsheet

Zooms in the view .

Zoom Out Xsheet

Zooms out the view .

Reset Zoom

Resets the view ’s zoom to its default position.

Reset Pan

Resets the view ’s pan to its default position.

Reset View

Resets the view to its default position.

View

Set Tempo Marker

Collapse Selection:
Expand/Collapse
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Collapse All:

Expand All:

Column Properties

Lets you rename a column, and enable or disable a column. To view additional
properties, select Edit > Preferences from the top menu. In the Preferences
dialog box, select the Advanced tab, then select the Advanced Element Mode
option.

Show Column List

Column Types
Manager

Lets you add advanced column types to create particular animation paths. W hen
you create these columns, they are not linked automatically to any particulardraw ing layer. You can create a motion path using these columns and then link or
unlink several draw ing or peg layers to it.

Show Thumbnails

Displays column thumbnails making it easier to identify a particular column. This
option displays a small thumbnail picture of the current frame below the column
header.

Show Selection

Set Columns W idth

Lets you change the column w idth (in pixels) and set it as the default.

All Columns to
Default W idth

Returns all columns to their default w idth of 100 pixels.

Change Columns
ColourLets you customize the colour of the column by selecting one from the SelectColour dialog box. The colour you select is also reflected in the correspondng
layer in the Timeline view .

Default Column
ColourRemoves the colour you assigned to a column (if any).

Hide Selected
Columns

Hides selected columns.

Unhide All Columns

Displays all columns.

Show Hidden
Columns

Displays columns that w ere previously hidden.

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Enable Playback

Plays back your animation in the Perspective view .

Columns

Add Columns

Lets you add a column. You can specify the column name, type, and set draw ing
layer options in the Add Column dialog box that opens.

Delete Columns

Removes the selected column. You have the option to delete the associateddraw ing files and element folders.

Clone Selected
Columns: Draw ings
Only

Clone Selected
Columns: Draw ings
and Timing

Duplicate Selected
Columns

Creates a copy of the selected column that is linked to the original. If a draw ing is
modified in the original or cloned column, both w ill be updated. How ever, cloned
columns can have different timings.
You can clone the draw ings only or both the draw ings and timing.

Creates an independent copy of the selected column. This useful w hen you needto modify the element independently, including the timing (exposure). Changes
to the original element do not propagate to the duplicate.

There are tw o methods of merging draw ings.
l

You can merge selected draw ings in adjacent elements. The columns andlayers w ill be left intact, and each new merged draw ing w ill reside in theframes of the left-most column or low er layer.

l

You can merge elements. All draw ings w ill be merged. Unused columns
and layers w ill be deleted, but the original draw ing files are still
accessible.

Merge Selected
Columns

FramesAdd Frames At Start
Adds the number of frames you specify to the end of the scene.
Add Frames At End

Add Frames Before
Selection
Adds the number of frames you specify before or after your selection.
Add Frames After

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Selection

Remove Selected
FramesDeletes the selected frames from your scene.

Draw ings

Create Empty
Draw ing

Creates Creates a draw ing in the selected cell, replacing any draw ing that may
already be exposed in that cell and the follow ing ones until it meets anotherdraw ing, key exposure or a blank cell.

Creates a duplicate of the selected draw ing in the layer. The duplicate draw ing
w ill be exposed at the selected frame instead of the original draw ing. Hence, thiscommand allow s you to instantly start w orking on a duplicate of the current
draw ing and retain the original.
Duplicate Draw ings

NOTE
W hen duplicating a draw ing, the exposure at the selected cell is replaced
w ith the new draw ing, up until the next key exposure.

Rename Draw ing

Lets you give a selected draw ing a new name.

Marks selected draw ings as one of the follow ing: Key, Breakdow n, In-betw een,
RetakeKey, RetakeBD or RetakeIB.
Mark Draw ing As

This helps to keep the Xsheet w ell organized w hile animating.
W hen w orking w ith several animators, directors or even other studios, thenecessity for retakes w ill often arise. Harmony gives you the possibility to marknew draw ings as either Retake Key, Retake Breakdow n, or Retake In-betw eens.

Substitute Draw ing
Previous
Replaces the draw ing or cell's symbol on the current frame by the next draw ing.
Substitute Draw ing
Next

Exposure

Increase

Adds Adds one more exposure to a selected cell; repeating this action adds anextra cell each time. This is an efficient w ay to extend a draw ing's exposure andis alw ays set in Insert mode. Increasing an exposure pushes the existing332

Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

exposure forw ard.

Decrease

Decreases exposure of a selected cell by one; repeating this action decreases one
exposure adds an extra cell each time. This is an efficient w ay to shorten adraw ing's exposure. Decreasing an exposure pulls in the existing exposure.

Set Exposure toLets you set the exposure to 1, 2, 3 or a custom exposure.

Extend Exposure

Lets you extend the length of a selected cell.

Add Key Exposure

Adds a key exposure to the selected cell.

Remove Key Exposure

Removes key exposures from the selected cells.

W hen w orking w ith draw ings to adjust the timing of a mouth in a lipsync, forexample, and forcing the use of specific key exposures, unnecessary key
exposures w ill be created. You can delete these duplicates w ithout affecting therest of the draw ing. The first draw ing of the selection w ill be used for the range.
Remove Duplicate
Key Exposure

NOTE
Duplicate key exposures may occur w hen pasting w ith the Enforce Key
Exposure option selected.

Fill Empty Cells

Lets you Fills the empty frames in the selection w ith the exposure just before. For
example, if you select a range of frame that starts w ith an exposed draw ing andthen ends w ith empty cells, all of the empty cells in the selection w ill be filled
w ith the exposed draw ing just before the empty cells.

Insert Blank Cell

Adds Adds an empty cell betw een other cells.

Clear Exposure

Removes the exposure from the selected cell.

Clear Exposure andPull

Replaces the exposure from the selected cell w ith exposures that follow it.

Fill Selection

Lets you Lets you fill the same value over an entire selection. The selection canbe over one cell, a cell range in one column, a cell range over many columns, anentire column, or many columns. You can use numbers, w ords, letters, or any
alphanumeric value.

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Sequence Fill

Lets you Lets you create a numbered sequence over a selection. The sequencecan be forw ard, backw ard, single, double or higher increment, as a cycle, and soon. The selection can be over one cell or a cell range in one column or more or an
entire column or many entire columns.

Fill Cells Randomly

Lets you Lets you fill in random values over a selection. You can give a maximum
and a minimum value and create a range for Harmony to choose the random
values from. The selection can be over one cell or a cell range in one column or
more or an entire column or many entire columns.

Hold Exposure

Lets you expose a draw ing for three, four, or five cells and so on.

MotionInsert Keyframe

Insert Keyframe andDuplicate Draw ing

Delete Keyframes

Deletes the selected keyframes.

Go to Previous
Keyframe

Go to Next Keyframe

Set Stop-Motion
Keyframe

Converts the selected keyframes to stop-motion keyframes. Betw een a stopmotion keyframe and the next keyframe, Harmony does not generate any
animation and the element remains static until the next keyframe.

Set Motion Keyframe

Converts the selected keyframes to motion keyframes. W ith motion keyframes,
Harmony generates the interpolation betw een the motion keyframe and the next
keyframe. This means that a value for each frame betw een the keyframes iscalculated by Harmony to progress from the value of the previous keyframe tothe value of the next keyframe.

Morphing

Create Morphing

Allow s you to create and configure a morphing sequence, w hich w ill
automatically generate the in-betw eens betw een tw o draw ings in the current
layer.

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Delete Morphing

Once a cell is selected in a morphing sequence, deletes the entire sequence
betw een the tw o keyframes.

Insert Morphing Key
Draw ing

Creates a morphing keyframe from a selected morphing frame.

Convert Morphing toDraw ing

Lets Lets you convert your morphing inbetw eens to real draw ings you can edit.
This is useful w hen manually editing a morphing sequence or if you prefer tohave animation timing in double frame (on tw os) instead of single frame (onones).

Lip-Sync

Change Mouth Shapeto

Lets you change the mouth shape to one of the follow ing: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, X.

Auto Lip-Sync
Detection

Generates a sound detection for lip-sync.

Map Lip-Sync

Automatically maps Automatically maps draw ings in an element to the mouth
chart you have generated for a sound. This can save time w hen you are lipsynching a voice track.

Sound Display

Sound NameShow s the name of the sound file, as w ell as the file format. The line running
vertically through the column frames betw een the same file name indicates acontinuity of the same sound file in these frames.

Mouth Shapes

Show s the letter (or name depending on the w ay you named your character's
different mouth positions) in the column's frames. There is only one mouth
position allotted per frame and this position should correspond to the sound fileafter performing a lip-sync.

W aveform

Show s a vertical display of the sound file's actual w aveform. In the column
header, in the field under the column name, you can type in a percentage to zoom
in or zoom out on the w aveform, or pass the scroll cursor
W aveform

icon.

Sound Edit

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Chapter 2: Menus

Insert Blank Cell

Places an empty cell betw een other cells.

Clear Exposure andPull

Replaces the exposure from the selected cell w ith exposures that follow it.

Annotation

Import FileLets you import an image file in an Annotation column.

Change Pen Colour

Lets you change the pen colour by selecting one from the Select Colour dialog
box.

Pen W idth

Lets you select a pen preset or change the pen w idth (in pixels).

Eraser W idth

Lets you modify the w idth of the Eraser tool.

Erase All

Removes all text and draw n annotations. Annotations that you type in cannot be
erased using this method.

Erase Selected
ImagesRemoves images you select in the Annotation column.

Erase Selected Texts

Removes text you select in the Annotation column.

Enable Draw ing

Lets you draw in the Annotation column using your mouse or pen tablet.

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Chapter 3: Layers
In Harmony, everything that constitutes the different elements of a scene, including draw ing layers, soundeffects, visual effects and pegs is represented by a layer in the Timeline view .
At the core of the rendered picture is the draw ing layer, w hich is used to display draw ings. Those layers are
rendered from bottom to top, w ith the bottommost layer appearing in the background, and the topmost layer
appearing in the foreground.
Some layers, such as Peg, Bone or Quadmap layers, are made to offset draw ing layers. They must be createdas the parent of a draw ing layer, or of a hierarchy of draw ing layers, in order to transform the layers in therendered image.
Other layers, such as Blur and Transparency layers, are made to transform the picture output by draw ing
layers. They must be created as children of draw ing layers, or groups of draw ing layers, in order to transformthe draw ings.
Deformation Layers

340

Bone Layers

341

Deformation Composite Layer

343

Game Bone Layer

344

Kinematic Output Layer

346

Effect Layers

347

Blending Layer

348

Blur Layer

353

Blur-Gaussian Layer

355

Colour-Override Layer

357

Colour-Scale Layer

361

Cutter Layer

363

Glow Layer

365

Highlight Layer

368

Shadow Layer

372

Tone Layer

375

Transparency Layer

379

Image Layers

381

Colour-Card Layer

382

Draw ing Layer

384

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Move Layers

398

Camera Layer

399

Peg Layer

400

Quadmap Layer

402

Sound Layer

405

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Deformation Layers
Deformation layers are layers that make deformers. In Harmony, deformers are made of chains of deformation
layers laid out in a hierachy. Each deformation layer represents a point in the deformation chain.
Bone Layers

341

Deformation Composite Layer

343

Game Bone Layer

344

Kinematic Output Layer

346

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Bone Layers
The Bone node is one of the main nodes used to build a deformation rig. Each Bone node consists of a bone
and an articulation. You can chain Bone nodes to create a skeleton chain for your character. The Rigging tool
can be used to create and connect those nodes automatically.

Properties

Parameter

Descriptions

Enable/Disable

Allow s you to enable or disable the layer. W hen disabled, a layer has no visible
effect on the rendered image, nor on the preview in the Camera, Perspective, Sideand Top view s.

Colour Sw atch

Sets the colour of the layer in the Timeline view .

Name

The name of the node as it appears in the Node View and the Timeline view . Eachnode must have a name that is unique to its containing group.

Resting Parameters Rest Offset(x) AxisThis is the bone x-axis (horizontal) coordinates for the resting position.

(y) AxisThis is the bone y-axis (vertical) coordinates for the resting position.

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Rest RadiusThis is the articulation's radius value (articulation size) for the resting position.

Rest Orientation

This is the bone's orientation angle for the resting position.

Rest Bias

This is the articulation's bias (roundness and smoothness) for the resting position.

Rest Length

This is the bone's length for the resting position.

Deform Parameters Offset

2D Path

W hen this option is enabled, the X and Y-axis parameters are controlled by thesame 2D path function.

Separate

W hen this option is enabled, the X and Y-axis parameters are individual one fromanother.

Path

W hen using a 2D Path, this field displays the name of the function.

(x) AxisThis is the bone X-axis (horizontal) coordinates for the animation position. Thisparameter can be linked to a function to be animated over time.

(y) AxisThis is the bone y-axis (vertical) coordinates for the animation position. Thisparameter can be linked to a function to be animated over time.

RadiusThis is the articulation's radius value (articulation size) for the animation position.
This parameter can be linked to a function to be animated over time.

Orientation

This is the bone's orientation angle for the animation position. This parameter canbe linked to a function to be animated over time.

Bias

This is the articulation's bias (roundness and smoothness) for the animation
position. This parameter can be linked to a function to be animated over time.

LengthThis is the bone's length for the animation position. This parameter can be linked
to a function to be animated over time.

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Deformation Composite Layer
The Deformation-Composite node is automatically added to a rig w hen creating a split deformation chain. It is
used to link the different nodes of a split deformation chain together before deforming the draw ing it is linked
to.

Properties
Parameter

Description

Enable/Disable

Allow s you to enable or disable the layer. W hen disabled, a layer has
no visible effect on the rendered image, nor on the preview in the
Camera, Perspective, Side and Top view s.

Colour Sw atch

Sets the colour of the layer in the Timeline view .

Name

Use this field to rename the node.

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Game Bone Layer
The Bone node is one of the main node used to build a deformation rig. Each Bone node consists of a bone andan articulation. Chaining Bone nodes w ill create a skeleton chain for your character. The Rigging tool can beused to create and connect those nodes automatically.

Parameter

Descriptions

Resting Parameters Rest Offset(x) AxisThis is the bone X-axis (horizontal) coordinates for the resting position.

(y) AxisThis is the bone Y-axis (vertical) coordinates for the resting position.

Rest RadiusThis is the articulation's radius value (articulation size) for the resting position.

Rest Orientation

This is the bone's orientation angle for the resting position.

Rest Length

This is the bone's length for the resting position.

Deform Parameters Offset

2D Path

W hen this option is enabled, the X and Y axis parameters are controlled by thesame 2D path function.

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Separate

W hen this option is enabled, the X and Y axis parameters are individual from eachother.

Path

W hen using a 2D Path, this field displays the name of the function curve.

(x) AxisThis is the bone X-axis (horizontal) coordinates for the animation position. Thisparameter can be linked to a function curve to be animated over time.

(y) AxisThis is the bone Y-axis (vertical) coordinates for the animation position. Thisparameter can be linked to a function curve to be animated over time.

RadiusThis is the articulation's radius value (articulation size) for the animation position.
This parameter can be linked to a function curve to be animated over time.

Orientation

This is the bone's orientation angle for the animation position. This parameter canbe linked to a function curve to be animated over time.

LengthThis is the bone's length for the animation position. This parameter can be linked
to a function curve to be animated over time.

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Kinematic Output Layer
The Kinematic Output node lets you hook a separate element that you w ant to be linked to the deformation
chain but not be part of the deformation, such as a hand to an arm or an arm to the body. These elements w illfollow the movement of the chain just like a regular cut-out character hierarchy piece w ithout being influenced
by the deformation of the arm. If you don't use the Kinematic Output, the piece's pivot w ill not follow the
deformation.
Connect a Kinematic Output node below the deformation node you w ant your draw ing to follow .

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Effect Layers
Effect layers can be connected under a layer or under a group to transform the image.
Should you need to apply the same effect to several layers combined, you must group them together so that
Harmony composes those layers into a single image before applying the effect.
Blending Layer

348

Blur Layer

353

Blur- Gaussian Layer

355

Colour- Override Layer

357

Colour- Scale Layer

361

Cutter Layer

363

Glow Layer

365

Highlight Layer

368

Shadow Layer

372

Tone Layer

375

Transparency Layer

379

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Blending Layer
T-COMP2-005-001
By default, layers are composited onto each other directly. This means that opaque pixels in front-most layers
hide pixels in layers further back, and semi-transparent pixels on front-most layers are blended w ith pixels
further back proportionally to their alpha ratio. This does the job for solid objects. How ever, some types oflayers and effects may look better w hen composited into the scene using more advanced approaches. The
Blending node can be used to composite an element, effect or group using one of many different algorithms
that may make it look much better in the final render.

NOTE
The effect of the Blending node is only visible w hen the Camera view is in Render Preview
mode.

Connection
A Blending layer can be connected under a layer, an effect or a group to affect the w ay it w ill be composited
into the scene.

Properties

Parameter

Description

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Enable/Disable

Allow s you to enable or disable the layer. W hen disabled, a layer has no visible
effect on the rendered image, nor on the preview in the Camera, Perspective, Sideand Top view s.

Colour Sw atch

Sets the colour of the layer in the Timeline view .

NameAllow s you to change the name given to the node.

Choose the blending effect mode you w ish to apply to your layer.

NOTE
Some of the available blending modes have a BETA or Legacy variant to them.

Blend Model

A BETA blending mode is one that has been recently added in Harmony
and w hich w as made to more closely resemble results obtained inprofessional photo editing softw are such as Adobe Photoshop.

l

A Legacy blending mode is a blending mode that w as present in older
versions of Harmony. Starting from Harmony 10, these blending modes
w ere enhanced by de-multiplying colours before compositing the image
then re-multiplying them. Their legacy version remain available to ensure
scenes created in older versions of Harmony do not render differently.

lNormal: Composites the image w ithout any specific blending effect.

lErase:Subtracts the overlay pixel's alpha from the underlay pixel, "cuttingout" the overlay from the underlay. The overlay pixel's colour information is
ignored.

lInvert:Inverts the underlay pixel proportionally to the alpha value of theoverlay pixel. The overlay image hence acts as a "matte" for an invert effect.

lReplace:Ignores the underlay pixel completely, outputting the overlay pixel
as if nothing existed behind it. This applies to all overlay pixels that have analpha value of at least 1, so the negative space of the overlay image w ill nothide the underlay image. If the overlay pixel is not fully opaque, it w ill bemixed w ith black.

lColour Burn: Darkens each channel in the underlay pixel w ith the darkness
value of the corresponding channel in the overlay pixel, by increasing thecontrast of the underlay pixel.

lDarken: For each channel, uses the value that is the darkest betw een theunderlay pixel and the overlay pixel.

lLinear Burn: Darkens each channel in the underlay pixel w ith the darkness
value of the corresponding channel in the overlay pixel, by reducing thebrightness of the underlay pixel.

lMultiply: Multiplies the value of each channel in the underlay pixel w ith thevalue of each channel in the overlay pixel, treating those values as ratios.

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Multiplying anything w ith black w ill result in black, and multiplying anythingw ith w hite w ill leave the colour unchanged.
lColour Dodge: Lightens each channel in the underlay pixel w ith thebrightness value of the corresponding channel in the overlay pixel, bydecreasing the contrast of the underlay pixel.

lLighten: For each channel, uses the value that is the brightest betw een theunderlay pixel and the overlay pixel.

lLinear Dodge: Lightens each channel in the underlay pixel w ith thebrightness value of the corresponding channel in the overlay pixel, byincreasing the brightness of the underlay pixel.

l

Screen: The reverse of multiply. Multiplies the reverse value of each channel
in the underlay and overlay pixel, treating those values as ratios. Multiplying
anything w ith w hite w ill result in w hite, and multiplying anything w ith black
w ill leave the colour unchanged.

lVividlight: This colour dodges overlay pixels w ith a value above 50% onto
underlay pixels, and colour burns overlay pixels w ith a value below 50%
onto underlay pixels. The brighter the overlay pixel is, the more intense thecolour dodging effect w ill be. The darker the overlay pixel is, the more
intense the colour burning effect w ill be.

lHardlight: This screens overlay pixels w ith a value above 50% onto underlay
pixels, and multiplies overlay pixels w ith a value below 50% onto underlay
pixels. The brighter the overlay pixel is, the more intense the screen effectw ill be. The darker the overlay pixel is, the more intense the multiplying
effect w ill be. Blending any colour w ith w hite or black w ill result in w hite or
black, and blending a colour w ith plain grey w ill leave the colour unchanged.

lLinearlight: This linear dodges overlay pixels w ith a value above 50% onto
underlay pixels, and linear burns overlay pixels w ith a value below 50% onto
underlay pixels. The brighter the overlay pixel is, the more intense the linear
dodging effect w ill be. The darker the overlay pixel is, the more intense thelinear burning effect w ill be.

lOverlay: Like hardlight, exept it screens or multiplies the underlay pixel over
the overlay pixel, based on the value of the underlay pixel.

l

Pin Light: For each channel, if the overlay pixel's value is above 50%, use thelightest pixel betw een the underlay and overlay pixels. If the overlay pixel's
value is below 50%, use the darkest pixel betw een the underlay and overlay
pixels.

lSoftlight: Each channel of the overlay pixel lightens or darkens thecorresponding channel of the underlay pixel on a softer scale. The effect is
proportional to how dark or bright the overlay pixel is, but inversely
proportional to how dark or bright the underlay pixel is.

lDifference: For each channel, this takes the darkest pixel among the overlay
and underlay pixels, subtract it from the lightest pixel, and outputs the result.

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guidel

Divide: For each channel, this divides the value of the underlay pixel by thevalue overlay pixel. Both values are treated as ratios, so the resulting colour
is brighter. A w hite overlay pixel w ill leave the underlay colour unaffected,
and a black overlay pixel w ill alw ays result in w hite.

lExclusion: Adds the overlay and underlay pixel, then subtracts the multipliedvalue of both pixels tw ice. This results in an effect similar to Difference,
except that w hile the Difference mode produces consistently high contrast
pixels, the contrast of the resulting pixels w ith the Exclusion mode is
proportional to how dark or bright the overlay pixels are.

l

Subtract: For each channel, subtracts the value of the overlay pxiel from thevalue of the underlay pxiel. For example, if the underlay pixel is w hite, andthe overlay pixel is dark gray, the resulting pixel w ill be light gray. Likew ise,
if the underlay pixel is yellow , and the overlay pixel is red, the resulting pixel
w ill be green, as yellow is a mix of green and red.

lColour: Outputs a colour w ith the hue and saturation of the overlay pixel,
and the luminosity of the underlay pixel. The overlay layer can hence be used
to "colourize" the underlay layer.

l

Hue: Outputs a colour w ith the luminosity and saturation of the underlay
pixel and the hue of the overlay pixel.

l

Saturation: Outputs a colour w ith the luminosity and hue of the underlying
colour, and the saturation of the source colour.

lLuminosity:Outputs a colour w ith the hue and saturation of the underlay
pixel and the luminosity of the overlay pixel. This is the reverse of the Colour
blending mode.

lApply ClampingW ill clamp the colour values to the maximum and minimum
if they are outside this range. If 16-bit is selected as the Processing Bit Depth
in Colour Space, the maximum value w ill be clamped to 32767. If 32-bit isselected as the Processing Bit Depth, the maximum value w ill be clamped to
1.

l

No Clamping (HDR)No clamping is applied. This option is only effective
w hen Processing Bit Depth of the Colour Space is set to 32-bits per channel(float) and you do not w ant values to be clamped to 0 and 1. This option has
no effect if the Processing Bit Depth is 16-bits per channel.

Clamping Mode

SW F Blend ModeIf you intend to export your scene in SW F format, you can use this option to choose
w hich blend mode to use for this effect in the exported Flash movie. Since Flashdoes not support all the blending modes supported by Harmony, this is left as aseparate option. You can ignore this option if you don't intend to export your scene in
SW F format.
lNormal: Composites the image w ithout any specific blending effect.

lMultiply: Multiplies the value of each channel in the underlay pixel w ith the351

Chapter 3: Layers

value of each channel in the overlay pixel, treating those values as ratios.
Multiplying anything w ith black w ill result in black, and multiplying anythingw ith w hite w ill leave the colour unchanged.
lScreen: The reverse of multiply. Multiplies the reverse value of each channel
in the underlay and overlay pixel, treating those values as ratios. Multiplying
anything w ith w hite w ill result in w hite, and multiplying anything w ith black
w ill leave the colour unchanged.

lLighten: For each channel, uses the value that is the brightest betw een theunderlay pixel and the overlay pixel.

lDarken: For each channel, uses the value that is the darkest betw een theunderlay pixel and the overlay pixel.

lDifference: For each channel, this takes the darkest pixel among the overlay
and underlay pixels, subtract it from the lightest pixel, and outputs the result.

lAdd: Adds the colour values of each channel in the overlay pixel and theunderlay pixel. For example, adding tw o dark grey pixels w ith a value of 100
in each channel w ill result in a light grey pixel w ith a value of 200 in eachchannel. Likew ise, if one of the pixels is red and the other is green, theresulting pixel w ill be yellow .

lSubtract: For each channel, subtracts the value of the overlay pxiel from thevalue of the underlay pxiel. For example, if the underlay pixel is w hite, andthe overlay pixel is dark gray, the resulting pixel w ill be light gray. Likew ise,
if the underlay pixel is yellow , and the overlay pixel is red, the resulting pixel
w ill be green, as yellow is a mix of green and red.

lInvert: Inverts the underlay pixel proportionally to the alpha value of theoverlay pixel. The overlay image hence acts as a "matte" for an invert effect.

lOverlay:Like hardlight, exept it screens or multiplies the underlay pixel over
the overlay pixel, based on the value of the underlay pixel.

lHardlight: This screens overlay pixels w ith a value above 50% onto underlay
pixels, and multiplies overlay pixels w ith a value below 50% onto underlay
pixels. The brighter the overlay pixel is, the more intense the screen effectw ill be. The darker the overlay pixel is, the more intense the multiplying
effect w ill be. Blending any colour w ith w hite or black w ill result in w hite or
black, and blending a colour w ith plain grey w ill leave the colour unchanged.

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Blur Layer
T-HFND-010-007
The Blur effect creates an effect that softens, fogs or obscures the image evenly in all directions. This effect isuseful w hen you w ant to make cloudy images not realistically seen in detail, such as a draw ing object that is
farther back or in the background of your scene, usually blurry due to the law s of atmospheric perspective.
Other uses include the general softening of objects such as snow , stars and shadow s that do not naturally
have a hard outline.

Refer to the follow ing example to connect this effect:

Properties

Parameter

Description

Name

The name of the node as it appears in the Node View and the Timeline view . Eachnode must have a name that is unique to its containing group.

Truck Factor

Activated by default, this option readjusts the blur w hen the elements undergo achange of depth or scale. W hen this option is deselected, the effect's values
remain unchanged regardless of any depth or scale changes. This option should
be deselected w hen multiple draw ings are composited and attached to this353

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Parameter

Description

effect.

RadiusSize of the blur. The larger the value, the greater the strength or reach of the blur.
The blur radius is affected by the draw ing scale and camera position. Click the
Edit Curve button to change these values over time by adjusting the function
curve.

Quality

Select High for a slow and accurate operation or Low for a faster operation w ith amore raw look.

Matte

Invert Matte

Inverts the matte used to generate the effect. By default, the effect is applied tothe opaque areas of the matte draw ing. W hen this option is enabled, the effect isapplied to the transparent areas of the matte instead.

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Blur- Gaussian Layer
T-COMP2-003-002
The Blur-Gaussian effect softens the image, reducing the amount of noise and detail. The look of the Gaussian
blur is smooth, but does take some rendering time. This effect is useful w hen rendering time is less important,and quality is more important. Also, you can use a matte w ith this effect to isolate areas of the image.

For a detailed video tutorial by Adam Phillips, see
https://w w w .youtube.com/w atch?v=mHAnqqM2PyE
Refer to the follow ing example to connect this effect:

Properties

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Parameter

Description

Name

The name of the node as it appears in the Node View and the Timeline view . Eachnode must have a name that is unique to its containing group.

Truck Factor

Activated by default, this option readjusts the blur w hen the elements undergo achange of depth or scale. W hen this option is deselected, the effect's values
remain unchanged regardless of any depth or scale changes. This option should
be deselected w hen multiple draw ings are composited and attached to thiseffect.

Repeat Edge Pixels

Makes the blur algorithm operate as if the pixel values beyond the edge of thelayer are the same as the values of the edge pixels. This keeps edges sharp,
preventing them from darkening and becoming more transparent.

BlurrinessDirectional

Blurs according to the length, w idth, and angle you specify. For example, if acharacter is w alking east, the blur may fall to the w est.

BlurrinessAmount of blur applied to the layer.

Horizontal BlurrinessLength of the blur.

Vertical Blurriness

Thickness of the blur.

Angle

The direction in w hich the blur is applied: sidew ays, up, dow n, 90 degrees, 45
degrees, and so on.

Bidirectional

Blurs in both horizontal and vertical directions.

Matte

Invert Matte

Inverts the matte used to generate the effect. By default, the effect is applied tothe opaque areas of the matte draw ing. W hen this option is enabled, the effect isapplied to the transparent areas of the matte instead.

Precision

Blurs the image the number of times the precision indicates at different radius(betw een 0 and the specified radius).

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Colour- Override Layer
The Colour-Override effects processes the colours in a draw ing layer. Using this effect, you can changecolours from the palette w ithout affecting the actual palette, sw ap clone palettes, or even replace a specificcolour zone. The draw ings in this layer must be .tvg files as the Colour-Override uses the colour palettes
linked to them.

The Colour-Override effect lets you:l

Change colour values in draw ings during the compositing process.

l

Use colour values from a specific colour palette in the palette list.

lEstablish the priority of override palettes in the palette list. For example, you may have different clonesof the same palette, such as a daytime and nighttime version.

lIsolate specific areas of a draw ing by selecting certain colours. For example, using specific colours togenerate a matte for a glow effect.

lHide certain colours.

Refer to the follow ing example to connect this effect:357

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Interface

Palettes
The Palettes section displays the palettes in the palette list of the selected layer. You can move these palettes
into the W hole Palette Overrides section to reorder them. If you have cloned palettes, the higher one in the list
w ill override the others. This is useful for overriding the clone palette ordering set in the scene through theColour view .
You can load additional palettes in the palette list from either your project, by clicking on The Palettebutton, or your computer by clicking on the Brow sel

The Palettebutton.

button allow s you to load a palette contained w ithin the project hierarchy (Environment,

Job, Scene and Elements).
l

The Brow sebutton allow s you to load a palette located outside the project hierarchy, anyw here on

your system or server. If you link to a palette outside of your project, you w ill be prompted w ith thefollow ing w arning message:

You can hover your mouse over the palette name in any of the override sections to display the path to thepalette.

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Colours
The Colours section displays the colour sw atches of the selected palette. Move a sw atch into the ColourOverrides section to change its value.

W hole Palette Overrides
The W hole Palette Overrides section forces the use of a particular palette (clone palette) or palette list
ordering during the compositing process. You must drag palettes from the Palettes section to change theirorder. Harmony uses the palettes in the order they appear in the palette list to find the colour values
associated w ith the colour IDs of each colour zone. To apply a different version of a colour palette to, forexample, sw itch from a day to a night palette, use the Override section to change the order of the colour
palettes (you must be w orking w ith cloned palettes).

Individual Colour Overrides
W hen you drag a sw atch from the Colours section to this section, you can override its value. The default
override mode is set to New RGBA so you can override the RGB value as w ell as the transparency value.

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The Current column alw ays displays the colours from the currently active palette. Selecting a clone palette in
the Palettes area w ill not change the colours if you haven't changed the active palette in the W hole PaletteOverrides section. The update w ill be done once you close and reopen the Colour Override Layer Properties
w indow .

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Colour- Scale Layer
The Colour-Scale effect offsets an image's colours. This effect is useful in creating ambient transitions, such as
from daytime to nighttime.

Refer to the follow ing example to connect this effect:

Properties

Parameter

Description

Name

The name of the node as it appears in the Node View and the Timeline view . Eachnode must have a name that is unique to its containing group.

Red

The factor by w hich to multiply red values in the image.

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Parameter

Description

Green

The factor by w hich to multiply green values in the image.

Blue

The factor by w hich to multiply blue values in the image.

Alpha

The factor by w hich to multiply alpha values in the image.

Hue

The colour or hue to offset the image.

Saturation

The amount of colour to offset the image.

Enter the value for the colour to offset the image. The actual colour values of theimage are not changed; instead, the channels are multiplied by a selectedamount. For example:l

A value of 1 does not change the colour values.

lA value greater than 1 brings the colour channel value closer to 255 (orw hite).

l

A value less than 1 brings the colour channel value closer to zero (0 orblack).

Value

Invert Matte

Inverts the matte used to generate the effect. By default, the effect is applied tothe opaque areas of the matte draw ing. W hen this option is enabled, the effect isapplied to the transparent areas of the matte instead.

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Cutter Layer
T-HFND-010-009
The Cutter effect cuts out a portion of an image. To do this, it needs to be connected to the draw ing it isintended to cut as w ell as to a matte layer. The cutter w ill take the shape of the draw ing in the matte layer andcut this shape out of the draw ing layer. This is especially useful if you w ant to make a character disappear
betw een a background element, or if you w ant to cut out a hole in the middle of a character.
Like all effects that use a matte, the Cutter's effect has an Inverted parameter, w hich is disabled by default.
W hen enabled, the Cutter w ill have the reverse effect: Instead of cutting the matte's shape out of the draw ing,
it w ill cut everything outside of the matte's shape out of the draw ing, leaving only the parts of the draw ing
that are covered by the matte.
The Cutter effect can be used w ith 2D-3D integration. Rendered 2D draw ings, integrated w ith 3D models,display soft, anti-aliased edges, even w here the Cutter effect is applied.

Refer to the follow ing example to connect this effect:

Properties

Parameter

Description

Enable/Disable

Allow s you to enable or disable the layer. W hen disabled, a layer has no visible
effect on the rendered image, nor on the preview in the Camera, Perspective, Side

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Parameter

Description

and Top view s.

Colour Sw atch

Sets the colour of the layer in the Timeline view .

NameAllow s you to enter a name for the node.

Inverted

W hen this option is enabled, the Cutter node w ill invert the matte shape to cut
the draw ing. Instead of cutting the image intersecting w ith the matte, it w ill cut
any artw ork outside of the matte shape.

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Glow Layer
T-HFND-010-009B
The Glow effect turns your image into a glow area w ith a bright soft-edged light or diffuse light region aroundan image. The Glow effect is useful for creating a shining rim around objects, such as the sun or stars. Clone
your layer to display the original image on top of the glow .

Refer to the follow ing example to connect this effect:

Properties

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Parameter

Description

Enable/Disable

Allow s you to enable or disable the layer. W hen disabled, a layer has no visible
effect on the rendered image, nor on the preview in the Camera, Perspective, Sideand Top view s.

Colour Sw atch

Sets the colour of the layer in the Timeline view .

Name

Truck Factor

The name of the node as it appears in the Node View and the Timeline view . Eachnode must have a name that is unique to its containing group.

Activated by default, this option readjusts the blur w hen the elements undergo achange of depth or scale. W hen disabled, the effect's values w ill remainunchanged regardless of depth or scale changes. It is recommended that thisoption be disabled w hen multiple draw ings are composited and attached thiseffect.

Allow s you to choose betw een the follow ing blur types for the effect:l

Radial: The edges of the matte are blurred evenly around points thatmake up the edge of the matte.

l

Directional: The matte is blurred in the direction configured w ith theBlur Type

Directional Angle and Directional Falloff Rate parameters.

RadiusEnter a value for the size of the blur. The larger the value, the greater the blureffect. The blur radius is affected by the draw ing scale and camera position.

If you set the Blur Type to Directional, this sets the angle of the blur. The value
goes from 0 to 360, w ith 0 meaning w est, and angles going counterclockw ise. For
example:l0: Blurs the image to the w est.

l

90: Blurs the image to the south.

l180: Blurs the image to the east.

l

270: Blurs the image to the north.

Directional Angle

The distance w here the blur fades from the edge of the image. Select a decimalvalue betw een 0 and 1. For example:
Directional Falloff Ratel0: Makes the blur fade out slow ly, distributing the blur evenly from theedge of the character to the farthest edge of the blur.

l

1: Makes the blur fade out quickly. The blur is heaviest closer to the edge

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Parameter

Descriptionof the image.

Invert Matte

Inverts the matte used to generate the effect. By default, the effect is applied toopaque areas of the draw ing. W hen this option is enabled, the effect is applied totransparent or empty areas of the draw ing.

Instead of using the colour in the Colour parameters, this uses the colours in thesource draw ing to generate the effect.
Use Source Colour

NOTE
The effect of this parameter is only visible in Render View

Multiplicativemode.

Multiplies the colours of the effect w ith the colours of the background. Thisintensifies the effect.

ColourRed

The amount of red to add to the colour in the background image.

Green

The amount of green to add to the colour in the background image.

Blue

The amount of blue to add to the colour in the background image.

Alpha

The alpha value of the effect.

Colour Sw atch

Opens the Colour Picker dialog, in w hich you can visually select a colour for theeffect.

Intensity

Allow s you to set the factor by w hich to multiply the intensity of the effect. Thisparameter can take a decimal value betw een 0 and 1. At 1, the effect is fully
applied. At 0, the effect is not visible.

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Highlight Layer
T-HFND-010-009C
The Highlight node allow s you to brighten an image's area to simulate a light source. For this effect, you w illneed to create a matte to determine the shape and position of the highlight on a separate element, so that you
can blur the edges to create a softer effect. By adjusting the Highlight properties, you can control the type andamount of blur, as w ell as the colour of the Highlight effect.

Connection
The Highlight effect layer must be connected as a child of the draw ing layer or group w hich you w ant it toaffect, and must have a matte draw ing layer or group added to its Matte attribute. The part of its parent image
that are covered by the matte draw ing w ill have a highlight applied to it.

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Layer Properties

Parameter

Description

Enable/Disable

Allow s you to enable or disable the layer. W hen disabled, a layer has no visible effect on
the rendered image, nor on the preview in the Camera, Perspective, Side and Top view s.

Colour Sw atch

Sets the colour of the layer in the Timeline view .

Name

The name of the node as it appears in the Node View and the Timeline view . Each node
must have a name that is unique to its containing group.

Truck Factor

Activated by default, this option readjusts the blur w hen the elements undergo a change
of depth or scale. W hen disabled, the effect's values w ill remain unchanged regardless of
depth or scale changes. It is recommended that this option be disabled w hen multiple
draw ings are composited and attached this effect.

Allow s you to choose betw een the follow ing blur types for the effect:l

Radial: The edges of the matte are blurred evenly around points that make up theedge of the matte.

l

Directional: The matte is blurred in the direction configured w ith the Directional
Angle and Directional Falloff Rate parameters.

Blur Type369

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Parameter

Description

RadiusEnter a value for the size of the blur. The larger the value, the greater the blur effect. The
blur radius is affected by the draw ing scale and camera position.

If you set the Blur Type to Directional, this sets the angle of the blur. The value goes from 0
to 360, w ith 0 meaning w est, and angles going counterclockw ise. For example:

Directional Anglel0: Blurs the image to the w est.

l

90: Blurs the image to the south.

l180: Blurs the image to the east.

l

270: Blurs the image to the north.

The distance w here the blur fades from the edge of the image. Select a decimal value
betw een 0 and 1. For example:
Directional Falloff
Rate

Multiplicativel

0: Makes the blur fade out slow ly, distributing the blur evenly from the edge of thecharacter to the farthest edge of the blur.

l

1: Makes the blur fade out quickly. The blur is heaviest closer to the edge of theimage.

Multiplies the colours of the effect w ith the colours of the source image. This intensifies theeffect.

ColourRed

The amount of red to add to the colour of the source image.

Green

The amount of green to add to the colour of the source image.

Blue

The amount of blue to add to the colour of the source image.

Alpha

The alpha value of the effect.

Colour Sw atch

Opens the Colour Picker dialog, in w hich you can visually select a colour for the effect.

Intensity

Allow s you to set the factor by w hich to multiply the intensity of the effect. This parametercan take a decimal value betw een 0 and 1. At 1, the effect is fully applied. At 0, the effectis not visible.

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Parameter

Description

Matte

Invert Matte

Inverts the matte used to generate the effect. By default, the affect is applied to opaqueareas of the matte and transparent areas of the matte are ignored. W hen this option isenabled, the effect is applied to transparent areas of the matte and opaque areas of thematte are ignored.

Instead of using the colour in the Colour parameters, this uses the colours in the mattedraw ing to generate the effect.
Use Matte Colour

NOTE
The effect of this parameter is only visible in Render View

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Shadow Layer
W ith the Shadow effect, you can turn a draw ing into a shadow . It doesn't matter if the draw ing layer is a fully
coloured character. The Shadow effect w ill render it into a grey, semitransparent, slightly blurry silhouette.
You must clone your layer to see the original image displayed on top of the shadow .

Refer to the follow ing example to connect this effect:

Properties
Parameter

Description

Enable/Disable

Allow s you to enable or disable the layer. W hen disabled, a layer has no visible
effect on the rendered image, nor on the preview in the Camera, Perspective, Sideand Top view s.

Colour Sw atch

Sets the colour of the layer in the Timeline view .

Name

The name of the node as it appears in the Node View and the Timeline view . Eachnode must have a name that is unique to its containing group.

Truck Factor

Activated by default, this option readjusts the blur w hen the elements undergo achange of depth or scale. W hen disabled, the effect's values w ill remainunchanged regardless of depth or scale changes. It is recommended that thisoption be disabled w hen multiple draw ings are composited and attached thiseffect.

Blur Type

Allow s you to choose betw een the follow ing blur types for the effect:372

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Parameter

RadiusDescriptionlRadial: The edges of the matte are blurred evenly around points thatmake up the edge of the matte.

l

Directional: The matte is blurred in the direction configured w ith the
Directional Angle and Directional Falloff Rate parameters.

Enter a value for the size of the blur. The larger the value, the greater the blureffect. The blur radius is affected by the draw ing scale and camera position.

If you set the Blur Type to Directional, this sets the angle of the blur. The value
goes from 0 to 360, w ith 0 meaning w est, and angles going counterclockw ise. For
example:l0: Blurs the image to the w est.

l

90: Blurs the image to the south.

l180: Blurs the image to the east.

l

270: Blurs the image to the north.

Directional Angle

The distance w here the blur fades from the edge of the image. Select a decimalvalue betw een 0 and 1. For example:l0: Makes the blur fade out slow ly, distributing the blur evenly from theedge of the character to the farthest edge of the blur.

l

1: Makes the blur fade out quickly. The blur is heaviest closer to the edgeof the image.

Directional Falloff Rate

Invert Matte

Inverts the matte used to generate the effect. By default, the effect is applied toopaque areas of the draw ing. W hen this option is enabled, the effect is applied totransparent or empty areas of the draw ing.

Instead of using the colour in the Colour parameters, this uses the colours in thesource draw ing to generate the effect.
Use Source Colour

NOTE
The effect of this parameter is only visible in Render View

Multiplicativemode.

Multiplies the colours of the effect w ith the colours of the background. Thisintensifies the effect.

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Parameter

Description

ColourRed

The amount of red to subtract from the colour in the background image. To obtaina shadow effect, this value must be negative.

GreenThe amount of green to subtract from the colour in the background image. To
obtain a shadow effect, this value must be negative.

Blue

The amount of blue to subtract from the colour in the background image. To
obtain a shadow effect, this value must be negative.

Alpha

The alpha value of the effect.

Colour Sw atch

Opens the Colour Picker dialog, in w hich you can visually select a colour for theeffect.

Intensity

Allow s you to set the factor by w hich to multiply the intensity of the effect. Thisparameter can take a decimal value betw een 0 and 1. At 1, the effect is fully
applied. At 0, the effect is not visible.

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Tone Layer
T-COMP2-004-004
The Tone effect allow s you to add a dark-coloured region to your draw ing and simulate the shaded area aw ay
from a light source. To produce the tone effect, create a draw ing to control w here the tone w ill appear. The
Tone effect uses a matte to determine the shape and position of the tone on your draw ing and can be blurredat the edges to create a softer effect.

Connection
The Tone effect layer must be connected as a child of the draw ing layer or group w hich you w ant it to affect,
and must have a matte draw ing layer or group added to its Matte attribute. The part of its parent image thatare covered by the matte draw ing w ill have a tone applied to it.

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Layer Properties

Parameter

Description

Enable/Disable

Allow s you to enable or disable the layer. W hen disabled, a layer has no visible effect on
the rendered image, nor on the preview in the Camera, Perspective, Side and Top view s.

Colour Sw atch

Sets the colour of the layer in the Timeline view .

Name

The name of the node as it appears in the Node View and the Timeline view . Each node
must have a name that is unique to its containing group.

Truck Factor

Activated by default, this option readjusts the blur w hen the elements undergo a change
of depth or scale. W hen disabled, the effect's values w ill remain unchanged regardless of
depth or scale changes. It is recommended that this option be disabled w hen multiple
draw ings are composited and attached this effect.

Allow s you to choose betw een the follow ing blur types for the effect:l

Radial: The edges of the matte are blurred evenly around points that make up theedge of the matte.

l

Directional: The matte is blurred in the direction configured w ith the Directional
Angle and Directional Falloff Rate parameters.

Blur Type376

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Parameter

Description

RadiusEnter a value for the size of the blur. The larger the value, the greater the blur effect. The
blur radius is affected by the draw ing scale and camera position.

If you set the Blur Type to Directional, this sets the angle of the blur. The value goes from 0
to 360, w ith 0 meaning w est, and angles going counterclockw ise. For example:

Directional Anglel0: Blurs the image to the w est.

l

90: Blurs the image to the south.

l180: Blurs the image to the east.

l

270: Blurs the image to the north.

The distance w here the blur fades from the edge of the image. Select a decimal value
betw een 0 and 1. For example:
Directional Falloff
Rate

Multiplicativel

0: Makes the blur fade out slow ly, distributing the blur evenly from the edge of thecharacter to the farthest edge of the blur.

l

1: Makes the blur fade out quickly. The blur is heaviest closer to the edge of theimage.

Multiplies the colours of the effect w ith the colours of the source image. This intensifies theeffect.

ColourRed

The amount of red to subtract from the colour of the source image. To obtain a shadow
effect, the value must be negative.

GreenThe amount of green to subtract from the colour of the source image. To obtain a shadow
effect, the value must be negative.

Blue

The amount of blue to subtract from the colour of the source image. To obtain a shadow
effect, the value must be negative.

Alpha

The alpha value of the effect.

Colour Sw atch

Opens the Colour Picker dialog, in w hich you can visually select a colour for the effect.

Intensity

Allow s you to set the factor by w hich to multiply the intensity of the effect. This parametercan take a decimal value betw een 0 and 1. At 1, the effect is fully applied. At 0, the effect377

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Parameter

Description

is not visible.

Matte

Invert Matte

Inverts the matte used to generate the effect. By default, the affect is applied to opaqueareas of the matte and transparent areas of the matte are ignored. W hen this option isenabled, the effect is applied to transparent areas of the matte and opaque areas of thematte are ignored.

Instead of using the colour in the Colour parameters, this uses the colours in the mattedraw ing to generate the effect.
Use Matte Colour

NOTE
The effect of this parameter is only visible in Render View

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Transparency Layer
T-HFND-010-008
The Transparency effect is used to make an image partially transparent. The Transparency effect is usefulw hen fading images in and out, such as a phantom or to make something partially see-through, such as aw indow .

Refer to the follow ing example to connect this effect:

You can enter a value in the Transparency field or change the transparency value over time by linking it to afunction curve. Entering a value of 100 in the Transparency field w ill make the element 100% transparent, inother w ords, invisible. Entering a value of 0 w ill render the element completely opaque.
It is also possible to adjust a draw ing layer's transparency directly in the Layer Properties w indow w ithout
using the Transparency layer. In the layer's properties, go to the Draw ing tab and adjust the Opacity
parameter. This parameter is visible in OpenGL mode.

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Properties

Parameter

Description

Name

Allow s you to enter a name for the node.

Transparency

Lets you set the opacity of an element. Values range from 0 to 100. A value of
100 w ill make the element 100% transparent and a value of 0 w ill render theelement completely opaque.

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Image Layers
Image layers generate an image that display in your scene's render. The draw ing layer, w hich is the main typeof layer used in Harmony, generates an image based on the draw ings in its element w hich are exposed at thecurrent frame. The Colour-Card simply fills the render area w ith a solid colour.
Colour- Card Layer

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Drawing Layer

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Colour- Card Layer
T-ANIMPA-012-001
The Colour Card allow s you to fill the scene's background w ith a solid colour w hen there is no backgroundimage. If no draw ing or colour-card is present to cover the scene's background, the scene w ill be rendered on apitch black canvas.

NOTE
By default, the Colour Card has a Z ordering value of 12 Backward. This puts the Colour cardbehind all elements that have a value low er than 12 Backward. Most of the time, the Colour card
w ill appear automatically behind all the scene elements as they are all set to 0 Backward, unless
you have changed the Z ordering of the scene components. If so, the Colour Card w ill be in front of
the elements that are pushed back to more than 12 fields backw ard.

Connection
The Colour Card does not need to be connected to anything in your scene. It simply needs to be added to it
alongside your draw ing layers and groups.

Because a Colour Card has a default position on the z-axis of 12 Backw ard, it w ill appear behind all the layers
in your scene regardless of w hether or not it has layers underneath it.

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Layer Properties

Parameter

Description

Enable/Disable

Allow s you to enable or disable the layer. W hen disabled, a layer has no visible
effect on the rendered image, nor on the preview in the Camera, Perspective, Sideand Top view s.

Colour Sw atch

Sets the colour of the layer in the Timeline view .

Name

The name of the node as it appears in the Node View and the Timeline view . Eachnode must have a name that is unique to its containing group.

Depth

This parameter can be used to determine w hether the colour card displays behindor in front of elements w ith the same position on the z-axis.

Offset Z

The position of the Colour Card on the Z-axis. By default, this is set to 12 B toensure the Colour Card appears behind other elements in the scene. You can set
this to 0 F to make the Colour Card respect the order of the layers in the Timelineview .

ColourThe colour and transparency of the Colour Card. You can also attach theseparameters to function columns to change their values over time.
Click the colour sw atch to open the Colour Picker w indow and select a colour.

Colour Sw atch

Opens the Colour Picker w indow in w hich you can specify the colour.

Invert Matte

If an image is connected to the Colour Card's matte port, by default, the colour isonly applied on the opaque areas of the matte. If this parameter is enabled, thecolour is applied to the transparent areas of the matte instead.

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Drawing Layer
The Draw ing layer is at the core of a scene's structure. A draw ing layer is linked to an element, w hich contains
a series of draw ing, and its Xsheet column, w hich indicates w hen and for how long each draw ing is exposed.
The layer is w hat connects the element and its exposure to the rendered image. It indicates the position of thedraw ings relative to other elements and to the stage, as w ell as the draw ing's connections w ith pegs, groups
and effects, if any.
Although draw ing layers can be transformed and animated on their ow n, it is typical to connect them under aparent peg. This allow s you to keep the position and animation information of the element in the peg, making
it easier to manipulate the exposure and the transformations separately. This is especially useful in digital cutout animation w here manipulating and transforming layers is often the main method of simulating movement,
and changing draw ings is the secondary method.

You can also connect a draw ing layer as a child of another draw ing layer. Just like w ith pegs, anytransformation done to the parent layer, w hether on itself or through one of its parents, w ill also be applied tothe child layer.

Optionally, you can connect a matte draw ing to a draw ing layer. W hen a draw ing layer has a matte draw ing,
only the parts of the draw ings that intersect w ith the opaque areas of the matte draw ing w ill be rendered. This
allow s you to accomplish the same effect as connecting the draw ing layer to a cutter effect.

Layer Properties
The draw ing layer's properties are organized in the follow ing tabs:

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference GuidelTransformation TablDraw ing TablControls TablLine ThicknesslAdvanced Tab

Transformation Tab
The Transformation tab contains parameters for adjusting the position, scale, rotation, skew and pivots of anelement.

Parameter

Description

Position

3D Path: Use a 3D path to position the element. A 3D path uses a single function
to define the position on the X, Y and Z axes. This function is made of control
points linked by a curvilinear path, making the movement follow a natural curve.
The pace and ease of the movement is determined by a single velocity function.

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Separate: Positions the element using separate functions for the X, Y and Z axes.
This allow s to control the direction and pace of the movement across all threeaxes separately. Unless ease is applied to the axes, the trajectory of the element
w ill follow straight lines going betw een each keyframe.

Path: If the 3D Path option is selected, this field allow s you to create or select the
3D Path function used to position the element.
Path (x) Axis: The position of the element on the East-W est axis, in fields.
Path (y) Axis: The position of the element on the South-North axis, in fields.
Path (z) Axis: The position of the element in the Back-Front axis, in fields.
Velocity: If the 3D Path option is selected, this function is used to control the paceat w hich the element moves tow ards each control point in the 3D Path function,on all three axes simultaneously.

Locked: Uses a single scale parameter to scale the element, preserving its
proportions.
Scale
Separate: Uses a separate parameter to scale the element on the X and Y axis,
allow ing to stretch or squash the element.

(x) Axis: The horizontal scale factor. The default value is 1.
(y) Axis: The vertical scale factor. The default value is 1.
Scale in Fields: W ith this option enabled, the scale factor is based on the amountof fields in the scene. For example, to shrink one of the dimensions of an element
to half its original size, the scale factor w ould normally bet set to 0.5. If this option
is enabled and the amount of fields in the scene is 12, then the scale factor toshrink the element by half w ould be 6.
Ignore Parent Scaling: W hen this option is enabled, scaling factors applied to aparent layer w ill not be applied to the current layer. This can be handy in cut-out
rigs w hen you need to scale an arm w ithout affecting the forearm.

RotationAngle z: The angle at w hich the element is rotated, based on the 360 degrees
scale. Values below 0 or above 360 degrees w ill cause the rotation to cycle.

Skew

Skew: The angle at w hich the element is skew ed. This value can range from -90
to 90 degrees.

(x) Axis: The horizontal position of the pivot point of the element relative to thepivot point of the draw ing, in fields.
Pivot(y) Axis: The vertical position of the pivot point of the element relative to the pivot
point of the draw ing, in fields.

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NOTE
These parameters can be changed visually by clicking and dragging thepivot point w hen using on of the tools in the Advanced Animation toolbar.

An element layer has tw o pivots:l

The pivot of the element, w hich is set by the Pivot parameters above.

l

The pivot of the currently exposed draw ing, w hich is set using theDraw ing Pivot

tool.

This preference is used to determine w hat to do w ith the pivot point of thecurrently exposed draw ing:lDon't Use Embedded Pivot: Ignores the pivot point of the exposeddraw ing. The pivot point of the element is positioned using the Pivot
parameters above, relative to the centre of the draw ing.

lApply Embedded Pivot on Parent Peg: Use the pivot point of the
exposed draw ing to determine the position of the pivot point of the parent
peg of the draw ing layer. This is useful w hen making a character rig w hereeach element has a parent peg, and those parent pegs are intended to be
used for animation. The pivot point of these parent pegs w ill be based on
the pivot point set for the exposed draw ing.

lApply Embedded Pivot on Drawing Layer: Use the pivot point of thedraw ing to determine the pivot point of the element. This means the pivot
point is positioned using the Pivot parameters above, but relative to thepivot point of the draw ing.

Draw ing Pivot

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TIP
The tw o latter options are useful w hen making a character rig w here a layer
can represent a body part from different angles. Since each angle isrepresented by a draw ing, and each angle is liable to have a different pivot
point, you can set the pivot point of each angle by using the Draw ing Pivot
tool on each draw ing. Then, if you w ant to animate the draw ing layers
directly, you can set this parameter to the Apply Embedded Pivot on
Drawing Layer option, and if you w ant to animate using the parent pegs ofthe draw ing layers, you can set this parameter to the Apply Embedded
Pivot on Parent Peg option, so that these pivots are used w hen animating
the different parts of the rigs.

Drawing Tab
The Draw ing tab contains parameters for the art layers, bitmap images and the element's matte draw ing.

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Parameter

Description

Element Columns

Drawing Path: Displays the full path to the current draw ing.

These parameters allow you to set w hether each art layer in the draw ing layer isenabled, and w hether they should contain vector or bitmap artw ork. By default,
options for the Line Art and Colour Art layers w ill be available. If the Enable
Overlay and Underlay Arts preference is enabled, options for the Overlay Art andUnderlay Art layers w ill also be available.
Enabled: Determines w hether the art layer is displayed.
Art Layers
Vector: Makes the art layer enabled for vector artw ork, Vector draw ing tools w ill
be used to draw in this art layer, and vector artw ork information w ill bepreserved.
Bitmap: Makes the art layer enabled for bitmap artw ork. Only bitmap-compatible
draw ing tools w ill be enabled w hen draw ing on this layer, and all artw ork w ill berasterized into a bitmap image.

Colour: Determines w hether or not the colours in the image is processed. If
unchecked, the image w ill be solid black.
Transparency: Determines w hether or not the transparency in the image isprocessed. If unchecked, the image w ill be fully opaque.

Transparency Type: If the layer contains bitmap images w ith a transparency
channel, there are several approaches to rendering the image's transparency. You
may need to select the proper transparency type to make sure Harmony renders
the image as intended.

Bitmap File OptionslPremultiplied with Black: Semi-transparent pixels in the original image
are blended w ith black.

l

Premultiplied with W hite: Semi-transparent pixels in the original image
are blended w ith w hite.

lStraight: Semi-transparent pixels in the original image are left as is(unmatted).

lClamp Colour to Alpha: Semi-transparent pixels in the original image are
blended w ith black. On import, each of the RGB channels is clamped sothat a color value never exceed the alpha value for a given pixel. W hen
the RGB values are multiplied w ith the alpha value, that is to say, if you
have a pixel of value R=247, G=188, B=29 and the alpha is 50% or theimage has a 50% transparency, then the actual RGB values output w ould
be half of the amounts listed above.

Tile Horizontally: Repeats the bitmap image infinitely to the left and to the right389

Chapter 3: Layersof the layer. This can be useful for making looping backgrounds.
Tile Vertically: Repeats the bitmap image infinitely to over and underneath thelayer. This can be useful for making looping backgrounds.

NOTE
W hen both the Tile Horizontally and Tile Vertically options are used
together, the bitmap image is tiled all over the scene.

Matte

Invert Matte:If a draw ing, group or effect is added to the draw ing's Matteattribute, the part of the draw ing that intersect w ith the matte's opaque areas w ill
be cut out by default. If this parameter is enabled, the part of the draw ing thatintersect w ith the matte's transparent areas w ill be cut out instead.

Colour Space: The colour space in w hich the element’s colours should beinterpreted. If the element’s colour space is different from the project colour
space, then the element’s colours w ill be converted from the element’s colour
space to the project’s colour space as they are processed, before being
composited together w ith the scene’s special effects.
lUndefined Colour Space: No colour space is defined for the draw ing. The
draw ing’s colours w ill be interpreted as if they w ere the same colour
space the one selected in the Colour Space tab of the Scene Settings
dialog.

lLinear: The same primaries and w hite point as sRGB and Rec. 709, but
w ith no gamma transfer curve applied to the colour values. This colour
space is useful for compositing intermediary images that are meant to berendered in sRGB or Rec. 709.

l

Display P3: A colour space commonly used for digital projection. It has
the same primaries as DCI-P3, the same w hite point as sRGB and thesame gamma transfer curve as sRGB.

l

Display P3 Linear: The same as Display P3, except w ith no gammatransfer curve. This colour space is useful for compositing intermediary
images that are meant to be rendered in Display P3.

lRec. 709: The colour space used for HDTV. It has the same primaries andw hite point as sRGB, but has a different gamma transfer curve.

lRec. 709 2.4: The same colour space as Rec. 709 or sRGB, except w ith agamma transfer curve of 2.4 (per ITU-R BT.1886). This colour space exists
because some editing systems use a gamma transfer curve of 2.4 insteadof the standard gamma curve for Rec. 709.

lRec. 2020: A colour space used for Ultra High Definition TV (UHDTV). It
has a complex gamma transfer curve and primaries that cover more of thehuman-perceivable colour space than other colour spaces, especially inColour Space390

Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

the area of human-perceivable greens.
lRec. 2020 2.4: The same colour space as Rec. 2020, except w ith a simple
gamma transfer curve of 2.4 (per ITU-R BT.1886). This colour space exists
because some editing systems use a gamma transfer curve of 2.4 insteadof the standard gamma curve for Rec. 2020.

lRec. 2020 Linear: The same colour space as Rec. 2020, except w ith no
gamma transfer curve. This colour space is useful for compositing
intermediary images that are meant to be rendered in Rec. 2020.

lsRGB: A colour space typically used for standard computer monitors. It
has the same primaries and w hite point as Rec. 709, but has a different
gamma transfer curve.

NOTE
In theOpenGL View mode of the Camera view , the colour space ofdraw ing layers is ignored and only the colour space of original bitmap files
is taken in account. To test the colours of your draw ing in their selectedcolour space, you must activate

Render View mode.

Controls Tab
The Controls tab contains animation control options.

Parameter

Description

Animate Using Animation Tools: By default, a draw ing layer can be animateddirectly, as if it w as its ow n peg. If you disable this option, it w ill only be possible
to animate the layer using its parent peg. If the layer has no parent peg, it w ill be
immutable.
Animation
This can be useful if you w ant to create cut-out character rigs that should only be
animated using pegs, w hich can help separate the draw ing exposure from thetransformations on the draw ings. If every draw ing layer in a character rig has thisoption disabled, only layers that have a parent peg w ill be animatable, and the391

Chapter 3: Layers

animator w ill only be able to animate on the pegs. This also rules out thepossibility of accidentally animating an element directly and using its parent peg
concurrently.
W hen this option is disabled, clicking on the draw ing layer in the Camera vieww ith the Transform tool w ill automatically select the layer's parent peg.

If the layer's controls are displayed, you can see its animation trajectory in the
Camera view . This is referred to as the spline. By default, the position of eachpoint in the spline is based on the element's pivot point. How ever, you can use thespline offset to give it a more fitting position if desired. You can do this by using
the Spline Offset tool of the Advanced Animation toolbar, or by manuallyentering the offset values in the Spline Offset fields.
(x) Axis: The horizontal offset of the spline, in fields.
(y) Axis: The vertical offset of the spline, in fields.
Spline Offset(z) Axis: The depth offset of the spline, in fields.

TIP
To display the animation trajectory of the layer in the Camera view , selectthe layer, then do one of the follow ing:l

In the Camera toolbar, click on Show Control.

l

From the top menu, select View > Show > Control.

lPress Shift + F11 (W indow s/Linux) or ⌘ + F11 (macOS).

Line Thickness
The Line Thickness tab contains options regarding the w ay pencil lines in the element are rendered. These
options can be very useful to enhance the quality of line art w ithout having to w ork on it.

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Parameter

Description

Adjust Pencil Lines Thickness: Enables the options below to adjust the line
thickness in the rendered image.
Normal Thickness: This setting makes the line thickness adjustments take one of
tw o very different behaviors:lEnabled: The line thickness settings are applied to pencil lines in all art
layers in the element. This setting should be used if you w ant to adjust theline thickness of pencil lines.

lDisabled: The line thickness settings are applied to all art, w hether brushstrokes or pencil lines, in the line art layer, so that it fits the desired
thickness pattern around art in the colour art layer. This setting should be
used for draw ings that have their line art on the line art layer and theircolour art on the colour art layer, w hich is typical of traditional andpaperless animation productions.

Line Thickness

NOTE
W hen this option is disabled, all artw ork in the line art layer that
does not surround artw ork in the colour art layer w ill be cropped
out.

Scale Independent:l

Scale Dependent: The line thickness w ill vary based on the scale ofdraw ing elements as w ell as the camera position.

l

Scale Independent: Line thickness w ill not be effected by the scale of thedraw ing element or the position of the camera

393

Chapter 3: LayerslScale Independent (Legacy): The line thickness w ill not be effected by
the scale of the draw ing elements or the position of the camera. Changing
resolution changes the visual thickness w hen rendering

Proportional: The factor by w hich to adjust line thickness. The original line
thickness in the draw ing w ill be multiplied by this value. A value betw een 0 and 1
can be used to make pencil lines thinner.
Constant: The offset by w hich to adjust line thickness. This value w ill be added
to the original line thickness in the draw ing. A negative number can be entered tomake pencil lines thinner.
Minimum: The minimum pencil line thickness allow ed. Line thickness w ill not go
below this value.
Maximum: The maximum pencil line thickness allow ed. Line thickness w ill not go
above this value. Set it to 0 to disable maximum line thickness.

Pencil Lines Quality: The quality of the rendered pencil lines w hen deformed bydeformation chains. Increasing this parameter is unlikely to w ield noticeable
result unless rendering in very high resolutions.
Preserve Line Thickness: If this option is checked, the thickness of pencil lines
w ill not be affected by deformations. Only their directions w ill be affected. Also, if
a pencil line is textured, it w ill not be stretched or squashed by deformations.

NOTE
This setting must be enabled for the Pencil Lines Smoothing and Fit Error
parameters to be available.

Deformation

Pencil Lines Smoothing: The smoothing factor applied to pencil lines w hen
rendering. This value can range from 0 to 10. The higher it is, the more corners
and points w ill appear smoothed out.
Fit Error: W hen this parameter is increased, pencil lines in the rendered image
w ill have less vector points and the curves betw een the remaining vector points
w ill be adjusted to fit the original shape. This setting can be increased if theamount of details and points in the pencil lines creates problems arounddeformation articulations and corners. Its value can range from 1 to 100.

NOTEThe Fit Error parameter w ill have no effect if the Pencil Lines Smoothing
parameter is set to 0.

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Advanced Tab
The Advanced tab contains options for setting the alignment of draw ings, line thickness, vector render
options, and more.

Parameter

Description

Alignment Rule: The alignment rule selections are intended to deal w ith
draw ings that w ere created on paper of a different size or orientation from thedefault alignment rule (set up in the Scene Settings dialog box) or imported
bitmap images. The draw ings are then scaled to match the Harmony alignment
rectangle. Note that alignment rules are not based on the camera frame, but on
the scene frame. Refer to the Fundamentals Guide to learn more about scenealignment and scene settings.
lLeft: The default alignment for draw ings; aligns the draw ings to the left
side of the scene’s alignment rectangle. Harmony scales the draw ings tomatch their height to the alignment rectangle of the scene.

lRight: Aligns the draw ings to the right side of the alignment rectangle.
Harmony scales the draw ings to match their height to the height of thealignment rectangle of the scene.

lTop: Aligns the draw ings to the top of the alignment rectangle. Harmony
scales the draw ings to match their w idths to the w idth of the alignment
rectangle of the scene.

lBottom: Aligns the draw ings to the bottom of the alignment rectangle.
Harmony scales the draw ings to match their w idths to the w idth of thealignment rectangle of the scene.

lCentre Fit: Centers the draw ings.

lCentre Fill: Centers the draw ings and then scales them so the w idth orheight fills the available space.

Alignment395

Chapter 3: LayerslCentre LR: Aligns the draw ings in the left-right centre of the alignment
rectangle. Harmony scales the draw ings to match their height to theheight of the alignment rectangle of the scene.

lCentre TB: Aligns the draw ings in the top-bottom centre of the alignment
rectangle. Harmony scales the draw ings to match their w idths to thew idth of the alignment rectangle of the scene.

lStretch: Scales the draw ings so they fit w ithin the alignment rectangle ofthe scene. This is particularly useful for images that you w ill manipulate
w ith a Quadmap node. If the draw ings in the Quadmap node do not havethe same aspect ratio as the alignment rectangle of the scene (from the
Scene Settings dialog box), the handles on the quadmap w ill not appear
on the corners of the image, making it difficult to manipulate thequadmap. In this case, you w ould set the draw ing layer of the quadmap
images to Stretch to make the handles appear on the corner of the image.
This can have the effect of distorting the images, but it is not an issue w ith
images that w ill be distorted through the Quadmap node anyw ays.

l

As Is: Leaves the draw ings aligned as they are.

l

Centre First Page: Aligns the centre of the first part of a standard pan cel
w ith the centre of the field chart.

Turn Before Alignment: Rotates the draw ings in the selected element 90
degrees to the left before scaling and aligning them according to the alignment
rule, and before performing any offset, rotation or scaling for the element or peg.
This and the Alignment Rule are intended for draw ings that w ere created on
paper of a different size or orientation than the other paper in the scene, andrequires alignment so they are treated accurately.

Flip Horizontal: Flips the draw ing on the horizontal axis.

Flip Vertical: Flips the draw ing on the vertical axis.

Antialiasing Quality: The smoothness (antialiasing) setting used to make thecrisp vector contours appear smooth.
lNone - No Transparency: Dsables antialiasing, renders semi-transparent
pixels either fully opaque or fully transparent, and fills single-pixel gaps
w ith an opaque pixel to avoid generating out-of-place gaps w hen lines
intersect each other.

lLow: Disables antialiasing, but renders transparency.

lMedium Low: Renders vector artw ork w ith basic antialiasing.

lMedium: Renders vector shapes w ith improved antialiasing. Bitmap
texture fills w ill appear blurred.

Vector Render Options

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guidel

High: Renders vector shapes w ith improved antialiasing, w ithout blurring
bitmap texture fills.

TIP
It is recommended to leave this setting to High unless you are w orking on a
pencil test, or another type of scene w here rendering speed is more
important than rendering quality.

TIP
If the production requires exporting line art w ithout antialiasing to colour
them in a third-party softw are, it is recommended to use the None - No
Transparency setting. This setting automatically fills one-pixel gaps
created by crisp lines intersecting each other, w hich w ould otherw ise need
to be filled manually in the third-party softw are.

Antialiasing Exponent: Determines how much the artw ork is scaled up to apply
antialiasing onto it. A higher value w ill results in sharper edges, and a low er value
w ill result in softer edges. Typical values range betw een 0 and 3. Higher values
may be attempted but may result in overly crisp outlines. Negative values w illcause the outlines to appear blurry.
Texture Filter: This setting determines how textures in the element areresampled w hen rendering:

Miscellaneousl

Bilinear: This option takes the four pixels around each point and makes abilinear interpolation betw een them, w hich may make them look blurry.

l

Nearest: W hen sampling the texture up, this option generates extra pixels
by using the colour of the nearest defined pixel. W hen sampling the
texture dow n, this option simply removes pixels from the texture.

l

Nearest (Filtered): This option is similar to Nearest, but it adds an extra
layer of resampling to make all pixels look like they are the same size.

Opacity: Lets you quickly change the transparency of the selected element.
Opacity settings here w ill be reflected in both OpenGL preview , and full render.

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Chapter 3: Layers

Move Layers
Move layers are used to animate layers as w ell as camera motions.
Camera Layer

399

Peg Layer

400

Quadmap Layer

402

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Camera Layer
You can setup the camera position by entering coordinates and values in the Layer Properties view .

Parameter

Description

Enable/Disable

Turns the camera layer on or off.

Change Track Colour

The Change Track Colour button lets you change the colour of the exposed
frames; this helps you to quickly locate a layer in the Timeline view . Click the
Change Track Colour button to open the Select Colour w indow and choose a newcolour. You can modify the colour for any type of layer, such as group, peg,
draw ing, and effects.

Name

Displays the current layer name. You can rename the layer by typing in a newlayer name.

Position

Displays the current position of the camera layer using X-axis (East/W est), Y-axis(North/South) and Z-axis (Forw ard/Backw ard) coordinates. To reposition yourcamera frame, type in the new values corresponding to the desired position
coordinates. You can also use the up and dow n arrow s to set the value of eachfield.

Angle

Displays the current rotation value. To set a new rotation position, type in a new
angle value. You can also use the up and dow n arrow s to set the new angle
value.

Pivot

Displays the current position of the rotation pivot of the camera layer. The camera
w ill perform a rotation taking the position of the pivot as its angle centre. Bydefault, the pivot is set at the centre of the camera frame. To reposition the pivot
point, enter new X and Y coordinates values in the appropriate field. To see thepivot's position, the Rotate tool must be selected.

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Peg Layer
Find below a description of all the Peg node parameters.

Transformation Tab
Parameter

Description

3D Path: Use a 3D path to position the element. A 3D path uses a single function
to define the position on the X, Y and Z axes. This function is made of control
points linked by a curvilinear path, making the movement follow a natural curve.
The pace and ease of the movement is determined by a single velocity function.
Separate: Positions the element using separate functions for the X, Y and Z axes.
This allow s to control the direction and pace of the movement across all threeaxes separately. Unless ease is applied to the axes, the trajectory of the element
w ill follow straight lines going betw een each keyframe.
Position

Path: If the 3D Path option is selected, this field allow s you to create or select the
3D Path function used to position the element.
Path (x) Axis: The position of the element on the East-W est axis, in fields.
Path (y) Axis: The position of the element on the South-North axis, in fields.
Path (z) Axis: The position of the element in the Back-Front axis, in fields.
Velocity: If the 3D Path option is selected, this function is used to control the paceat w hich the element moves tow ards each control point in the 3D Path function,on all three axes simultaneously.

Locked: Uses a single scale parameter to scale the element, preserving its
proportions.
Separate: Uses a separate parameter to scale the element on the X and Y axis,
allow ing to stretch or squash the element.
(x) Axis: The horizontal scale factor. The default value is 1.
(y) Axis: The vertical scale factor. The default value is 1.
Scale

Scale in Fields: W ith this option enabled, the scale factor is based on the amountof fields in the scene. For example, to shrink one of the dimensions of an element
to half its original size, the scale factor w ould normally bet set to 0.5. If this option
is enabled and the amount of fields in the scene is 12, then the scale factor toshrink the element by half w ould be 6.
Ignore Parent Scaling: W hen this option is enabled, any scaling value applied toa parent layer is ignored in the current layer. This can be handy in cut-out rigs
w hen you need to scale an arm w ithout affecting the forearm.

RotationAngle z: Lets you type in a degree value for the rotation angle. Note that you can

400Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

enter values greater than 360 and -360 degrees. If you enter 720, the object w illrotate tw ice.

Skew

Skew: Lets you type in a degree value betw een -90 to 90 for the skew angle.

(x) Axis: The horizontal position of the pivot point of the element relative to thepivot point of the draw ing, in fields.
Pivot(y) Axis: The vertical position of the pivot point of the element relative to the pivot
point of the draw ing, in fields.

401Chapter 3: Layers

Quadmap Layer
T-COMP2-010-001
The Quadmap transformation layer lets you deform the shape of an element. For example, you can use it tocreate a drop-shadow effect on an element.

You can edit the Quadmap visually in the Camera view .

How to edit the Quadmap in the Camera view
1. In the Timeline view , click the Add Layerbutton and select Quadmap.

2. Connect the draw ing you w ant to deformto the Quadmap.

3. In the Tools toolbar, disable the Animate mode to change the value for the Quadmap over theentire duration of the element.
4. In the Timeline view , click on the Quadmap layer to select it.
5. From the top menu, select View > Show > Control or pressShift + F11.
The quadmap handles appear around the element in the w indow . There is also a pivot point at thecentre of the quadmap frame that you can reposition.
6. In the Camera view w indow , use the Transform tool to move the points on the quadmap. Shift +click to select multiple points.

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TIP
The position of the points can be animated. To do this, open the Quadmap layer layer properties
and create functions for each of the coordinates.

Properties

Parameter

Description

Name

Allow s you to change the name given to the node.

2D PathChanges the X and Y values simultaneously and control the velocity of thechange.

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Separate

Changes the X and Y values separately. Each one can be attached to separate
function curves.

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Sound Layer
W hen you select a sound layer in the Timeline view , the options related to that layer appear in the Layer
Properties view .

If you double-click on a sound layer in the Timeline view , or in a sound column in the Xsheet view , the Sound
Element Editor dialog w ill open. This dialog allow s you to fine-tune the sound track's lip sync, start time, stoptime and volume.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Chapter 4: Tools Properties
Harmony has a w ide variety of draw ing and manipulation tools and each one of them has a series of options
and modes available in the Tool Properties view . This section covers these options.

Brush Tool Properties

408

Centerline Editor Tool Properties

431

Close Gap Tool Properties

433

Colour Eyedropper Tool Properties

434

Contour Editor Tool Properties

435

Cutter Tool Properties

440

Draw ing Pivot Tool Properties

445

Edit Gradient/Texture Tool Properties

448

Ellipse Tool Properties

449

Envelope Tool Properties

459

Eraser Tool Properties

462

Ink Tool Properties

484

Line Tool Properties

486

Morphing Tool Properties

498

Paint Tool Properties

502

Pencil Tool Properties

509

Pencil Editor Tool Properties

520

Perspective Tool Properties

525

Polyline Tool Properties

528

Rectangle Tool Properties

536

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Reposition All Draw ings Tool Properties

546

Rigging Tool Properties

548

Select Tool Properties

549

Shift and Trace Tool Properties

562

Smooth Editor Tool Properties

565

Stamp Tool Properties

567

Stroke Tool Properties

575

Text Tool Properties

577

Transform Tool Properties

580

Zoom Tool Properties

584

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Brush Tool Properties
The Brush tool allow s you to draw by creating shapes based on your draw ing strokes and filling them w ith
colour or textures. W hen used w ith a tablet, it is pressure sensitive, just like a real life brush.

How to access the Brush tool properties
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Brushtool.

The tool's properties are displayed in the Tool Properties view .

Brush Properties
The follow ing properties affect the brush's size, smoothing and other properties for the draw ing style of yourbrush. Those properties can be saved into brush presets for later use.
Property

Description

The Preview area lets you see a preview of the stroke your draw ing tool w ill make.
Preview Area

Brush Properties Dialog

The arrow button right of the preview area opens the Brush Properties dialog.

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Property

Description

W hile the Tool Properties view only gives you access to a few of the brushproperties, a list of brush presets and other draw ing options, the Brush Properties
dialog gives you access to all the available options for your brush's tip and texture.
For more information on the Brush Properties dialog, see the Brush Properties Dialog
section below .

Defines the maximum w idth of brush strokes.
Maximum Size

If the tool is used w ith a pressure sensitive pen tablet, the w idth of the stroke w illvary betw een its maximum size and minimum size depending on the amount ofpressure used. If used w ith a mouse, the w idth of the stroke w ill alw ays be its
maximum size.

Allow s you to set the opacity for each instance of the brush tip that gets printed into
your canvas. Contrary to the Opacity parameter, the flow parameter has a cumulative
effect. This means that a low er flow w ill make your brush strokes more transparent
tow ards its extremities and more opaque in its center. Your stroke's flow w ill also
accumulate if you draw over it. By default, your brush's flow varies w ith the amountFlowof pressure you put on your tablet pen.

NOTE
This option is only displayed in the Tool Properties view w hen draw ing on abitmap layer.

The Opacity parameter are w here Lets you set the opacity of your brush strokes.
Contrary to the Flow parameter, the Opacity parameter is non-cumulative. Yourw hole brush stroke's opacity w ill not exceed the Opacity parameter. By default, theOpacity parameter varies depending on the amount of pressure you put on yourtablet pen.
Opacity

NOTEThis option is only displayed in the Tool Properties view w hen draw ing on abitmap layer.

Brush Presets
These options allow you to select, create and manage brush presets.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Icon

Property

Description

By default, Harmony has preloaded brush presets. You can also create
your ow n brush presets by configuring your brush, then saving its
properties into a new preset. It is also possible to export and importbrush presets.

Presets list

New Brush Preset

Creates a new preset based on the current tool properties.

Delete Brush

Deletes the currently selected preset.

Open a menu that contains the follow ing options:l

New Brush Preset: Creates a new preset based on the current
tool properties.

lDelete Brush: Deletes the currently selected preset.

lRename Brush: Allow s you to rename the currently selected
preset.

lImport Brushes: Allow s you to import brush presets exported
from Harmony.

l

Export Brushes: Allow s you to export your brush presets into
an .xml file.

l

Small Thumbnail: Displays presets in a grid of small
thumbnails w ith a preview of their tip.

lLarge Thumbnail: Displays presets in a grid of big thumbnails,
w ith their name and a preview of their tip.

lStroke View: Displays presets in a list, w ith their name and apreview of a stroke done w ith each preset.

Brush Presets Menu

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Drawing Options
These options affect the w ay your draw ing strokes are added to your artw ork.
Icon

Property

Description

W hen enabled, your brush strokes w ill appear behind the existingartw ork.

Draw Behind

NOTEYour brush stroke w ill temporarily appear over your artw ork as
you draw it, until you release the mouse cursor or tablet pen.

W hen enabled, draw ing a closed shape w ill automatically fill it w ith thecurrently selected Paint colour.

Auto Fill

TIP
By default the pencil line and its fill w ill be the same colour. To
select different colours for the line and its fill, do the follow ing:
1. In the Colour view , click the
2. Click on the

Unlock Three Colours button.

Set Current Brush Colour sw atch. Then, inthe colour list, select the desired colour sw atch for youroutline.
3. Click on the

Set Current Paint Colour sw atch. Then, in thecolour list, select the desired colour sw atch for the fill.

Repaint BrushW hen enabled, your brush strokes w ill only repaint existing artw ork andw ill not add colour to empty areas. If you repaint semi-transparent
artw ork, your artw ork w ill not become more opaque than it already is.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

As you draw in the Line Art layer, the Automatically Create Colour Art
option instantly creates the corresponding strokes in the Colour Art
layer.

Automatically Create
Colour Art

NOTEThis option is only available w hen draw ing on a vector layer.

By default, w hen draw ing on a vector layer, each new stroke is createdas a separate draw ing object, w hich can be edited independently fromother parts of the artw ork. W hen enabled, the Auto-Flatten option
automatically merges strokes into existing artw ork.
Auto-Flatten Mode

NOTE
This option is only available w hen draw ing on a vector layer.
W hen draw ing on a bitmap layer, artw ork is alw ays flattened.

Allow s you to enable or disable snapping for this tool and all otheranimation and draw ing tools that support snapping, as w ell as to selectw hich types of snapping are enabled.

Snapping

If you double-click or long-click on this button, it w ill open a pop-up
menu in w hich you can toggle different snapping modes. You can also
click on this button to toggle it off, w hich w ill disable all snapping
modes, and click on it again and toggle it on to re-enable the snapping
modes w hich w ere previously enabled.
This tool supports the follow ing snapping mode:l

Respect Protected
ColourSnap to Alignment Guides: W hile draw ing, the draw ing tool
w ill snap against nearby alignment guides.

In the Colour view , it is possible to make some of the colours in yourpalettes protected from change. W hen enabled, the Respect Protected412

Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Colour option w ill prevent the brush tool from draw ing over areas filled
w ith a protected colour.

NOTE
This option is only available w hen draw ing on a vector layer.
W hen draw ing on a bitmap layer, colour is not linked to yourpalettes and cannot be protected.

The Use Stored Colour Gradient option can be used w hen painting w ith
a gradient colour to alw ays position the gradient in the same w ay it w asstored, making it consistent across brush strokes. You can store a
gradient by selecting a zone painted w ith a gradient w ith the Select tool,
Use Stored Colour
Gradient

then clicking on Store Colour Gradientin the Tool Properties view .

NOTEThis option is only available w hen draw ing on a vector layer.

Brush Properties Dialog
Brushes have an extensive set of options and properties that are not displayed in the Tool Properties view , butrather, in a dialog you can access from it. To open the Brush Properties dialog, click on the arrow button rightof the stroke display area.

The Brush Properties dialog has five different tabs, minus the Smoothing tab if you are w orking on a bitmap
layers. Below is detailed information about the options available in each tab:l

Tip Tab on page 413

lSmoothing Tab on page 420lTransparency Tab on page 421l

Dual Tip Tab on page 425lPaper Texture Tab on page 428

Tip TabThe Tip tab allow s you to configure the shape, size, hardness and spacing of your brush tip.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

NOTE
The "Size Proportional to Camera" option has been moved to the new Size Properties w indow .

Property

Description

Allow s you to select betw een one of the follow ing brush types:lSolid Vector Brush: Creates vector shapes filled w ith a solid colour.
Makes artw ork lightw eight, scalable and easy to tw eak. Since this kind ofbrush can only create solid colour shapes, solid vector brushes have alimited set of options including size, roundness, angle, centerline
smoothing and contour smoothing.

l

Textured Vector Brush: Creates vector shapes filled w ith a texture. This
gives you access to bitmap brush tips, paper textures, transparency andseveral other options.

Brush Type414

Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

NOTE
This option is not available w hen w orking on a bitmap layer. W ith bitmap
layers, brushes are alw ays textured, and textured brush options are alw ays
available.

Brush Tip LibraryThis is w here you select the shape of the brush tip. By default it is round. Notethat some tips are designed to have semitransparent areas, even w hen the
maximum brush opacity is set to 100%.
To create a custom brush tip, you must prepare the file ahead of time, either inHarmony or in a third-party softw are, such as Adobe Photoshop. Colour is notsupported and transparency is not supported in the traditional sense. Black
appears as 100% opaque, w hite appears as 100% transparent and all the
shades of grey in betw een appear as varying degrees of semitransparency. A
range of file formats are supported—.jpeg, .png, .tif, .psd, .tga to name a few .
Alpha channels are disregarded on import. It is recommended that your file bebetw een 100 x 100 pixels and 400 x 400 pixels.
You can also import brush tips that you exported from Harmony, so you canshare them w ith colleagues.

The minimum and maximum sizes of your draw ing tool produce the thick andthin effect on your stroke. This w orks w ith the pressure sensitivity of a pen tablet.
l

Maximum Size: Defines the maximum w idth of the stroke.

l

Minimum Size: Defines the minimum w idth of the stroke in relation toand as a percentage of the maximum size.

Minimum and Maximum Size
You can control the size properties by clicking on the arrow button on right andthe dialog box w ill appear as show n below .

415

Chapter 4: Tools PropertieslPressure: Allow s you to apply more pressure and increases the size ofthe brush. You can check the box to invert this behaviour.

l

Tilt: Allow s you to tilt the pen closer to tablet for a bigger stroke. You cancheck the box to invert this behaviour.

l

Speed: Allow s you to reduce the size of the stroke by draw ing at a fast
speed. You can check the box to invert this behaviour.

l

Speed Sensitivity: A slider is used to control how fast must the stroke bedraw n to reach the minimum value.

lTaper: Allow s you to reduce the value of a property at the start or theend of each stroke. The value can be expressed using tw o options:Distance and Percentage. Distance is selected by default. For example:
A taper of 200 w ill be the same length as the w idth (diameter) of a strokethat has its size set at 200.

You can enable Start and End Tapering option individually.
lStart Taper: W hen distance is selected as a Taper value, the effect ofstart taper can be visualized as the stroke is draw n.

l

End Taper: W hen distance or percentage is selected as a Taper value,
the effect of end taper can be visualized once the stroke is complete andvectorized as the length is unknow n until the stroke is complete.

l

Fade Distance: Allow s you to fade the value of property over a given
distance. It uses the same units as the size and is applied as the stroke isdraw n.

lSize Proportional to Camera: If you check this option, the size of the w ill
be adjusted to the position of the camera on the z-axis. This means that if

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

the camera is zoomed in on the scene, the w ill be proportionally smaller
so that it appears the same size in the rendered image. Likew ise, if thecamera is zoomed out, the w ill be proportionally bigger.

NOTE
Setting the Minimum Size value to 100% eliminates the possibility ofcreating w idth variation on your stroke. In other w ords, you w ould be
forcing a uniform line w idth using the Maximum Size value.

The Roundness and Angle parameters allow you to change the shape andorientation of the tip.

Roundness and AnglelRoundness: The vertical scaling to apply to the tip. Reducing this setting
squashes the tip vertically, allow ing you to turn round or square tips into
flat tips.

lAngle: The angle at w hich to rotate the brush tip, counterclockw ise.

NOTE
The squashing is not relative to the angle—if the tip is rotated, thesquashing w ill still be done relative to the tip's original orientation.

If your pen and tablet support tilt sensitivity, this option allow s you to set
w hether your brush takes your pen's tilt angle into account, and how much.

Pen Tilt Sensitivity

W hen your pen is fully tilted, your brush tip w ill be stretched by the percentage
you set in this parameter, in the angle in w hich you tilt it. For example, if you set
the Pen Tilt Sensitivity to 50%, and you tilt your pen all the w ay up or dow n, yourbrush tip w ill be stretched vertically by 50%. W ith the same setting, if you tilt
your pen all the w ay left or right, your brush tip w ill be stretched horizontally by
50%.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

If enabled, your brush tip w ill rotate w ith the angle of your pen tip. You can selectone of the follow ing options:Angle FunctionlConstant: The static orientation of the brush tip expressed in degrees.

lHeading: The orientation of the brush tip is determined by the direction in
w hich the stroke is draw n. It changes dynamically as the stroke is draw n.

lAzimuth: W hen the pen is tilted, it uses the direction in w hich the pen
eraser is facing.

lTwist (if supported by pen): It uses the tw ist angle of the stylus and is
only available w ith W acom Art Pen.

The hardness value corresponds to the softness of the brush tip's edges. The
low er the value, the softer the tip edge. The higher the value, the sharper the tipedge. Be aw are that some brush tips are not 100% opaque, so they w ill alw ays
appear somew hat soft, even at 100% hardness.
Hardness

Spacing

Defines the amount of space betw een each stamp of the brush. A value of 100%
sets the stamp marks edge to edge, if there is no w hite space around the shape.
The larger the value, the greater the space betw een marks. A really large value
can make the brush stroke appear as a string of individual marks. Conversely, asmall spacing value w ill give the appearance of a fluid brush stroke.
Spacing is only evident w hen making a continuous stroke.

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

You can create variation betw een the thick and thin of your brush stroke just by
setting the Maximum and Minimum Size values. If you add randomness to themix, pressure sensitivity from your draw ing tablet w ill still be applied. Lightpressure w ill create random values around the minimum, w hile heavy pressure
w ill create random values closer to the maximum. The larger the percentage, thelarger the range of random variation.

Random Size

NOTE
Setting the Minimum Size to 100% eliminates the possibility of creating
w idth variation on your stroke, w hether you are applying randomness ornot. Therefore, you w ould be forcing a uniform line w idth using theMaximum Size value.

Random Angle

Sets the range for random rotation around the set Angle value. For example, if
the Angle is set to 45° and the Random Angle set to 10°, the softw are w illchoose values betw een 40°–50° (plus or minus 5 degrees, equaling a total of 10
degrees).

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Sets the range for random spacing around the set Spacing value. For example, if
the Spacing is set to 50% and the Random Spacing is set to 10%, then Harmony
w ill choose values betw een 45%–55% (plus or minus 5 percent, equaling a totalof 10 percent).

Random Spacing

Smoothing Tab
The Smoothing tab contains options to configure how Harmony should automatically smooth your brushstrokes as you paint.

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

NOTE
The Smoothing tab is only available w hen w orking on a vector layer, as bitmap layers do notsupport smoothing.

Property

Description

Centerline Smoothing

Defines the amount of smoothing Harmony should perform on the central line of thebrush stroke. A higher setting w ill prevent your line from being shaky, but is liable toreduce draw ing precision and turn sharp angles into curves.

Contour Smoothing

Defines the amount of smoothing Harmony should perform on the outer contour ofthe brush stroke. A higher setting w ill round sharp corners and reduce the amount ofcontrol points for the resulting vector shape.

Transparency Tab
The Transparency tab allow s you to decide if your brush has antialiasing as w ell as to set its flow and opacity
settings.

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Chapter 4: Tools PropertiesNOTE
The Transparency tab's options are only available on vector layers if the Brush Type option of the
Tip tab is set to Textured Vector Brush. On bitmap layers, those options are alw ays available.

Property

Description

Enabled by default. This option causes the contours of the brush strokes to blend
w ith the surrounding colours, to create an illusion of smoothness otherw ise notpossible due to the picture resolution.

Antialiasing

If antialiasing is disabled, the brush's texture w ill only render fully transparent or
fully opaque pixels. Disabling this option can be useful if you need your outlines
to be very crisp, if you w ant to make pixel art or if you need your brush strokes torender in solid colors w ith no variation, w hich makes them easier to repaint orprocess in third party softw are.

NOTE
W hen disabled, all other options in the Transparency tab are disabled.

The Maximum and Minimum Flow parameters let you set the range for the rate
at w hich paint flow s from your brush. The analogy w orks better w ith a pen. The
greater the flow , the more ink comes out, hence the more consistent the colour
and texture of the line. If the flow is light, then the colour and texture of the line
may look spotty. This feature w orks w ith the pressure sensitivity of a pen tablet.

Maximum and Minimum FlowlMaximum Flow: Sets the maximum rate at w hich colour and texture areapplied as you create a fluid stroke.

l

Minimum Flow: Sets the minimum rate at w hich colour and texture areapplied as you create a fluid stroke. It is defined as a percentage of theMaximum Flow value. If the Minimum Flow value is set to 100%, thentablet pressure sensitivity w ill no longer be applicable. The flow w ill be
set to the constant rate of the Maximum Flow value.

You can control the flow properties by clicking on the arrow button on right andthe dialog box w ill appear same as show n for size properties above. Minimum

422Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

and Maximum Size on page 415.

The Maximum and Minimum Opacity parameters are w here you set the opacity
range for a brush mark. This w orks w ith the pressure sensitivity of a pen tablet.
l

Maximum Opacity: Sets the transparency limit of the brush mark w hen
the pressure is heavy.

lMinimum Opacity: Sets the transparency limit of the brush mark w hen
the pressure is very light. It is defined as a percentage of the Maximum
Opacity value. If the Minimum Opacity value is set to 100%, then tablet
pressure sensitivity w ill no longer be applicable. The opacity w ill be set
to the constant rate of the Maximum Opacity value.

Maximum Opacity and
Minimum Opacity

You can control the opacity properties by clicking on the arrow button on rightand the dialog box w ill appear same as show n for size properties above. Pleaserefer Minimum and Maximum Size on page 415

RandomnessTh Randomness parameter lets you set the range for the randomness of the flow
and opacity. This w orks w ith the pressure sensitivity of a pen tablet.

Randomness Flow

You can create variation in the flow of your brush stroke just by setting theMaximum and Minimum Flow values. If you add randomness to the mix, pressure
sensitivity from your draw ing tablet w ill still be applied. Light pressure w illcreate random values around the minimum, w hile heavy pressure w ill create
random values closer to the maximum. The larger the percentage, the larger therange of random variation.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

NOTE
Setting the Minimum Flow value to 100% eliminates the possibility ofcreating flow variation on your stroke, w hether you are applying
randomness or not. That is, you w ould be forcing a uniform flow using theMaximum Flow value.

You can create variation in the opacity of your brush stroke just by setting theMaximum and Minimum Opacity values. If you add randomness to the mix,pressure sensitivity from your draw ing tablet w ill still be applied. Light pressure
w ill create random values around the minimum, w hile heavy pressure w ill create
random values closer to the maximum. The larger the percentage, the larger therange of random variation.

Random Opacity424Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

NOTE
Setting the Minimum Opacity value to 100% eliminates the possibility ofcreating opacity variation on your stroke, w hether you are applying
randomness or not. That is, you w ould be forcing a uniform opacity using
the Maximum Opacity value.

Dual Tip Tab
The Dual Tip tab lets you set the parameters for creating a dual tip brush. The primary bitmap brush tip andthe dual tip alw ays w ork together. You can set the parameters for the primary tip in the Tip tab and those forthe dual tip in the Dual Tip tab. The Blend mode you select determines how the tips are combined.
By default, the Blend Mode is set to Multiply and the Random Angle to 360°.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

NOTE
To use a Dual Tip, you must enable option by checking the checkbox inside the Dual Tip tab.
Additionally, if you are w orking on a vector layer, the Brush Type option of the Tip tab must be set
to Textured Vector Brush.

Property

Description

The checkbox inside the tab allow s you to decide w hether or not your brush uses a
Enable/Disable

dual tip. If this checkbox is unchecked, the options in the Dual Tip tab w ill bedisabled.

Blend Mode

The Blend modes let you decide how the primary tip and the dual tip are combined.

This is the default blend mode. W hen the tw o brush tips are combined in this mode,
they essentially cut each other out in overlapping areas, w here one or both tips havean area of 100% transparency. The less opaque the brush tips are, the lighter their
combination.

Multiply

Colour Dodge

In this mode, the primary tip cuts out the shape of the dual tip. W here the tip shapes
overlap, w ithin the boundaries of the primary shape, the colour and opacity appear
darker.

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Property

CombineDescription

This mode treats the tw o tips as tw o different and separate brushes that have thesame colour and follow the same path.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Property

Description

Paper Texture Tab
The Paper Texture tab lets you configure a paper-like texture for your brush. You can also add textures byimporting image files, or import paper textures that w ere previously exported from Harmony.

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

NOTE
To use a Paper Texture, you must enable option by checking the checkbox inside the Paper
Texture tab. Additionally, if you are w orking on a vector layer, the Brush Type option of the Tip
tab must be set to Textured Vector Brush.

Property

Description

Enable/Disable

The checkbox inside the tab allow s you to decide w hether or not your brush uses apaper texture. If this checkbox is unchecked, the options in the Paper Texture tab w ill
be disabled.

Texture Scale

Increase or decreases the size of the paper texture.

Additive

This option layers the texture on top of itself as you scribble overlapping lines in one
continuous stroke. If this option is turned off, areas of overlapping lines from a single,
continuous stroke w ill appear the same, in terms of darkness and texture, as non-429

Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Property

Description

overlapping areas.

This option defines the w ay separate, overlapping strokes behave. If this option isenabled, the paper texture's position does not change w ith each sw eep of the brush.
If this option is disabled, each sw eep of the brush produces a different texture
position. The texture orientation alw ays stays the same.

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Centerline Editor Tool Properties
The Centerline Editor tool allow s you to edit brush strokes by their centreline rather than by their contour. This
makes it easier to tw eak the tips, curves and corners of brush strokes. The purpose of this tool is to make it aseasy to edit brush strokes as it is to edit pencil lines w ith the Contour Editor tool.

How to access the Centerline Editor tool properties
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Centerline Editor

tool.

2. The tool's properties are displayed in the Tool Properties view .

Tool Options
Icon

Property

Description

Allow s you to choose the method to visually select multiple
elements:lLasso: Allow s you to select multiple elements bydraw ing an irregular closed shape around them w ith
your mouse.

lMarquee: Allow s you to select multiple elements
by draw ing a rectangle around them. This is faster, as
you only need to drag your mouse from one corner ofthe rectangle to its opposite corner, but it may not be as
precise as you w ant.

Selection ModeTIP
You can press and hold the Alt key to temporarily use
the other selection mode.

Show Centerline Editor Controls

W hen enabled, selecting several control points w ill make amanipulator bounding box appear. You can use thismanipulator to scale and rotate the selection of points.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Icon

Property

Description

Allow s you to perform draw ing operations on both the Line Art
and Colour Art layers of your draw ing simultaneously.
Apply to Line and Colour Art

NOTE
If you have Overlay and Underlay Art layers enabled,
they w ill also be affected w hen this option is enabled.

Centerline Smoothness

Allow s you to adjust the amount of control points on thecentreline that is generated from the selected stroke. A low ervalue w ill create a centreline w ith less points, w hich makes it
easier to manipulate large lengths of the stroke, and a higher
value w ill generate a centreline w ith more points, allow ing you
to tw eak details.

432Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Close Gap Tool Properties
The paint tool requires the area you attempt to fill to be closed in order to know exactly w hat area of yourartw ork must be filled. How ever, it is common for artists to accidentally leave small gaps in their artw ork.
The Close Gap tool allow s you to quickly close small gaps in a shape by creating an invisible stroke connecting
tw o extremities of the gap. You can then fill the area using the Paint tool, as this invisible stroke w ill be takenin account to determine the outline of the shape to fill.

TIP
You do not need to use the Close Gap tool w ith precision. If you draw a crude stroke near the gap
you w ant to close, the tool w ill automatically detect the tw o closest line extremities and w ill draw
an invisible straight line connecting them. closing the gap betw een them.

How to access the Close Gap tool properties
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Close Gap

tool.

The tool's properties are displayed in the Tool Properties view .

Tool Options
Icon

Property

Description

The Close Gap tool creates an invisible draw ing stroke to close the shape.
Enabling this option w ill merge the stroke into the artw ork instead of adding thestroke on top of it.
Auto Flatten

NOTE
The area you close w ith the Close Gap tool w ill be fillable regardless ofw hether or not this option is enabled.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Colour Eyedropper Tool Properties
The Colour Eyedropper tool allow s you to pick a colour from your draw ing w ithout going to the Colour view .

NOTE
The follow ing options w ill only have an effect w hen picking colours from a bitmap layer, as theyaffect the colour that gets picked. W hen w orking on a vector layer, you can only pick colours thatare available in one of the palettes in your scene. Therefore, the colour you pick w ill alw ays be
exactly the colour that w as used to fill the shape or stroke you clicked on.

How to access the Colour Eyedropper tool properties
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Colour Eyedroppertool.

The tool's properties are displayed in the Tool Properties view .

Icon

Property

Description

Sample All Layers

By default, the Colour Eyedropper tool picks the colour from the active
draw ing layer only. This means that if the colour is semi-transparent, it w ill
still only take the colour from the active layer, along w ith its transparency,
and ignore the colours from layers behind it.
W ith this option enabled, the Colour Eyedropper tool w ill pick the colour as
it appears on the screen instead, allow ing you to pick colours that are theresult of several layers composited together.

Do Not Pick
Transparency

By default, the Colour Eyedroppertool picks the colour's alpha value as w ell
as its colour values. W hen enabled, the colour picked w ill alw ays have analpha value of 255.

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Contour Editor Tool Properties
The Contour Editor lets you reshape vector shapes, brush strokes and lines in your draw ings.
Artw ork in Harmony is made of vector shapes. Vector shapes are defined by points, the lines joining the points
together (contours) and the curve vectors, represented by Bezier handles, w hich make the curve of said lines.

The Contour Editor tool allow s you to select a contour or point, and change the position of points, add andremove points from the shape, rotate, lengthen and shorten curve handles to influence the curve of contours
betw een those points, or drag contours betw een points to change their curve directly.

How to access the Contour Editor tool properties
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Contour Editor

tool.

The tool's properties are displayed in the Tool Properties view .

Tool Modes
Icon

Property

Description

Allow s you to choose the method to visually select multiple
elements:l

Selection Mode

Lasso: Allow s you to select multiple elements bydraw ing an irregular closed shape around them w ith yourmouse.

lMarquee: Allow s you to select multiple elements by435

Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Icon

Property

Description

draw ing a rectangle around them. This is faster, as you only
need to drag your mouse from one corner of the rectangle toits opposite corner, but it may not be as precise as you w ant.

TIP
You can press and hold the Alt key to temporarily use theother selection mode.

Allow s you to enable or disable snapping for this tool and all otheranimation and draw ing tools that support snapping, as w ell as toselect w hich types of snapping are enabled.
If you double-click or long-click on this button, it w ill open a pop-up
menu in w hich you can toggle different snapping modes. You canalso click on this button to toggle it off, w hich w ill disable allsnapping modes, and click on it again and toggle it on to re-enable
the snapping modes w hich w ere previously enabled.
This tool supports the follow ing snapping modes:lSnap to Contour: W hen enabled, moving the control point
in a contour near another contour w ill snap that control
point against that contour. This w ill lock the point and thecontour together, and moving the control point w ill deformthe contour.

Snapping

This option can be especially useful if you need to makes theedges of tw o shapes snap together, like so:

You can also use this option to make a control point snap
against another control point, allow ing you to join lines
together.

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Icon

Property

Description

NOTE
W hen a control point is snapped against a contour
or another control point in your draw ing, the Contour
Editor w ill manipulate them together. How ever,even if you make a point in one draw ing stroke snap
against another draw ing stroke, they w ill remain
separate draw ing strokes unless they are flattened
together, and you w ill still be able to manipulatethem individually w ith the Select

tool.

l

Snap to Alignment Guides: W hile moving the selection or
one of its control points, it w ill snap against nearbyalignment guides.

lSnap and Align: Snaps the selected anchor point to any
existing line w hile displaying temporary rulers as a guidethat you can also snap your anchor point to.

lSnap to Grid: W hile moving the selection, the mouse cursor
w ill snap against the intersecting points of the grid.

TIP
To display the grid, select View > Grid > Show Gridfrom the top menu or press Ctrl + '.

W hen enabled, selecting several control points w ill make amanipulator bounding box appear. You can use this manipulator toscale and rotate the selection of points.
Show Contour Editor
Controls

Tip StyleIf you select and remove part of a pencil line, this option allow s you
to choose w hich kind of line tip the removed segment should leavebehind:437

Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Icon

Property

Descriptionl

Tip Style: Round: Leaves rounded tips at the extremitiesof the deleted line segment.

l

Tip Style: Flat: Leaves flat tips at the extremities of thedeleted line segment.

Allow s you to perform draw ing operations on both the Line Art andColour Art layers of your draw ing simultaneously.
Apply to Line and Colour
Art

NOTE
If you have Overlay and Underlay Art layers enabled, theyw ill also be affected w hen this option is enabled.

Operations
Icon

Property

Description

The Smooth operation lets you smooth out selected draw ing
strokes and remove extra points.

Smooth Selection

TIP
You can also smooth the selection by selecting Drawing>
Optimize > Smooth from the top menu or by pressing Alt +Shift + S.

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Icon

Property

Description

W hen draw ing w ith the Polyline tool, your draw ing has an even line
thickness. You can use the Pencil Editor to adjust the thickness point
by point, but if you w ant to adjust it quicker, you can use the Split
Pencil Line and Point Pencil Lines options to create segments andapply a pencil stencil to your draw ing. Note that if you did not join
the pencil lines on your polyline stroke, the segments betw een the
points w ill act as separated segments.

Split Pencil Line
Join Pencil Lines

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Cutter Tool Properties
The Cutter tool lets you cut out part of a draw ing so that you can transform it, copy it or delete it. It also allow s
you to trim overshot lines.

How to access the Cutter tool properties
1. In the Tools toolbar, click and hold on the Selectthe Cutter

tool to display the menu beneath and selecttool.

The tool's properties are displayed in the Tool Properties view .

Tool Options
Icon

Property

Description

Allow s you to choose the method to visually select multiple elements:lLasso: Allow s you to select multiple elements by draw ing anirregular closed shape around them w ith your mouse.

lSelection Mode

Marquee: Allow s you to select multiple elements by draw ing a
rectangle around them. This is faster, as you only need to drag yourmouse from one corner of the rectangle to its opposite corner, but it
may not be as precise as you w ant.

TIP
You can press and hold the Alt key to temporarily use the otherselection mode.

Easy Drag

W hen enabled, you can drag the selection by clicking anyw here inside its
bounding box. By default, you must click on the artw ork in the selection to beable to drag it.

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Icon

Property

Description

W hen this option is enabled along w ith the Lasso

selection type, quickly

draw ing a line w ith the Cutter tool over a line segment in your artw ork w ill
instantly delete it. This can be useful if you w ant to use the Cutter tool toquickly clean up your artw ork.

Use Mouse
GestureIt allow s you to cut in tw o modes as follow s:lSingle Line Cutting Gesture: It deletes first line segment over w hicha straight gesture is draw n w ith the cutter.

lMultiple Lines Cutting Gesture: It deletes all line segments overw hich a straight gesture is draw n w ith the cutter.

NOTE
This option w ill only w ork w hen using the Cutter tool on separate
brush or pencil strokes. Hence, it is important not to flatten yourartw ork if you intend to use this option to clean up your draw ings. This
option has no effect on bitmap layers as the artw ork in bitmap layers is
alw ays flattened.

Use Mouse
Gesture BreakerMode

W hen using the Lasso selection type, the Use Mouse Gesture Breaker Mode
option lets you draw an invisible stroke on a pencil line to cut it in tw oindividual objects. Once a pencil line is cut w ith this option, you w ill be able
to select the tw o portions independently w ith either the Cutter tool, Pencil
Editor tool or Select tool.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Icon

Property

Description

NOTE
This option only w orks w ith pencil lines.

W hen cutting through pencil lines, this option decides w hat kind of pencil
line tips to put at the extremities of the remaining pencil line segments,
w here they w ere cut.

By default, this is set to Bevel, w hich w ill leave the tip of the pencil line

cut at the same angle as your cutter stroke. If you prefer, you can make pencil
lines that you split w ith the Cutter tool have Flat

or Roundtips

instead.
Tip StyleW hen w orking on bitmap artw ork, enabling this w ill smooth the edges of theartw ork you cut out, so that they do not appear pixelated.
Antialiasing

NOTE
This option is only available w ith bitmap layers.

Apply to Visible
Draw ing Layers

This option allow s you to select w hich layers the tool should affect. It can be
toggled on or off. W hen toggled on, it has tw o different modes. You canselect a mode by clicking and holding on the button.

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Icon

Property

Descriptionl

Off: W hen this button is toggled off, the tool only w orks on thecurrently selected layers. If several layers are selected, the tool w ill
w ork on all these layers simultaneously.

l

On W hen this button is toggled on, the tool w ill w ork on all thevisible layers.

l

Apply to Visible Drawing Layers: The tool w ill w ork on all thevisible layers in the Camera view .

lApply to Synced Drawing Layers: If the currently selected layer
is synced w ith another layer, the tool w ill w ork on both the current
layer and its synced layer.

NOTE
This option only w orks in the Camera view .

This option allow s you to determine w hich draw ings in the current layer the
tool should affect. It can be toggled on or off. W hen toggled on, it has tw odifferent modes. You can select a mode by clicking and holding on the button.
l

Apply to All
Frames

Off: W hen this button is toggled off, the tool only w orks on thedraw ing in the current frame.

lApply to All Frames: The tool w ill w ork on every exposeddraw ing in the selected layer simultaneously.

lApply to Onion Skin Range: The tool w ill w ork on every draw ing
displayed in the Onion Skin. Onion Skin must be enabled for thisoption to w ork.

Allow s you to perform draw ing operations on both the Line Art and Colour
Art layers of your draw ing simultaneously.
Apply to Line andColour Art

NOTE
If you have Overlay and Underlay Art layers enabled, they w ill also beaffected w hen this option is enabled.

Operations
Icon

Property

Description

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Flip Horizontal

Flips the current selection horizontally.

Flip Vertical

Flips the current selection vertically.

Rotate 90 Degrees
CW

Rotates the current selection 90 degrees clockw ise.

Rotate 90 Degrees
CCW

Rotates the current selection 90 degrees counter-clockw ise.

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Drawing Pivot Tool Properties
The Draw ing Pivot tool lets you set the pivots on your character. You can set the draw ing pivots on draw ings
and symbols.

Tool Options
Icon

Property

Description

The Set the Pivot for Symbol on All Frames option
is enabled by default. W hen you set a draw ing
pivot on a symbol, all of its cells use the samedraw ing pivot. This means you do not have to set adraw ing pivot on all frames. Once you set it, it isdone.

Setting the Draw ing Pivot for Symbols on
All Frames

If you prefer to set a different draw ing pivot for aseries of cells, you can deselect the option and set
your pivots on each cell or cell range.

NOTE
If you have already set several different
pivots on your symbol's cells and selected
the Set the Pivot for Symbol on All
Frames option, once you set a new pivoton the same symbol, all of its pivots w ill
be reset and w ill use your new pivot.

Allow s you to enable or disable snapping for thistool and all other animation and draw ing tools that
support snapping, as w ell as to select w hich typesof snapping are enabled.
Snapping

If you double-click or long-click on this button, it
w ill open a pop-up menu in w hich you can toggle
different snapping modes. You can also click on
this button to toggle it off, w hich w ill disable allsnapping modes, and click on it again and toggle it445

Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Icon

Property

Description

on to re-enable the snapping modes w hich w ere
previously enabled.
This tool supports the follow ing snapping modes :lSnap to Contour: W hen moving the pivot,
it w ill snap against the nearby points andcontours of your artw ork.

lSnap to Alignment Guides: W hen moving
the pivot, it w ill snap against nearbyalignment guides.

lSnap and Align: W hen moving the pivot, it
w ill align w ith the edges of elements in thedraw ing.

lSnap to Grid: W hen moving the pivot, it
w ill snap against the intersecting points ofthe grid.

TIP
To display the grid, select View >Grid > Show Grid from the top
menu or press Ctrl + '.

Reset Pivot

W hen you click the Reset Pivot option, the draw ing
pivot of the selected draw ing or symbol is reset tothe centre of the Camera view .

Copying Pivot on Parent Symbol

W hen you import new extra draw ings, such as
hands and mouths, you can use the draw ing pivotthat w as set on your draw ings and report them tothe symbol's cells. Use the Copy Pivot to Parent
Symbol command for this.

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Icon

Property

Description

NOTE
W hen you copy draw ing pivots to theparent symbol, there is no link betw een
the draw ings' pivots and the symbol's
pivots. If you modify the draw ing pivot
later, it w ill not link to the symbol. You
w ould need to perform the operation
again. If you need to modify the symbol's
pivots, you can do it directly on thesymbol's cells.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Edit Gradient/Texture Tool Properties
The Edit/Gradient Texture tool allow s you to move, rotate and scale a gradient or texture fill w ithin the shapeit fills, w ithout modifying the shape itself.

How to access the Edit Gradient/Texture tool properties
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Edit Gradient/Texture

tool.

The tool's properties are displayed in the Tool Properties view .

Tool Options
Icon

Property

Description

This option allow s you to select w hich layers the tool should affect. It can be
toggled on or off. W hen toggled on, it has tw o different modes. You canselect a mode by clicking and holding on the button.

Apply to Visible
Draw ing LayerslOff: W hen this button is toggled off, the tool only w orks on thecurrently selected layers. If several layers are selected, the tool w ill
w ork on all these layers simultaneously.

l

On W hen this button is toggled on, the tool w ill w ork on all thevisible layers.

l

Apply to Visible Drawing Layers: The tool w ill w ork on all thevisible layers in the Camera view .

lApply to Synced Drawing Layers: If the currently selected layer
is synced w ith another layer, the tool w ill w ork on both the current
layer and its synced layer.

NOTE
This option only w orks in the Camera view .

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Ellipse Tool Properties
The Ellipse tool allow s you to quickly draw an ellipse or a circle.

How to access the Ellipse tool properties
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Ellipse

tool.

The tool's properties are displayed in the Tool Properties view .

Pencil Properties
Just like other shape tools, this tool creates pencil lines. Hence, its tool properties are similar to the ones of thePencil tool and it can be used w ith pencil presets.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Property

Description

The Preview area lets you see a preview of the stroke your draw ing tool w ill make.
Preview Area

The arrow button right of the preview area opens the Pencil Properties dialog.

Pencil Properties
DialogSize

W hile the Tool Properties view only gives you access to a few of the pencil properties,
a list of pencil presets and other draw ing options, the Pencil Properties dialog gives youaccess to all the available options for your pencil's shape and texture. For more
information on the Pencil Properties dialog, see the Pencil Properties Dialog on page454 section below .

Defines the w idth of the pencil line used to draw the shape.

You can adjust the start, end, and join style of a pencil line.

Shape

l

Start: Lets you select the style of the start tip, w hich is the first tip you drew .
You can choose betw een Round or Flat style.

lEnd: Lets you select the style of the end tip, w hich is the last tip you drew . You
can choose betw een Round or Flat style.

lJoin: Lets you select the joint style. The joints are w here the line curves
abruptly. You could also define the Join style as the corner style. You can choose
betw een Round, Mitre and Bevel style.

Pencil Presets
These options allow you to select, create and manage pencil presets.

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Icon

Property

Description

Harmony provides a variety of pencil presets and thickness stencils andalso lets you create and save your ow n. It is a good idea to create andsave pencils w ith precise sizes and parameters w hen you draw for
efficiency and consistency.

Presets list

A thickness stencil saves the thickness information across the length ofthe line. W hen draw ing w ith a thickness stencil, the pressure sensitivityof the tablet is discarded. A thickness stencil can be used w hile draw ing,
or applied afterw ards.
You also have the possibility to apply different textures to your lines byeither using the default presets or to import your ow n.
You can export the pencil presets that you have created and importthose that others have created. This is a good w ay for you and project
collaborators to keep a consistent look for the project.

New Brush Preset

Creates a new preset based on the current tool properties.

Delete Brush Preset

Deletes the currently selected preset.

Open a menu that contains the follow ing options:l

New Brush Preset: Creates a new preset based on the current
tool properties.

lDelete Brush: Deletes the currently selected preset.

lRename Brush: Allow s you to rename the currently selected
preset.

lImport Brushes: Allow s you to import brush presets exported
from Harmony.

l

Export Brushes: Allow s you to export your brush presets into an.xml file.

l

Small Thumbnail: Displays presets in a grid of small thumbnails
w ith a preview of their tip.

lLarge Thumbnail: Displays presets in a grid of big thumbnails,
w ith their name and a preview of their tip.

lStroke View: Displays presets in a list, w ith their name and apreview of a stroke done w ith each preset.

Brush Presets Menu

Drawing Options
These options affect the w ay your shape is added to your artw ork.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Icon

Property

Description

W hen enabled, your brush strokes w ill appear behind the existingartw ork.

Draw Behind

NOTEYour brush stroke w ill temporarily appear over your artw ork as
you draw it, until you release the mouse cursor or tablet pen.

W hen enabled, the shape you draw is automatically filled w ith theselected colour. By default, draw ing a shape only creates its outlines.

Auto Fill

TIP
By default the pencil line and its fill w ill be the same colour. To
select different colours for the line and its fill, do the follow ing:
1. In the Colour view , click the
2. Click on the

Unlock Three Colours button.

Set Current Pencil Colour sw atch. Then, inthe colour list, select the desired colour sw atch for youroutline.
3. Click on the

Set Current Paint Colour sw atch. Then, in thecolour list, select the desired colour sw atch for the fill.

Allow s you to enable or disable snapping for this tool and all otheranimation and draw ing tools that support snapping, as w ell as to selectw hich types of snapping are enabled.
Snapping

If you double-click or long-click on this button, it w ill open a pop-up
menu in w hich you can toggle different snapping modes. You can also
click on this button to toggle it off, w hich w ill disable all snapping
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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Icon

Property

Description

modes w hich w ere previously enabled.
This tool supports the follow ing snapping modes:lSnap to Contour: W hen enabled, w hile you're draw ing, themouse cursor w ill snap to the nearby contours of the artw ork inyour draw ing.

lSnap to Alignment Guides: W hile draw ing, the draw ing tool
w ill snap against nearby alignment guides.

lSnap and Align: W hen enabled, w hile you're draw ing, themouse cursor w ill automatically align to the rectangularbounding boxes of other strokes and shapes in your draw ing.

lSnap to Grid: W hile moving the selection, the mouse cursor w ill
snap against the intersecting points of the grid.

TIP
To display the grid, select View > Grid > Show Grid fromthe top menu or press Ctrl + '.

As you draw in the Line Art layer, the Automatically Create Colour Art
option instantly creates the corresponding strokes in the Colour Art
layer.
Automatically Create
Colour Art

By default, w hen draw ing on a vector layer, each new stroke is createdas a separate draw ing object, w hich can be edited independently fromother parts of the artw ork. W hen enabled, the Auto-Flatten option
automatically merges strokes into existing artw ork.
Auto Flatten Mode

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Icon

Property

Description

NOTE
Using the Select tool, you can use select and remove a segment offlattened pencil lines. Overlapping pencil lines draw n w ith theAuto-Flatten mode are essentially cut into segments by theoverlap and can be treated as individual lines.

Use Stored Colour
Gradient

The Use Stored Colour Gradient option can be used w hen painting w ith
a gradient colour to alw ays position the gradient in the same w ay it w asstored, making it consistent across brush strokes. You can store a
gradient by selecting a zone painted w ith a gradient w ith the Select tool,
then clicking on Store Colour Gradientin the Tool Properties view .

W hen enabled, the ellipsis tool w ill alw ays draw an ellipsis of equal
w idth and height, making it a perfect circle.
Draw Circle

TIP
You can also draw a perfect circle by holding the Shift key w hiledraw ing.

Pencil Properties Dialog
The Ellipse tool draw s the same type of line as the Pencil tool. Hence, you can configure the Ellipse tool's lines
using the Pencil Properties dialog, w hich you can open by clicking on the arrow button right of the stroke
display area in the Tool Properties view .

Size and Smoothness Tab
The Size and Smoothness tab allow s you to select your pencil's size, its smoothing parameters as w ell as theshape of its tips and corners.

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Property

Description

Maximum Size

Defines the maximum size of the pencil line. If the tool is used w ith a pressure
sensitive pen tablet, the w idth of the stroke w ill vary betw een its maximum size andminimum size depending on the amount of pressure used. If used w ith a mouse, thew idth of the stroke w ill alw ays be its maximum size.

Minimum Size

Defines the minimum size of your stroke as a percentage of the maximum size. If you
do not have pressure sensitivity from a pen table, the minimum size value w ill beignored.

Proportional to Camera

If you check this option, the size of the pencil w ill be adjusted to the position of thecamera on the z-axis. This means that if the camera is zoomed in on the scene, thepencil w ill be proportionally smaller so that it appears the same size in the rendered
image. Likew ise, if the camera is zoomed out, the pencil w ill be proportionally bigger.

Centerline Smoothing

Defines the amount of smoothing Harmony should perform on the central line of thepencil stroke. A higher setting w ill prevent your line from being shaky and w ill reduce
the amount of control points it has, making it easier to tw eak, but is liable to reducedraw ing precision and turn sharp angles into curves.

Defines the amount of smoothing Harmony should perform on the outer contour ofthe pencil stroke.

Contour Smoothing

A pencil line is defined by its centreline and its variations in thickness, rather than its
apparent shape. W hen draw ing a pencil line w ith a mouse, its thickness is uniform.
Therefore, its outer contour does not have any control point, except at its extremities,
and no smoothing is required for its contour.
How ever, w hen draw ing a pencil line w ith a pressure sensitive tablet, its contour w ill
have control points and Bezier curves to define the line's variations in thickness, and455

Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Property

Description

thus smoothing must be performed on its contour. An increased contour smoothing
w ill reduce the amount of control points on the line's thickness and smoothen its
curves, but may affect the precision of the variations in line thickness.

You can adjust the start, end, and join style of a pencil line.

Shape

l

Start: Lets you select the style of the start tip, w hich is the first tip you drew .
You can choose betw een Round or Flat style.

lEnd: Lets you select the style of the end tip, w hich is the last tip you drew .
You can choose betw een Round or Flat style.

lJoin: Lets you select the joint style. The joints are w here the line curves
abruptly. You could also define the Join style as the corner style. You canchoose betw een Round, Mitre and Bevel style.

Texture Tab
In the Pencil Properties view , the Texture tab allow s you to select a pencil texture from the currently selected
pencil texture palette to use w ith the Pencil tool. You can also add, remove or rename textures, save thecurrent pencil texture palette as the default one, or import the pencil texture palette into your scene.
The pencil texture palette used in the Texture tab of the Pencil Properties dialog is the one selected in the
Colour view . You can select a pencil texture palette by selecting it from the pencil texture palette list in the
Colour view —see Colour View on page 644.

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Icon

Property

Description

This option is available from the menu
Use as Default Pencil
Texture Palettebutton. Sets the currently

selected pencil texture palette as the default pencil texture palette inyour user preferences. The default pencil texture palette is added toevery scene you create in Harmony. The palette is copied in yourpreferences, so it w ill be added to your new scenes in the exact state it
is w hen you make it the default pencil texture palette.

Reload Default Texture
PaletteNew Texture

Imports the default pencil texture palette as a new pencil texture
palette into your scene's palette list, and selects it as the current pencil
texture palette.

Allow s you to import an image file into a new pencil texture sw atch inthe current pencil texture palette. The pencil texture's effect on yourpencil line w ill be based on the image's transparency channel, and w illfollow your pencil lines on its horizontal axis. This option is alsoavailable from the menu

Delete Texture

Rename Texture

Pencil Texture Display

button.

Deletes a pencil texture sw atch from the current pencil texture palette.
This option is also available from the menu

button.

Renames the selected pencil texture sw atch in the current pencil
texture palette. This option is also available from the menu

button.

Displays the pencil textures in the current pencil texture palette and457

Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Icon

Property

Description

allow s you to select one to use w ith the Pencil tool.

Pencil Texture Palette

Displays the name of the currently selected pencil texture palette, forreference. To select a different pencil texture palette, you must select itin the Colour view —see Colour View on page 644.

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

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

Icon

Tool Name

Description

Increase the w idth and height values to add more columns and row s to thedeformation grids.

W idth andHeight

Sets the selection mode to Lasso, w hich allow s you to select multiple items bydraw ing a lasso around them.
Lasso

TIP
W hen this option is enabled, you can press and hold the Alt key totemporarily use Marquee mode.

Marquee

Sets the selection mode to Marquee, w hich allow s you to select multiple items
by draw ing a rectangle around them.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Icon

Tool Name

Description

TIP
W hen this option is enabled, you can press and hold the Alt key totemporarily use Lasso mode.

Allow s you to enable or disable snapping for this tool and all other animationand draw ing tools that support snapping, as w ell as to select w hich types ofsnapping are enabled.
If you double-click or long-click on this button, it w ill open a pop-up menu in
w hich you can toggle different snapping modes. You can also click on thisbutton to toggle it off, w hich w ill disable all snapping modes, and click on it
again and toggle it on to re-enable the snapping modes w hich w ere previously
enabled.
This tool supports the follow ing snapping modes:

SnappinglSnap to Contour: W hile moving the selection or one of its control
points, it w ill snap against the nearby points and contours of yourartw ork, allow ing you to snap parts of your artw ork together.

lSnap to Alignment Guides: W hile moving the selection or one of its
control points, it w ill snap against nearby alignment guides.

lSnap and Align: W hen enabled, w hile moving a selection, therectangular bounding box of the selection w ill snap to the rectangularbounding box of any other draw ing stroke in the draw ing, allow ing you
to align draw ing strokes laterally.

lSnap to Grid: W hile moving the selection, the mouse cursor w ill snap
against the intersecting points of the grid.

TIP
To display the grid, select View > Grid > Show Grid from the top
menu or press Ctrl + '.

Show Advanced
Controls

To display more controls,you can click on the Show Advanced Controls button.

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Icon

Tool Name

Description

Allow s you to perform draw ing operations on both the Line Art and Colour Art
layers of your draw ing simultaneously.
Apply to Lineand Colour Art

NOTE
If you have Overlay and Underlay Art layers enabled, they w ill also beaffected w hen this option is enabled.

Flip Horizontal

Flips the current selection horizontally.

Flip Vertical

Flips the current selection vertically.

Rotate 90
Degrees CW

Rotates the current selection 90 degrees clockw ise.

Rotate 90
Degrees CCW

Rotates the current selection 90 degrees counter-clockw ise.

SmoothYou can modify the central line smoothness of your line using this option. Thisparameter smooths the deformed lines. Increasing the value w ill result in asmoother line w ith few er control points. The more you increase the value, theless details and curves you w ill get. Use the left and right arrow s to increment
the value by one full unit. Use the Up - Dow n slider to quickly increment thevalue.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Eraser Tool Properties
The Eraser tool allow s you to erase artw ork by draw ing eraser strokes over it. W hen using the Eraser tool w ith
a tablet, it is pressure sensitive, like w ith the Brush and Pencil tool.

How to access the Eraser tool properties
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Eraser

tool.

The tool's properties are displayed in the Tool Properties view .

Eraser Properties
The w ay the Eraser tool is configured is almost identical to the w ay the Brush tool is configured.
Property

Description

The Preview area lets you see a preview of the stroke your draw ing tool w ill make.
Stroke Preview Area

Eraser Properties
Dialog

The arrow button right of the display area opens the Eraser Properties dialog, w hichgives you access to all the parameters and options for your eraser. The Tool Properties

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Property

Description

view only gives you access to a few of the eraser properties, a list of eraser presets andoptions for the Eraser tool that are not related to the eraser properties. For more
information on the Eraser Properties dialog, see the Eraser Properties Dialog section
below .

Defines the maximum size of the eraser.
Maximum Size

Flow

If the tool is used w ith a pressure sensitive pen tablet, the w idth of the stroke w ill vary
betw een its maximum size and minimum size depending on the amount of pressureused. If used w ith a mouse, the w idth of the stroke w ill alw ays be its maximum size.

Lets you set the opacity for each instance of the eraser tip that gets erased from yourartw ork. Contrary to the Opacity parameter, the flow parameter has a cumulative effect.
This means that a low er flow w ill make your eraser strokes less effective tow ards its
extremities and more effective in its center. Your stroke's flow w ill also accumulate if
you draw over it. By default, your eraser's flow varies w ith the amount of pressure you
put on your tablet pen.

NOTE
This option is only displayed in the Tool Properties view w hen draw ing on abitmap layer.

The Opacity parameter are w here Lets you set the opacity of your brush strokes.
Contrary to the Flow parameter, the Opacity parameter is non-cumulative. Your w holebrush stroke's opacity w ill not exceed the Opacity parameter. By default, the Opacity
parameter varies depending on the amount of pressure you put on your tablet pen.
Opacity

NOTEThis option is only displayed in the Tool Properties view w hen draw ing on abitmap layer.

Eraser Presets
These options allow you to select, create and manage eraser presets.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Icon

Property

Description

Presets list

By default, Harmony has preloaded eraser presets. You can also
create your ow n eraser presets by configuring your eraser, thensaving its properties into a new preset. It is also possible to export
and import eraser presets.

New Brush Preset

Creates a new preset based on the current tool properties.

Delete Brush

Deletes the currently selected preset.

Rename Brush

Allow s you to rename the currently selected preset.

Import Brushes

Allow s you to import brush presets exported from Harmony.

Export Brushes

Allow s you to export your brush presets into an .xml file.

Small Thumbnail

Displays presets in a grid of small thumbnails w ith a preview of theirtip.

Large Thumbnail

Displays presets in a grid of big thumbnails, w ith their name and apreview of their tip.

Stroke View

Displays presets in a list, w ith their name and a preview of a stroke
done w ith each preset.

Erasing Options
These options affect the w ay your eraser strokes are applied to your artw ork.
Icon

Property

Description

Allow s you to perform draw ing operations on both the Line Art andColour Art layers of your draw ing simultaneously.
Apply to Line andColour Art

NOTE
If you have Overlay and Underlay Art layers enabled, they w illalso be affected w hen this option is enabled.

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Icon

Property

Description

W hen you erase part of a pencil line, this option determines the shape ofthe extremity of the pencil line w here you erased:lRound: Leaves a round tip at the extremities of the pencil
line you erased.

l

Flat: Leaves a flat tip at the extremities of the pencil line you
erased. A flat tip is alw ays perpendicular to the angle of thecentreline of the pencil line, so it may not match the angle of youreraser stroke.

Tip Stylel

Bevel: Leaves a bevel tip at the extremities of the pencil line
you erased. A bevel tip is flat, but its angle matches the angle ofyour eraser stroke.

Allow s you to enable or disable snapping for this tool and all otheranimation and draw ing tools that support snapping, as w ell as to selectw hich types of snapping are enabled.

Snapping

If you double-click or long-click on this button, it w ill open a pop-up
menu in w hich you can toggle different snapping modes. You can also
click on this button to toggle it off, w hich w ill disable all snapping
modes, and click on it again and toggle it on to re-enable the snapping
modes w hich w ere previously enabled.
This tool supports the follow ing snapping mode:lSnap to Alignment Guides: W hile erasing, the eraser w ill snap465

Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Icon

Property

Description

against nearby alignment guides.

Apply to Synced
Draw ing Layers

If the currently selected layer is synced w ith another layer, the tool w ill
w ork on both the current layer and its synced layer.

Eraser Properties Dialog
Erasers have an extensive set of options and properties that are not displayed in the Tool Properties view , butrather, in a dialog you can access from it. To open the Eraser Properties dialog, click on the arrow button rightof the stroke display area.

The Eraser Properties dialog has five different tabs, minus the Smoothing tab if you are w orking on a bitmap
layers. Below is detailed information about the options available in each tab:l

Tip Tab on page 466lSmoothing Tab on page 473

lTransparency Tab on page 474l

Dual Tip Tab on page 477lPaper Texture Tab on page 481

Tip TabThe Tip tab allow s you to configure the shape, size, hardness and spacing of your eraser tip.

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Property

Description

Allow s you to select betw een one of the follow ing eraser types:

Eraser Typel

Solid Vector: Simply cuts out the eraser stroke's shape from the vector artw ork.
A solid vector eraser alw ays completely erase the artw orks leaving hard seams.

lTextured Eraser: Allow s to configure the eraser w ith the same options as w ith
a textured brush. A textured eraser w ill decrease the opacity of bitmap texturesin textured brush strokes if it doesn't completely erase it. If it completely erases
a brush stroke, it w ill cut out the erased part from the vector artw ork.

lTextured, Preserve Vector: Like a Textured Eraser, except that it w ill not cut
out from the vector shapes, even if it fully erases pixels in a textured brushstroke's texture.

NOTE
Textured erasers only w ork as expected on textured brush strokes. Using a
Textured eraser on a solid vector brush stroke or on a pencil line w ill only cut theeraser stroke's shape out of it. If you use a Textured, Preserve Vector type eraser
on a solid vector shape or on a pencil line, the eraser w ill not erase anything.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Property

Description

NOTE
This option is not available w hen w orking on a bitmap layer. W ith bitmap layers,erasers are alw ays textured, and textured eraser options are alw ays available.

Eraser Tip LibraryThis is w here you select the shape of the eraser tip. By default, it is round. Note thatsome tips are designed to have semitransparent areas, even w hen the maximum eraser
opacity is set to 100%.
To create a custom eraser tip, you must prepare the file ahead of time, either inHarmony or in a third-party softw are, such as Adobe Photoshop. Colour is notsupported and transparency is not supported in the traditional sense. Black appears as
100% opaque, w hite appears as 100% transparent and all the shades of grey inbetw een appear as varying degrees of semitransparency. A range of file formats aresupported—.jpeg, .png, .tif, .psd, .tga to name a few . Alpha channels are disregardedon import. It is recommended that your file be betw een 100 x 100 pixels and 400 x 400
pixels.
You can also import eraser tips that you exported from Harmony, so you can sharethem w ith colleagues.

The minimum and maximum sizes of your draw ing tool produce the thick and thineffect on your stroke. This w orks w ith the pressure sensitivity of a pen tablet.

Minimum andMaximum SizelMaximum Size: Defines the maximum w idth of the stroke.

l

Minimum Size: Defines the minimum w idth of the stroke in relation to and as apercentage of the maximum size.

You can control the size properties by clicking on the arrow button on right and the
dialog box w ill appear as show n below .

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Property

DescriptionlPressure: Allow s you to apply more pressure and increases the size of thebrush. You can check the box to invert this behaviour.

l

Tilt: Allow s you to tilt the pen closer to tablet for a bigger stroke. You can checkthe box to invert this behaviour.

l

Speed: Allow s you to reduce the size of the stroke by draw ing at a fast speed.
You can check the box to invert this behaviour.

l

Speed Sensitivity: A slider is used to control how fast must the stroke bedraw n to reach the minimum value.

lTaper: Allow s you to reduce the value of a property at the start or the end ofeach stroke. The value can be expressed using tw o options: Distance andPercentage. Distance is selected by default. For example: A taper of 200 w ill
be the same length as the w idth (diameter) of a stroke that has its size set at200.

You can enable Start and End Tapering option individually.
lStart Taper: W hen distance is selected as a Taper value, the effect of starttaper can be visualized as the stroke is draw n.

l

End Taper: W hen distance or percentage is selected as a Taper value, theeffect of end taper can be visualized once the stroke is complete and vectorized
as the length is unknow n until the stroke is complete.

l

Fade Distance: Allow s you to fade the value of property over a given distance.
It uses the same units as the size and is applied as the stroke is draw n.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Property

DescriptionlSize Proportional to Camera: If you check this option, the size of the w ill be
adjusted to the position of the camera on the z-axis. This means that if thecamera is zoomed in on the scene, the w ill be proportionally smaller so that it
appears the same size in the rendered image. Likew ise, if the camera is zoomed
out, the w ill be proportionally bigger.

NOTE
Setting the Minimum Size value to 100% eliminates the possibility of creating
w idth variation on your stroke. In other w ords, you w ould be forcing a uniform line
w idth using the Maximum Size value.

Proportional to Camera

If you check this option, the size of the eraser w ill be adjusted to the position of thecamera on the z-axis. This means that if the camera is zoomed in on the scene, theeraser w ill be proportionally smaller so that it appears the same size in the rendered
image. Likew ise, if the camera is zoomed out, the eraser w ill be proportionally bigger.

The Roundness and Angle parameters allow you to change the shape and orientationof the tip.
lRoundness: The vertical scaling to apply to the tip. Reducing this setting
squashes the tip vertically, allow ing you to turn round or square tips into flat
tips.

l

Roundness and Angle

Angle: The angle at w hich to rotate the brush tip, counterclockw ise.

NOTE
The squashing is not relative to the angle—if the tip is rotated, the squashing w ill
still be done relative to the tip's original orientation.

If your pen and tablet support tilt sensitivity, this option allow s you to set w hether youreraser takes your pen's tilt angle in account, and how much.
Pen Tilt Sensitivity

W hen your pen is fully tilted, your eraser tip w ill be stretched by the percentage you
set in this parameter, in the angle in w hich you tilt it. For example, if you set the Pen Tilt
Sensitivity to 50%, and you tilt your pen all the w ay up or dow n, your eraser tip w ill be
stretched vertically by 50%. W ith the same setting, if you tilt your pen all the w ay leftor right, your eraser tip w ill be stretched horizontally by 50%.

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Property

Description

If enabled, and if your pen and tablet support tip rotation, your eraser tip w ill rotate
w ith the angle of your pen tip.

Use Pen Rotation

The Hardness and Spacing parameters allow you to change the softness and spacingof the marks made by the eraser tip. You can preview the hardness and spacing at the
top of the Eraser Properties w indow , stroke preview area.

Hardness

Spacing

The hardness value corresponds to the softness of the eraser tip's edges. The low er
the value, the softer the tip edge. The higher the value, the sharper the tip edge. Be
aw are that some eraser tips are not 100% opaque, so they w ill alw ays appear
somew hat soft, even at 100% hardness.

Defines the amount of space betw een each stamp of the eraser. A value of 100% sets
the stamp marks edge to edge, if there is no w hite space around the shape. The larger
the value, the greater the space betw een marks. A really large value can make theeraser stroke appear as a string of individual marks. Conversely, a small spacing value
w ill give the appearance of a fluid brush stroke.
Spacing is only evident w hen making a continuous stroke.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Property

Description

Randomness

The Randomness parameters let you create a varied bitmap eraser stroke. Refining
these options can give your stroke a lovely, non-mechanical look.

You can create variation betw een the thick and thin of your eraser stroke just by setting
the Maximum and Minimum Size values. If you add randomness to the mix, pressure
sensitivity from your draw ing tablet w ill still be applied. Light pressure w ill create
random values around the minimum, w hile heavy pressure w ill create random values
closer to the maximum. The larger the percentage, the larger the range of randomvariation.

Random Size

NOTE
Setting the Minimum Size to 100% eliminates the possibility of creating w idthvariation on your stroke, w hether you are applying randomness or not. Therefore,
you w ould be forcing a uniform line w idth using the Maximum Size value.

Random Angle

Sets the range for random rotation around the set Angle value. For example, if theAngle is set to 45° and the Random Angle set to 10°, the softw are w ill choose values
betw een 40°–50° (plus or minus 5 degrees, equaling a total of 10 degrees).

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Property

Description

Sets the range for random spacing around the set Spacing value. For example, if theSpacing is set to 50% and the Random Spacing is set to 10%, then Harmony w illchoose values betw een 45%–55% (plus or minus 5 percent, equaling a total of 10
percent).

Random Spacing

Smoothing Tab
The Smoothing tab contains options to configure how Harmony should automatically smooth your eraser
strokes as you paint.

473

Chapter 4: Tools PropertiesNOTE
The Smoothing tab is only available w hen w orking on a vector layer, as bitmap layers do notsupport smoothing.

Property

Description

Centerline Smoothing

Defines the amount of smoothing Harmony should perform on your eraser stroke's
direction, curves and corners. A higher setting w ill prevent your line from being
shaky, but is liable to reduce draw ing precision and turn sharp angles into curves.

Contour Smoothing

Defines the amount of smoothing Harmony should perform on outer contour of theeraser stroke. A higher setting w ill round sharp corners and reduce the amount ofcontrol points for the resulting vector shape.

Transparency Tab
The Transparency tab allow s you to decide if your eraser has antialiasing as w ell as to set its flow and opacity
settings.

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

NOTE
The Transparency tab's options are only available on vector layers if the Eraser Type option of the
Tip tab is set to Textured Vector or Textured, Preserve Vector.. On bitmap layers, those options
are alw ays available.

Property

Description

Enabled by default. This option causes the contours of the eraser strokes toblend w ith the surrounding colours, to create an illusion of smoothness
otherw ise not possible due to the picture resolution.

Antialiasing

If antialiasing is disabled, the eraser w ill either fully erase pixels or leave themintact.

NOTE
W hen disabled, all other options in the Transparency tab are disabled.

The Maximum and Minimum Flow parameters let you set the range for the rate
at w hich your eraser's effect flow s. The greater the flow , the more consistent theeffect is. If the flow is light, then the effect may look spotty. This feature w orks
w ith the pressure sensitivity of a pen tablet.
l

Maximum Flow: Sets the maximum rate at w hich colour and texture areapplied as you create a fluid stroke.

l

Minimum Flow: Sets the minimum rate at w hich colour and texture areapplied as you create a fluid stroke. It is defined as a percentage of theMaximum Flow value. If the Minimum Flow value is set to 100%, thentablet pressure sensitivity w ill no longer be applicable. The flow w ill be
set to the constant rate of the Maximum Flow value.

Maximum and Minimum Flow

Maximum Opacity and
Minimum Opacity

The Maximum and Minimum Opacity parameters are w here you set the opacity
range for a eraser mark. This w orks w ith the pressure sensitivity of a pen tablet.
l

Maximum Opacity: Sets the transparency limit of the eraser mark w hen
the pressure is heavy.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Property

DescriptionlRandomness

Minimum Opacity: Sets the transparency limit of the eraser mark w hen
the pressure is very light. It is defined as a percentage of the Maximum
Opacity value. If the Minimum Opacity value is set to 100%, then tablet
pressure sensitivity w ill no longer be applicable. The opacity w ill be set
to the constant rate of the Maximum Opacity value.

Th Randomness parameter lets you set the range for the randomness of the flow
and opacity. This w orks w ith the pressure sensitivity of a pen tablet.

You can create variation in the flow of your eraser stroke just by setting theMaximum and Minimum Flow values. If you add randomness to the mix, pressure
sensitivity from your draw ing tablet w ill still be applied. Light pressure w illcreate random values around the minimum, w hile heavy pressure w ill create
random values closer to the maximum. The larger the percentage, the larger therange of random variation.

Randomness Flow

NOTE
Setting the Minimum Flow value to 100% eliminates the possibility ofcreating flow variation on your stroke, w hether you are applying
randomness or not. That is, you w ould be forcing a uniform flow using theMaximum Flow value.

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Property

Description

You can create variation in the opacity of your eraser stroke just by setting theMaximum and Minimum Opacity values. If you add randomness to the mix,pressure sensitivity from your draw ing tablet w ill still be applied. Light pressure
w ill create random values around the minimum, w hile heavy pressure w ill create
random values closer to the maximum. The larger the percentage, the larger therange of random variation.

Random Opacity

NOTE
Setting the Minimum Opacity value to 100% eliminates the possibility ofcreating opacity variation on your stroke, w hether you are applying
randomness or not. That is, you w ould be forcing a uniform opacity using
the Maximum Opacity value.

Dual Tip Tab
The Dual Tip tab lets you set the parameters for creating a dual tip eraser. The primary bitmap eraser tip andthe dual tip alw ays w ork together. You can set the parameters for the primary tip in the Tip tab and those forthe dual tip in the Dual Tip tab. The Blend mode you select determines how the tips are combined.
By default, the Blend Mode is set to Multiply and the Random Angle to 360°.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

NOTE
To use a Dual Tip, you must enable option by checking the checkbox inside the Dual Tip tab.
Additionally, if you are w orking on a vector layer, the Eraser Type option of the Tip tab must be set
to Textured Vector or Textured, Preserve Vector.

Tool Name

Description

Enable/Disable

The checkbox inside the tab allow s you to decide w hether or not your eraser uses adual tip. If this checkbox is unchecked, the options in the Dual Tip tab w ill bedisabled.

Blend Mode

The Blend modes let you decide how the primary tip and the dual tip are combined.

Multiply

This is the default blend mode. W hen the tw o eraser tips are combined in this mode,
they essentially cut each other out in overlapping areas, w here one or both tips havean area of 100% transparency. The less opaque the eraser tips are, the lighter their478

Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Tool Name

Description

combination.

Colour Dodge

In this mode, the primary tip cuts out the shape of the dual tip. W here the tip shapes
overlap, w ithin the boundaries of the primary shape, the colour and opacity appear
darker.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Tool Name

CombineDescription

This mode treats the tw o tips as tw o different and separate erasers that have thesame colour and follow the same path.

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Tool Name

Description

Paper Texture Tab
The Paper Texture tab lets you configure a paper-like texture for your eraser. You can also add textures byimporting image files, or import paper textures that w ere previously exported from Harmony.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

NOTE
To use a Paper Texture, you must enable option by checking the checkbox inside the Paper
Texture tab. Additionally, if you are w orking on a vector layer, the Eraser Type option of the Tip
tab must be set to Textured Vector or Textured, Preserve Vector.

Property

Description

Enable/Disable

The checkbox inside the tab allow s you to decide w hether or not your eraser uses apaper texture. If this checkbox is unchecked, the options in the Paper Texture tab w ill
be disabled.

Texture Scale

Increase or decreases the size of the paper texture.

Additive

This option layers the texture on top of itself as you scribble overlapping lines in one
continuous stroke. If this option is turned off, areas of overlapping lines from a single,
continuous stroke w ill appear the same, in terms of darkness and texture, as non-482

Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Property

Description

overlapping areas.

This option defines the w ay separate, overlapping strokes behave. If this option isenabled, the paper texture's position does not change w ith each sw eep of the eraser.
If this option is disabled, each sw eep of the eraser produces a different texture
position. The texture orientation alw ays stays the same.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Ink Tool Properties
W hen you select the Ink tool, its properties and options appear in the Tool Properties view .

Icon

Tool Name

Tool

Sets the selection mode to Lasso, w hich allow s
you to select multiple items by draw ing a lasso
around them.
Lasso

TIP
W hen this option is enabled, you canpress and hold the Alt key to temporarily
use Marquee mode.

Sets the selection mode to Marquee, w hich allow s
you to select multiple items by draw ing a rectangle
around them.
MarqueeTIP
W hen this option is enabled, you canpress and hold the Alt key to temporarily
use Lasso mode.

Show Inkable Lines

Highlights all pencil lines (no brush strokes) on theselected layer. Pencil line segments that are
already inked w ith the selected sw atch colour fromthe colour palette are also not highlighted.

Be Smart on Connecting Lines

As you hover and move the cursor acrossintersecting pencil lines, the path that you create
w ill be highlighted. W hen you click on your mouseor stylus the highlighted segments are inked. W ith
this option disabled, all the intersecting segmentsthat your cursor comes near w ill be highlighted
and become part of the selection, even if they w ere
not situated in the direction of the chosen path.

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

NOTE
This option only w orks if the Ink tool is in
Hover mode.

Use this mode instead of the Hover Mode. In the
Hover Mode, any potentially inkable pencil line w ill
have its central vector line highlighted as the Inktool’s cursor hovers over it. Use Ctrl

Select Mode

(W indow s/Linux) or ⌘ (macOS) to toggle betw een
the tw o modes.

In the Paint tool properties, this option keeps aselection highlighted around the latest paintedzone after using the Paint, Repaint, Unpaint, orPaint Unpainted tool.

Select New ly Painted, Repainted,
and Unpainted Contours/LinesRaise

As you ink the pencil line, the segment w ill be
moved on top of the other intersecting strokes.
Disable this option for the line to be sent behind.
Hold dow n the Alt key to perform the opposite
operation as you ink.

Mitre

As you hover over tw o perpendicular or nearly
perpendicular segments, a highlighted path w ith acorner is created. Clicking on these highlighted
segments inks both segments and makes themappear as a single stroke w ith a corner or bend.
Options include: As Is, Round, Miter, and Bevel.

Tip StyleLets you customize the edge of the Ink tool.
Options include: Round, Flat, and Bevel.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Line Tool Properties
The Line tool allow s you to quickly draw a line segment by dragging the mouse from its starting point to its
end point.

How to access the Line tool properties
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Linetool.

The tool's properties are displayed in the Tool Properties view .

Pencil Properties
Just like other shape tools, this tool creates pencil lines. Hence, its tool properties are similar to the ones of thePencil tool and it can be used w ith pencil presets.

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Tool Name

Description

The Preview area lets you see a preview of the stroke your draw ing tool w ill make.
Preview Area

The arrow button right of the preview area opens the Pencil Properties dialog.

Pencil Properties
DialogSize

W hile the Tool Properties view only gives you access to a few of the pencil properties,
a list of pencil presets and other draw ing options, the Pencil Properties dialog gives youaccess to all the available options for your pencil's shape and texture. For more
information on the Pencil Properties dialog, see the Pencil Properties Dialog section
below .

Defines the w idth of the pencil line used to draw the line.

You can adjust the start, end, and join style of a pencil line.

Shape

l

Start: Lets you select the style of the start tip, w hich is the first tip you drew .
You can choose betw een Round or Flat style.

lEnd: Lets you select the style of the end tip, w hich is the last tip you drew . You
can choose betw een Round or Flat style.

lJoin: Lets you select the joint style. The joints are w here the line curves
abruptly. You could also define the Join style as the corner style. You can choose
betw een Round, Mitre and Bevel style.

Pencil Presets
These options allow you to select, create and manage pencil presets.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Icon

Property

Description

Harmony provides a variety of pencil presets and thickness stencils andalso lets you create and save your ow n. It is a good idea to create andsave pencils w ith precise sizes and parameters w hen you draw for
efficiency and consistency.

Presets list

A thickness stencil saves the thickness information across the length ofthe line. W hen draw ing w ith a thickness stencil, the pressure sensitivityof the tablet is discarded. A thickness stencil can be used w hile draw ing,
or applied afterw ards.
You also have the possibility to apply different textures to your lines byeither using the default presets or to import your ow n.
You can export the pencil presets that you have created and importthose that others have created. This is a good w ay for you and project
collaborators to keep a consistent look for the project.

New Brush Preset

Creates a new preset based on the current tool properties.

Delete Brush Preset

Deletes the currently selected preset.

Open a menu that contains the follow ing options:l

New Brush Preset: Creates a new preset based on the current
tool properties.

lDelete Brush: Deletes the currently selected preset.

lRename Brush: Allow s you to rename the currently selected
preset.

lImport Brushes: Allow s you to import brush presets exported
from Harmony.

l

Export Brushes: Allow s you to export your brush presets into an.xml file.

l

Small Thumbnail: Displays presets in a grid of small thumbnails
w ith a preview of their tip.

lLarge Thumbnail: Displays presets in a grid of big thumbnails,
w ith their name and a preview of their tip.

lStroke View: Displays presets in a list, w ith their name and apreview of a stroke done w ith each preset.

Brush Presets Menu

Drawing Options
These options affect the w ay your draw ing strokes are added to your artw ork.

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Icon

Tool Name

Description

W hen enabled, your brush strokes w ill appear behind the existing artw ork.

Draw Behind

NOTEYour brush stroke w ill temporarily appear over your artw ork as you
draw it, until you release the mouse cursor or tablet pen.

Allow s you to enable or disable snapping for this tool and all otheranimation and draw ing tools that support snapping, as w ell as to selectw hich types of snapping are enabled.
If you double-click or long-click on this button, it w ill open a pop-up menu in
w hich you can toggle different snapping modes. You can also click on thisbutton to toggle it off, w hich w ill disable all snapping modes, and click on it
again and toggle it on to re-enable the snapping modes w hich w ere
previously enabled.
This tool supports the follow ing snapping modes:
SnappinglSnap to Contour: W hen enabled, w hile you're draw ing, the mouse
cursor w ill automatically snap to the nearby contours of existingartw ork, allow ing you to draw shapes that connect w ith other partsof your draw ing.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Icon

Tool Name

Description

NOTE
If you draw a line w ith the Line tool and make its tip snap to acontour or another control point in your artw ork, they w ill belocked together. You can then manipulate both
simultaneously using theContour Editor tool. You canalso separate tw o draw ing strokes that have been snapped
together by selecting one of them w ith theSelect tooland moving it aw ay.

lSnap to Alignment Guides: W hile draw ing, the draw ing tool w ill
snap against nearby alignment guides.

lSnap and Align: W hen enabled, w hile you're draw ing, the mouse
cursor w ill automatically align w ith the edges of strokes and shapes
in your artw ork, allow ing you to draw shapes that align w ith parts ofyour draw ing.

l

W hen enabled, w hile you're draw ing, the mouse cursor w ill snap
against the intersecting points of the grid.

TIP
To display the grid, select View > Grid > Show Grid from the
top menu or press Ctrl + '.

As you draw in the Line Art layer, the Automatically Create Colour Art
option instantly creates the corresponding strokes in the Colour Art layer.
AutomaticallyCreate Colour Art

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Icon

Tool Name

Description

By default, w hen draw ing on a vector layer, each new stroke is created as aseparate draw ing object, w hich can be edited independently from otherparts of the artw ork. W hen enabled, the Auto-Flatten option automaticallymerges strokes into existing artw ork.

Auto-Flatten Mode

NOTE
Using the Select tool, you can use select and remove a segment offlattened pencil lines. Overlapping pencil lines draw n w ith the AutoFlatten mode are essentially cut into segments by the overlap and canbe treated as individual lines.

W hen enabled, small gaps betw een the pencil lines you draw w ill be closed
by an invisible stroke to make sure your shapes are closed and that they canbe filled w ith the Paint tool.

Auto-Close Gap

Line Building Mode

W hen draw ing contours w ith pencil lines, the centreline is used todetermine w hether or not the contour is closed, but the visible tips of thepencil line w ill extend a bit beyond the tips of its centreline, making it
possible to have shapes that appear closed, but are not really. This canprevent the shape from being filled w ith the Paint tool. Enabling this option
w hen draw ing w ith the Pencil or Line tool w ill prevent you from leaving
invisible gaps in your contours.

The Line Building mode is very useful w hen draw ing long lines and curves
in small increments w ith pencil lines or the Line tool. As the pencil lines arecentral vector lines, it may be difficult to align the line tips perfectly tocreate a uniform stroke and close all gaps.

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Icon

Tool Name

Description

In this mode, you can draw lines in small increments and the tips are merge
into one single stroke.

NOTE
This mode only w orks w ith pencil lines or the line tool.

Use Stored Colour
Gradient

The Use Stored Colour Gradient option can be used w hen painting w ith agradient colour to alw ays position the gradient in the same w ay it w asstored, making it consistent across brush strokes. You can store a gradientby selecting a zone painted w ith a gradient w ith the Select tool, thenclicking on Store Colour Gradientin the Tool Properties view .

Draw s a straight line.
In this mode, you can draw curved lines w ith the follow ing method:
1. Draw the line by clicking and dragging from the start point to theend point of the line, but don’t release the mouse button or pen yet.

Straight Line Mode

2. W hile holding the mouse button or pen dow n, press and hold theCtrl (W indow s/Linux) or ⌘ (macOS) and move the mouse or pen to
define the line’s curve.

3. Once the line’s curve looks right, release the mouse button or pen.

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Icon

Tool Name

Description

This mode allow s you to draw s a simple curved (quadratic Bezier) line in
tw o clicks:
1. Draw the line by clicking and dragging from the start point to theend point of the line.

Curve Line Mode
2. Move the mouse or pen to define the curve of the line and click.

Draw s an S-shaped (cubic Bezier) line. This mode allow s you to draw lines
w ith finely tuned or even S-shaped curves w ith three clicks:
1. Draw the line by clicking and dragging from the start point to theend point of the line.

S Curve Line Mode

2. Move the mouse or pen to define the Bezier position of the
beginning of the line and click.

3. Move the mouse or pen to define the Bezier position of the end of
the line and click.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Icon

Tool Name

Description

Pencil Properties Dialog
Since the Line tool draw s pencil lines, you can use the Pencil Properties dialog to customize the type of lines it
draw s. To open the Pencil Properties dialog, click on the arrow button right of the stroke display area.

Size and Smoothness Tab
The Size and Smoothness tab allow s you to select your pencil's size, its smoothing parameters as w ell as theshape of its tips and corners.

Property

Description

Maximum Size

Defines the maximum size of the pencil line. If the tool is used w ith a pressure494

Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Property

Description

sensitive pen tablet, the w idth of the stroke w ill vary betw een its maximum size andminimum size depending on the amount of pressure used. If used w ith a mouse, thew idth of the stroke w ill alw ays be its maximum size.

Minimum Size

Defines the minimum size of your stroke as a percentage of the maximum size. If you
do not have pressure sensitivity from a pen table, the minimum size value w ill beignored.

Proportional to Camera

If you check this option, the size of the pencil w ill be adjusted to the position of thecamera on the z-axis. This means that if the camera is zoomed in on the scene, thepencil w ill be proportionally smaller so that it appears the same size in the rendered
image. Likew ise, if the camera is zoomed out, the pencil w ill be proportionally bigger.

Centerline Smoothing

Defines the amount of smoothing Harmony should perform on the central line of thepencil stroke. A higher setting w ill prevent your line from being shaky and w ill reduce
the amount of control points it has, making it easier to tw eak, but is liable to reducedraw ing precision and turn sharp angles into curves.

Defines the amount of smoothing Harmony should perform on the outer contour ofthe pencil stroke.

Contour Smoothing

A pencil line is defined by its centreline and its variations in thickness, rather than its
apparent shape. W hen draw ing a pencil line w ith a mouse, its thickness is uniform.
Therefore, its outer contour does not have any control point, except at its extremities,
and no smoothing is required for its contour.
How ever, w hen draw ing a pencil line w ith a pressure sensitive tablet, its contour w ill
have control points and Bezier curves to define the line's variations in thickness, andthus smoothing must be performed on its contour. An increased contour smoothing
w ill reduce the amount of control points on the line's thickness and smoothen its
curves, but may affect the precision of the variations in line thickness.

You can adjust the start, end, and join style of a pencil line.

Shape
l

Start: Lets you select the style of the start tip, w hich is the first tip you drew .
You can choose betw een Round or Flat style.

lEnd: Lets you select the style of the end tip, w hich is the last tip you drew .
You can choose betw een Round or Flat style.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Property

DescriptionlJoin: Lets you select the joint style. The joints are w here the line curves
abruptly. You could also define the Join style as the corner style. You canchoose betw een Round, Mitre and Bevel style.

Texture Tab
In the Pencil Properties view , the Texture tab allow s you to select a pencil texture from the currently selected
pencil texture palette to use w ith the Pencil tool. You can also add, remove or rename textures, save thecurrent pencil texture palette as the default one, or import the pencil texture palette into your scene.
The pencil texture palette used in the Texture tab of the Pencil Properties dialog is the one selected in the
Colour view . You can select a pencil texture palette by selecting it from the pencil texture palette list in the
Colour view —see Colour View on page 644.

Icon

Property

Description

This option is available from the menu
Use as Default Pencil
Texture Palette

Reload Default Texture
Palettebutton. Sets the currently

selected pencil texture palette as the default pencil texture palette inyour user preferences. The default pencil texture palette is added toevery scene you create in Harmony. The palette is copied in yourpreferences, so it w ill be added to your new scenes in the exact state it
is w hen you make it the default pencil texture palette.

Imports the default pencil texture palette as a new pencil texture
palette into your scene's palette list, and selects it as the current pencil

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Icon

Property

Description

texture palette.

New Texture

Allow s you to import an image file into a new pencil texture sw atch inthe current pencil texture palette. The pencil texture's effect on yourpencil line w ill be based on the image's transparency channel, and w illfollow your pencil lines on its horizontal axis. This option is alsoavailable from the menu

Delete Texture

Rename Texture

Pencil Texture Display

Pencil Texture Palettebutton.

Deletes a pencil texture sw atch from the current pencil texture palette.
This option is also available from the menu

button.

Renames the selected pencil texture sw atch in the current pencil
texture palette. This option is also available from the menu

button.

Displays the pencil textures in the current pencil texture palette andallow s you to select one to use w ith the Pencil tool.

Displays the name of the currently selected pencil texture palette, forreference. To select a different pencil texture palette, you must select itin the Colour view —see Colour View on page 644.

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Morphing Tool Properties
As you create and adjust your morphing sequences, you w ill often use the Tool Properties view . Using thisview allow s you to do things such as toggle betw een your key draw ings, adjust the easing or select a hint
type.

Icon

Tool Name

Description

The Hint Type drop-dow n menu allow s you to selectthe correct hint to remedy any problem areas in yourdraw ing.

Hint TypeYou can have more than one hint type in yourdraw ings. You can mix all of the hint types in yourmorphing sequence.

Do not Pick Transparency

498

The Hide Hints button temporarily Temporarily hides
the hint points from the key draw ings. Use this option
w hen you have a series of hint points hiding somelines you w ould like to see.

Harmony 22 Advanced Reference GuideShow Morphing in PlaceThe Show Morphing In Place option is used w ithmorphing layers. Enabling this option prevents thecurrently selected morphing layer from being show n
on top of the others and maintains the correct layerordering.

Suggest Hints

The Suggest Hints option is used to automatically set
Automatically sets hint points on key draw ings as ahelp tool. If you're not sure w here to set hints, you can
use this option. It w ill set the main hints w hich you canthen fine tune.

The Sw itch Betw een Draw ings button is used totoggle Toggles betw een the tw o key draw ings in yourmorphing sequence. This option is useful w hile setting
hints. You can use the default keyboard shortcut F4 totoggle betw een your draw ings.

Sw itch Betw een
Draw ings

The Flatten option is used w hen you have to morph asequence w ith a semi-transparent or transparent
colour in it.

Flatten

The Quality setting is used to make the lines of themorphed draw ings smoother. Adjust this parameterw hen you are doing an extreme close up of youranimation.

Quality

The Morphing Layers option is used w hen w orking
w ith morphing layers. You can add, remove andmanage your different morphing layers in this space.

Morphing Layers

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To create new draw ings, double-click on the blankarea under the From section to create the source
draw ing and the To section for the destination
draw ing and type a different value than the ones used
for the main layer.

Add Layer

Adds a new Morphing layer.

Delete Layer

Deletes the selected Morphing layer.

Move Up

Moves the new layer up in the stack.

Move Dow n

Moves the new low er up in the stack.

Indicates the start frame of the selected Morphing
layer.

Start

Indicates the end frame of the selected Morphing
layer.

Stop

The Easing option is used to adjust the starting andending velocity of your morphing sequence so that the
motion is smooth and not mechanical.
You can adjust the Ease In and Ease Out value by
dragging your cursor up and dow n or typing a newvalue. The values go from -1.0 to 1.0.

Ease in and Ease out

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The Convert Hints option is used to sw itch the type ofthe selected hint points. This option is useful w hen
you position hints and then realize they are not theright type. You can select them and convert them tothe correct type instead of deleting them and setting
new ones.

Convert Hints

Use the Morphing tool to select the hints and thenconvert them by going to the Tool Properties view andselecting the new hint type from the Convert Hints
drop-dow n menu.

The Time field is used to set the timing on Appearing
Point and Vanishing Point hints. These hints are used
to set the trajectory of appearing and vanishingobjects, W ith the Time field, select your Appearing
Point or Vanishing Point hint and type the frame
number on w hich the object w ill start its appearing orTimevanishing animation.

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Paint Tool Properties
The Paint tool allow s you to fill closed areas of your draw ing w ith the selected colour.

How to access the Paint tool properties
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Paint, Paint Unpainted, Repaint

or Unpainttool.

The tool's properties are displayed in the Tool Properties view .

Paint Tool Options
Icon

Property

Description

Allow s you to choose the method to visually select multiple elements:lLasso: Allow s you to select multiple elements by draw ing anirregular closed shape around them w ith your mouse.

lSelection Mode

Marquee: Allow s you to select multiple elements by draw ing a
rectangle around them. This is faster, as you only need to dragyour mouse from one corner of the rectangle to its opposite corner,
but it may not be as precise as you w ant.

TIP
You can press and hold the Alt key to temporarily use the otherselection mode.

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Icon

Property

Description

The Paint tool has four different modes:lPaint: Paints or repaints selected zones, w hether or not they
are already filled.

lPaint Mode

Paint Unpainted: Only paints empty zones, and does not
repaint zones that are already filled w ith colour.

lRepaint: Only paints zones that are already filled w ith colour,and does not fill empty zones.

l

Unpaint: Removes colour from the selected zone, replacing it
w ith transparency.

Paint and Remove
Textures

The Paint and Remove Texture option is used w hen you vectorized images
as greyscale texture style. An image vectorized as texture is a mix ofbitmap filling encapsulated in a vector-based frame. Painting a textured
zones w ith the Paint tool w ill change the tint of the textured lines.
Painting the textured zones using the Paint and Remove Texture option
transforms the bitmap filling into a 100% vector based zone and fills it
w ith a solid colour.

This option allow s you to select w hich layers the tool should affect. It canbe toggled on or off. W hen toggled on, it has tw o different modes. You
can select a mode by clicking and holding on the button.

Apply to Visible
Draw ing LayerslOff: W hen this button is toggled off, the tool only w orks on thecurrently selected layers. If several layers are selected, the tool
w ill w ork on all these layers simultaneously.

l

On W hen this button is toggled on, the tool w ill w ork on all thevisible layers.

l

Apply to Visible Drawing Layers: The tool w ill w ork on all thevisible layers in the Camera view .

lApply to Synced Drawing Layers: If the currently selected
layer is synced w ith another layer, the tool w ill w ork on both thecurrent layer and its synced layer.

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Icon

Property

Description

NOTE
This option only w orks in the Camera view .

This option allow s you to determine w hich draw ings in the current layer
the tool should affect. It can be toggled on or off. W hen toggled on, it has
tw o different modes. You can select a mode by clicking and holding on the
button.
ll

Off: W hen this button is toggled off, the tool only w orks on thedraw ing in the current frame.
Apply to All Frames: The tool w ill w ork on every exposeddraw ing in the selected layer simultaneously.

lApply to All Frames

Respect Protected
ColourUse Stored Colour
Gradient

Apply to Onion Skin Range: The tool w ill w ork on every
draw ing displayed in the Onion Skin. Onion Skin must be enabled
for this option to w ork.

The Respect Protected Colour option is enabled by default. In your Colour
view , you can protect some colour sw atches to avoid repainting or
unpainting the zones linked to that sw atch.
If you disable this option the Paint tool w ill not follow the protect colour
rule and w ill repaint or unpaint the protected colours on your draw ings
until you enable the option again.

W hen you paint a zone w ith a gradient or textured colour sw atch, thegradient or texture’s position is set relative to the size of the zone you are
painting. If you w ant the Paint tool to use a particular size and position,
you must first store your desired position and size using the Select tooland then enable the Use Stored Colour Gradient option in the Paint tool
properties.

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Icon

Property

Description

In the Paint tool properties, this option keeps a selection highlighted
around the latest painted zone after using the Paint, Repaint, Unpaint, orPaint Unpainted tool.
Select New ly
Painted, Repainted,
and Unpainted
Contours/Lines

By default, if you attempt to fill a shape that has a small gap in its contour,
the Paint tool w ill not be able to fill the shape. This option allow s you tomake the Paint tool automatically add a stroke to close the shape w hen it
detects a small gap betw een tw o strokes in the shape.
The Close Gap setting can be set to a value betw een 0 and 10. This
determines the maximum size of a gap to close, in pixels. You can also use
one of the follow ing presets:
Close Gapl

No Close Gap: Sets the Close Gap setting to 0, disabling thefeature.

l

Close Small Gap: Sets the Close Gap setting to 2, making the
Paint tool close gaps that are barely visible.

l

Close Medium Gap: Sets the Close Gap setting to 4, making
the Paint tool close gaps that are somew hat visible.

l

Close Large Gap: Sets the Close Gap setting to 8, making the
Paint tool close gaps that are easy to notice.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Bitmap Options
Since bitmap draw ings are made of pixels instead of shapes, and that the outlines of shapes in bitmap
draw ings are often feathered, it can be complicated to figure out exactly the area the Paint tool must fill w hen
trying to fill a zone in a bitmap draw ing. For example, if the Paint tool only replaces pixels w ith the exact same
colour as the one you click on w ith the selected colour, it w ill leave a small gap near the outlines of the shape.

The follow ing settings determine how the Paint tool figures out the area it must fill. W hen any of thesesettings are increased, the Paint tool's tolerance for colour or alpha differences increases and it w ill a bigger
area that it otherw ise w ould.
Icon

Property

Description

Allow s you to select w hich art layer to use in order to determine thefillable zone. By default, this is set to Current Art, w hich means thelayer you are filling w ill be used to determine the fillable zone.
How ever, if you w ant to keep your colour art on the Colour Art layer
and the line art on the Line Art layer, you can set the Source to Line Art, and then use the Paint tool on the Colour Art layer. The Paint tool

Sourcew ill use the artw ork in the Line Art layer to determine the area to fill
w ith colour, but w ill still add this colour to the Colour Art layer.
This property has the follow ing options:llCurrent Art: Bases the zone to fill on the current art layer.
Line Art: Bases the zone to fill on the Line Art layer,
regardless of w hich layer you are painting on.

lColour Art: Bases the zone to fill on the Colour Art layer,
regardless of w hich layer you are painting on.

--

Alpha

The alpha threshold that separates opaque and transparent zones.
W hen filling a "transparent" zone, the paint tool w ill apply the colour
under semi-transparent pixels, making them opaque. Then filling an"opaque" zone, the paint tool w ill replace the colour of semitransparent pixels w ithout affecting their transparency.
If you w ant to repaint lineart or shapes that have no outlines, you cando so by decreasing this setting completely. This w ill make it fill any

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Icon

Property

Description

pixel that isn't 100% transparent, so it w ill paint your outlines
completely. How ever, if you're using this method to repaint outlines,
they must not be filled yet for this method to w ork.
If you w ant to paint transparent zones that have dirt or semitransparent spots, you can increase this setting to make the Paint tool
paint behind them instead of around them.

NOTE
Raising this setting too high may cause the paint tool to ignore
outlines that are not 100% opaque, w hich can cause it to think
the shape is not closed. Hence, it might fail to find a zone to fill
and not do anything.

--

Colour Tolerance

The amount of tolerance the paint tool has for changes in colour w hen
filling an area. Raising this setting w ill allow the paint tool to fill overareas that have some variations in colour, but may cause it to fillbeyond the areas you meant to paint.

The maximum amount of pixels beyond the fillable zone that the Paint
tool can fill.
W hen this setting is set to any value above zero, the paint tool w ill fill
the zone until it finds a pixel that is a different colour, value ortransparency as the one you clicked on. Then, it w ill start filling pixels
beyond that point, up until it filled the amount of pixels in the
Maximum Overlap setting.
--

Maximum Overlap

If it lands outside of a fillable zone before it reached the maximum
overlap, it w ill stop filling at that point. How ever, if it lands intoanother fillable zone before reaching its maximum overlap, it w ill fillthat zone as w ell. Therefore, if you're filling shapes inside othershapes, you have to set this setting to the approximate w idth of youroutlines. Setting it higher w ill make the colour spill beyond the zone
you clicked on and fill the zone outside of it, and setting it low er isliable to leave a small gap betw een the fill and the outlines.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Icon

Property

Description

NOTE
W hen you fill a zone w ith overlap, Harmony tries to detect andpreserve the outlines of your shape. This is easy to do w hen
filling a transparent shape, or w hen repainting a shape made ofsolid outlines and a solid fill. How ever, if you are trying torepaint an already painted zone, it may fail to detect youroutlines and may repaint over them if the colour of youroutlines or inside the shape isn't consistent. Therefore, it ishighly recommended to avoid repainting painted zones as muchas possible w hen w orking w ith bitmap layers.

W hen enabled, the outlines of the fill w ill be smoothed so that they do
not look pixelated.

Antialiasing

NOTE
The effect of this setting w ill not be visible if you fill all the w ay
to the outlines, as the Paint tool w ill preserve the antialiasing ofexisting outlines w hen filling up to them.

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Pencil Tool Properties
The Pencil tool allow s you to draw simple contour lines that are defined by their centerline and their thickness.
W hen you select the Pencil tool, the Tool Properties view displays the different Pencil modes that control how
the pencil line is draw n.

How to access the Pencil tool properties
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Pencil

tool.

The tool's properties are displayed in the Tool Properties view .

Pencil Properties
The follow ing properties affect the pencil's size, smoothing, shape and other properties for the draw ing styleof your pencil. Those properties can be saved into pencil presets for later use.
Property

Description

The Preview area lets you see a preview of the stroke your draw ing tool w ill make.
Preview Area

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Property

Description

The arrow button right of the preview area opens the Pencil Properties dialog.

Pencil Properties
DialogW hile the Tool Properties view only gives you access to a few of the pencil properties,
a list of pencil presets and other draw ing options, the Pencil Properties dialog gives youaccess to all the available options for your pencil's shape and texture. For more
information on the Pencil Properties dialog, see the Pencil Properties Dialog section
below .

Defines the maximum w idth of the pencil line.
Maximum Size

Centerline Smoothing

If the tool is used w ith a pressure sensitive pen tablet, the w idth of the stroke w ill vary
betw een its maximum size and minimum size depending on the amount of pressureused. If used w ith a mouse, the w idth of the stroke w ill alw ays be its maximum size.

Defines the number of control points added to the centre line. The few er the control
points the smoother (but less faithful) the line.

You can adjust the start, end, and join style of a pencil line.

Shape

l

Start: Lets you select the style of the start tip, w hich is the first tip you drew .
You can choose betw een Round or Flat style.

lEnd: Lets you select the style of the end tip, w hich is the last tip you drew . You
can choose betw een Round or Flat style.

lJoin: Lets you select the joint style. The joints are w here the line curves
abruptly. You could also define the Join style as the corner style. You can choose
betw een Round, Mitre and Bevel style.

Pencil Presets
These options allow you to select, create and manage pencil presets.

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Icon

Property

Description

Harmony provides a variety of pencil presets and thickness stencils andalso lets you create and save your ow n. It is a good idea to create andsave pencils w ith precise sizes and parameters w hen you draw for
efficiency and consistency.

Presets list

A thickness stencil saves the thickness information across the length ofthe line. W hen draw ing w ith a thickness stencil, the pressure sensitivityof the tablet is discarded. A thickness stencil can be used w hile draw ing,
or applied afterw ards.
You also have the possibility to apply different textures to your lines byeither using the default presets or to import your ow n.
You can export the pencil presets that you have created and importthose that others have created. This is a good w ay for you and project
collaborators to keep a consistent look for the project.

New Brush Preset

Creates a new preset based on the current tool properties.

Delete Brush Preset

Deletes the currently selected preset.

Open a menu that contains the follow ing options:l

New Brush Preset: Creates a new preset based on the current
tool properties.

lDelete Brush: Deletes the currently selected preset.

lRename Brush: Allow s you to rename the currently selected
preset.

lImport Brushes: Allow s you to import brush presets exported
from Harmony.

l

Export Brushes: Allow s you to export your brush presets into an.xml file.

l

Small Thumbnail: Displays presets in a grid of small thumbnails
w ith a preview of their tip.

lLarge Thumbnail: Displays presets in a grid of big thumbnails,
w ith their name and a preview of their tip.

lStroke View: Displays presets in a list, w ith their name and apreview of a stroke done w ith each preset.

Brush Presets Menu

Drawing Options
These options affect the w ay your draw ing strokes are added to your artw ork.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Icon

Property

Description

W hen enabled, your brush strokes w ill appear behind the existingartw ork.

Draw Behind

NOTEYour brush stroke w ill temporarily appear over your artw ork as
you draw it, until you release the mouse cursor or tablet pen.

W hen enabled, draw ing a closed shape w ill automatically fill it w ith thecurrently selected Paint colour.

Auto Fill

TIP
By default the pencil line and its fill w ill be the same colour. To
select different colours for the line and its fill, do the follow ing:
1. In the Colour view , click the
2. Click on the

Unlock Three Colours button.

Set Current Pencil Colour sw atch. Then, inthe colour list, select the desired colour sw atch for youroutline.
3. Click on the

Set Current Paint Colour sw atch. Then, in thecolour list, select the desired colour sw atch for the fill.

W hen enabled, draw ing a closed shape w ill automatically remove theoutstanding lines.
Trim Extra Lines

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Icon

Property

Description

W hen the Trim Extra Lines option is enabled, enable this option to makethe point w here the beginning and end of the stroke meet into a smooth
curve rather than a hard corner.

Align Handles AfterTrim

As you draw in the Line Art layer, the Automatically Create Colour Art
option instantly creates the corresponding strokes in the Colour Art
layer.
Automatically Create
Colour Art

By default, w hen draw ing on a vector layer, each new stroke is createdas a separate draw ing object, w hich can be edited independently fromother parts of the artw ork. W hen enabled, the Auto-Flatten option
automatically merges strokes into existing artw ork.

Auto Flatten

NOTE
Using the Select tool, you can select and remove a segment offlattened pencil lines. Overlapping pencil lines draw n w ith theAuto-Flatten mode are essentially cut into segments by theoverlap and can be treated as individual lines.

Auto-Close Gap

W hen enabled, small gaps betw een the pencil lines you draw w ill beclosed by an invisible stroke to make sure your shapes are closed and513

Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Icon

Property

Descriptionthat they can be filled w ith the Paint tool.
W hen draw ing contours w ith pencil lines, the centreline is used todetermine w hether or not the contour is closed, but the visible tips of thepencil line w ill extend a bit beyond the tips of its centreline, making it
possible to have shapes that appear closed, but are not really. This canprevent the shape from being filled w ith the Paint tool. Enabling thisoption w hen draw ing w ith the Pencil or Line tool w ill prevent you fromleaving invisible gaps in your contours.

Allow s you to enable or disable snapping for this tool and all otheranimation and draw ing tools that support snapping, as w ell as to selectw hich types of snapping are enabled.

Snapping

If you double-click or long-click on this button, it w ill open a pop-up
menu in w hich you can toggle different snapping modes. You can also
click on this button to toggle it off, w hich w ill disable all snapping
modes, and click on it again and toggle it on to re-enable the snapping
modes w hich w ere previously enabled.
This tool supports the follow ing snapping mode:lLine Building Mode

Snap to Alignment Guides: W hile draw ing, the draw ing tool
w ill snap against nearby alignment guides.

The Line Building mode is very useful w hen draw ing long lines andcurves in small increments w ith pencil lines or the Line tool. As the
pencil lines are central vector lines, it may be difficult to align the line
tips perfectly to create a uniform stroke and close all gaps.
In this mode, you can draw lines in small increments and the tips are
merge into one single stroke.

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Icon

Property

Description

NOTE
This mode only w orks w ith pencil lines or the line tool.

The Auto Adjust Thickness tool is useful w hen you w ant to render aportion of a line thicker. W hen tracing a draw ing on paper, you w ill often
go back to a section of a curve to make it thicker to add dynamism to theline. Using the Auto Adjust Thickness tool, you can draw highlightstrokes over the section to make thicker. Once you release the pen or
mouse, the line becomes thicker follow ing the shape and curve of theoriginal stroke. This w ay is much faster and smoother than using thePencil Editor tool. You do not have to add extra points and adjust theposition and Bezier handles.
Auto Adjust Thickness

The default overlay colour is light yellow . If this colour is difficult to see
because of the background or draw ing colour, you can adjust the colour.

Line Pushing Mode

The Line Pushing Mode option lets you draw highlight strokes overexisting pencil lines. You can reshape the curves. Depending how you
draw the pushing stroke over your line, the highlighted section w ill bereshaped in one direction or the other.
The default overlay colour is light yellow . If this colour is difficult to see
because of the background or draw ing colour, you can adjust the colour.

ColourYou can change the colour of the temporary strokes that appear in thedraw ing space w hen using the Line Pushing Mode or the Auto Adjust

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Icon

Property

Description

Thickness option by clicking on the Colour sw atch and selecting a newcolour in the Colour Picker dialog.

Pencil Properties Dialog
Pencils have extra parameters w hich are not accessible from the Tool Properties view . To open the Pencil
Properties dialog, click on the arrow button right of the stroke display area.

Size and Smoothness Tab
The Size and Smoothness tab allow s you to select your pencil's size, its smoothing parameters as w ell as theshape of its tips and corners.

Property

Description

Maximum Size

Defines the maximum size of the pencil line. If the tool is used w ith a pressure
sensitive pen tablet, the w idth of the stroke w ill vary betw een its maximum size andminimum size depending on the amount of pressure used. If used w ith a mouse, thew idth of the stroke w ill alw ays be its maximum size.

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Property

Description

Minimum Size

Defines the minimum size of your stroke as a percentage of the maximum size. If you
do not have pressure sensitivity from a pen table, the minimum size value w ill beignored.

Proportional to Camera

If you check this option, the size of the pencil w ill be adjusted to the position of thecamera on the z-axis. This means that if the camera is zoomed in on the scene, thepencil w ill be proportionally smaller so that it appears the same size in the rendered
image. Likew ise, if the camera is zoomed out, the pencil w ill be proportionally bigger.

Centerline Smoothing

Defines the amount of smoothing Harmony should perform on the central line of thepencil stroke. A higher setting w ill prevent your line from being shaky and w ill reduce
the amount of control points it has, making it easier to tw eak, but is liable to reducedraw ing precision and turn sharp angles into curves.

Defines the amount of smoothing Harmony should perform on the outer contour ofthe pencil stroke.

Contour Smoothing

A pencil line is defined by its centreline and its variations in thickness, rather than its
apparent shape. W hen draw ing a pencil line w ith a mouse, its thickness is uniform.
Therefore, its outer contour does not have any control point, except at its extremities,
and no smoothing is required for its contour.
How ever, w hen draw ing a pencil line w ith a pressure sensitive tablet, its contour w ill
have control points and Bezier curves to define the line's variations in thickness, andthus smoothing must be performed on its contour. An increased contour smoothing
w ill reduce the amount of control points on the line's thickness and smoothen its
curves, but may affect the precision of the variations in line thickness.

You can adjust the start, end, and join style of a pencil line.

Shape

l

Start: Lets you select the style of the start tip, w hich is the first tip you drew .
You can choose betw een Round or Flat style.

lEnd: Lets you select the style of the end tip, w hich is the last tip you drew .
You can choose betw een Round or Flat style.

lJoin: Lets you select the joint style. The joints are w here the line curves
abruptly. You could also define the Join style as the corner style. You canchoose betw een Round, Mitre and Bevel style.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Texture Tab
In the Pencil Properties view , the Texture tab allow s you to select a pencil texture from the currently selected
pencil texture palette to use w ith the Pencil tool. You can also add, remove or rename textures, save thecurrent pencil texture palette as the default one, or import the pencil texture palette into your scene.
The pencil texture palette used in the Texture tab of the Pencil Properties dialog is the one selected in the
Colour view . You can select a pencil texture palette by selecting it from the pencil texture palette list in the
Colour view —see Colour View on page 644.

Icon

Property

Description

This option is available from the menu
Use as Default Pencil
Texture Palette

Reload Default Texture
PaletteNew Texture

button. Sets the currently

selected pencil texture palette as the default pencil texture palette inyour user preferences. The default pencil texture palette is added toevery scene you create in Harmony. The palette is copied in yourpreferences, so it w ill be added to your new scenes in the exact state it
is w hen you make it the default pencil texture palette.

Imports the default pencil texture palette as a new pencil texture
palette into your scene's palette list, and selects it as the current pencil
texture palette.

Allow s you to import an image file into a new pencil texture sw atch inthe current pencil texture palette. The pencil texture's effect on yourpencil line w ill be based on the image's transparency channel, and w illfollow your pencil lines on its horizontal axis. This option is alsoavailable from the menu

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Icon

Property

Delete Texture

Rename Texture

Pencil Texture Display

Pencil Texture Palette

Description

Deletes a pencil texture sw atch from the current pencil texture palette.
This option is also available from the menu

button.

Renames the selected pencil texture sw atch in the current pencil
texture palette. This option is also available from the menu

button.

Displays the pencil textures in the current pencil texture palette andallow s you to select one to use w ith the Pencil tool.

Displays the name of the currently selected pencil texture palette, forreference. To select a different pencil texture palette, you must select itin the Colour view —see Colour View on page 644.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

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

Icon

Tool Name

Description

Allow s you to choose the method to visually select multiple elements:lLasso: Allow s you to select multiple elements by draw ing
an irregular closed shape around them w ith your mouse.

Selection ModelMarquee: Allow s you to select multiple elements bydraw ing a rectangle around them. This is faster, as you only
need to drag your mouse from one corner of the rectangle to its
opposite corner, but it may not be as precise as you w ant.

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TIP
You can press and hold the Alt key to temporarily use the otherselection mode.

This option allow s you to select w hich layers the tool should affect. It
can be toggled on or off. W hen toggled on, it has tw o different modes.
You can select a mode by clicking and holding on the button.
l

Off: W hen this button is toggled off, the tool only w orks on thecurrently selected layers. If several layers are selected, the tool
w ill w ork on all these layers simultaneously.

Apply to Visible Draw ing
Layersl

On W hen this button is toggled on, the tool w ill w ork on all thevisible layers.

l

Apply to Visible Drawing Layers: The tool w ill w ork on all
the visible layers in the Camera view .

lApply to Synced Drawing Layers: If the currently selected
layer is synced w ith another layer, the tool w ill w ork on boththe current layer and its synced layer.

NOTE
This option only w orks in the Camera view .

Defines the maximum w idth of the pencil line.
Maximum Size

Minimum Size

If the pencil line has a constant size, this w ill define the w idth of thepencil line all over. If the pencil line has a varying size, this w ill define
the w idth of its larger areas. Areas that are in-betw een the maximum
and minimum size w ill be resized proportionally.

Defines the minimum w idth of the pencil line. If the pencil line has avarying size, this w ill define the w idth of its smaller areas. Areas thatare in-betw en the maximum and minimum size w ill be resized
proportionally.

You can adjust the start, end, and join style of a pencil line.

Shape

l

Start: Lets you select the style of the start tip, w hich is the first521

Chapter 4: Tools Properties

tip you drew . You can choose betw een Round or Flat style.
lEnd: Lets you select the style of the end tip, w hich is the last tip
you drew . You can choose betw een Round or Flat style.

lJoin: Lets you select the joint style. The joints are w here theline curves abruptly. You could also define the Join style as thecorner style. You can choose betw een Round, Mitre and Bevel
style.

Harmony provides a variety of pencil presets and thickness stencils
and also lets you create and save your ow n. It is a good idea to createand save pencils w ith precise sizes and parameters w hen you draw for
efficiency and consistency.

Presets

A thickness stencil saves the thickness information across the lengthof the line. W hen draw ing w ith a thickness stencil, the pressure
sensitivity of the tablet is discarded. A thickness stencil can be used
w hile draw ing, or applied afterw ards.
You also have the possibility to apply different textures to your lines byeither using the default presets or to import your ow n.
You can export the pencil presets that you have created and importthose that others have created. This is a good w ay for you and project
collaborators to keep a consistent look for the project.

New Brush

Allow s to create a new preset from the selected pencil line.

Delete Brush

Deletes the currently selected preset.

Rename Brush

Allow s you to rename the currently selected preset.

Small Thumbnail, Large
Thumbnail, and Stroke
View

Allow s you to display the presets as small square thumbnails, large
square thumbnails or a list of stroke preview .

This option is available from the menu
Use as Default Pencil
Texture Palette

Reload Default Texture
Palettebutton. Sets the currently

selected pencil texture palette as the default pencil texture palette inyour user preferences. The default pencil texture palette is added toevery scene you create in Harmony. The palette is copied in yourpreferences, so it w ill be added to your new scenes in the exact state it
is w hen you make it the default pencil texture palette.

Imports the default pencil texture palette as a new pencil texture
palette into your scene's palette list, and selects it as the current pencil

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

texture palette.

New Texture

Adds a new custom pencil texture to the list.

Delete Texture

Deletes a texture preset from the list.

Rename Texture

Renames the selected texture to keep the list organized.

Presets

Harmony provides a variety of pencil texture presets and also lets you
create and save your ow n.

Pencil Texture Palette

Displays the colour palette assigned to hold the pencil textures. Use
the Colour View menu to assign a new palette.

The Smooth operation lets you smooth out selected draw ing strokes
and remove extra points.

Smooth Selection

TIP
You can also smooth the selection by selecting Drawing>
Optimize > Smooth from the top menu or by pressing Alt +Shift + S.

The Pump Pencil Pressure option is used to increase the line thicknessof a selected area on a pencil line.

Pump Pencil Pressure

Deflate Pencil Pressure

The Deflate Pencil Pressure option is used to decrease the line
thickness of a selected area on a pencil line.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Because pencil lines are defined by their centre lines, tw o pencil linesthat brush against each other may not actually make a closed shape,even if they appear closed. If you select several pencil lines that areclose together, you can use this button to close the small gaps
betw een these pencil lines and make them into a single pencil line.
Merge Pencil Lines

The Reverse Pencil Thickness option inverts the thick and thin section
on a selected pencil line. This option w ill take the thickest size on theline and apply it to the thinnest, and it w ill apply the thinnest to thethickest.

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Perspective Tool Properties
The perspective tool allow s you to deform artw ork by creating a rectangular bounding box around it andallow ing you to manipulate any of the four corners. The selected artw ork w ill be deformed to fit the shape you
make by simulating a perspective effect.

How to access the Perspective tool properties
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Perspectivetool.

The tool's properties are displayed in the Tool Properties view .

Icon

Tool Name

Description

Perspective Tool Options

Allow s you to choose the method to visually select multiple elements:lLasso: Allow s you to select multiple elements by draw ing
an irregular closed shape around them w ith your mouse.

lSelection Mode

Marquee: Allow s you to select multiple elements bydraw ing a rectangle around them. This is faster, as you only
need to drag your mouse from one corner of the rectangle toits opposite corner, but it may not be as precise as you w ant.

TIP
You can press and hold the Alt key to temporarily use the otherselection mode.

Snapping

Allow s you to enable or disable snapping for this tool and all otheranimation and draw ing tools that support snapping, as w ell as toselect w hich types of snapping are enabled.
If you double-click or long-click on this button, it w ill open a pop-up
menu in w hich you can toggle different snapping modes. You can also525

Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Icon

Tool Name

Description

click on this button to toggle it off, w hich w ill disable all snapping
modes, and click on it again and toggle it on to re-enable the snapping
modes w hich w ere previously enabled.
This tool supports the follow ing snapping modes:lSnap to Contour: W hile moving the selection or one of its
control points, it w ill snap against the nearby points andcontours of your artw ork, allow ing you to snap parts of yourartw ork together.

lSnap to Alignment Guides: W hile moving the selection or oneof its control points, it w ill snap against nearby alignment
guides.

lSnap and Align: W hen enabled, w hile moving a selection, therectangular bounding box of the selection w ill snap to therectangular bounding box of any other draw ing stroke in thedraw ing, allow ing you to align draw ing strokes laterally.

lSnap to Grid: W hile moving the selection, the mouse cursor
w ill snap against the intersecting points of the grid.

TIP
To display the grid, select View > Grid > Show Gridfrom the top menu or press Ctrl + '.

Allow s you to perform draw ing operations on both the Line Art andColour Art layers of your draw ing simultaneously.
Apply to Line and Colour
Art

NOTE
If you have Overlay and Underlay Art layers enabled, they w illalso be affected w hen this option is enabled.

Allow s you to select betw een one of the tw o follow ing deformation
modes:l

Perspective: Deforms the selection by simulating aperspective effect.

Deformation ModelLattice: Deforms the selection by simply making theartw ork fit the bounding box, w ithout applying a perspective
effect.

The difference betw een both modes becomes easier to understand if

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Icon

Tool Name

Description

you apply a transformation to a draw ing of a grid to make it look likeit's laid dow n on a surface:

Operations

Flip Horizontal

Flips the selection horizontally.

Flip Vertical

Flips the selection vertically.

Rotate 90 CW

Rotates the selection 90° clockw ise.

Rotate 90 CCW

Rotates the selection 90° counterclockw ise.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Polyline Tool Properties
The Polyline tool allow s you to draw complex lines or shapes by defining each point and their Bezier handles
one by one.

How to access the Polyline tool properties
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Polyline

tool.

The tool's properties are displayed in the Tool Properties view .

Pencil Properties
Just like other shape tools, this tool creates pencil lines. Hence, its tool properties are similar to the ones of thePencil tool and it can be used w ith pencil presets.
Icon

Property

Description

The Preview area lets you see a preview of the stroke your draw ing tool
w ill make.
Preview Area

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

The arrow button right of the preview area opens the Pencil Properties
dialog.

Pencil Properties
DialogW hile the Tool Properties view only gives you access to the pencil size,
a list of pencil presets and other draw ing options, the Pencil Properties
dialog gives you access to all the available options for your pencil's
shape and texture. For more information on the Pencil Properties dialog,
see the Polyline Tool Properties section below .

SizeDefines the w idth of the pencil line used to draw the shape.

Pencil Presets
Icon

Property

Description

Presets list

Harmony provides a variety of presets and also lets you create and saveyour ow n. It is a good idea to create and save pencils w ith precise sizes
and parameters w hen you draw and design for efficiency andconsistency.
All tools using pencil lines share the same preset list. Therefore, thePolyline, Line, Rectangle, Ellipse, and Pencil tools share the same preset
list.

New Preset

Creates a new preset based on the current tool properties.

Delete Preset

Deletes the currently selected preset.

Presets Menu

Gives access to more options for managing presets.

Rename Brush

Allow s you to rename the currently selected preset.

Import Brushes

Allow s you to import brush presets exported from Harmony.

Export Brushes

Allow s you to export your brush presets into an .xml file.

Small Thumbnail

Displays presets in a grid of small thumbnails w ith a preview of their tip.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Large Thumbnail

Displays presets in a grid of big thumbnails, w ith their name and apreview of their tip.

Stroke View

Displays presets in a list, w ith their name and a preview of a stroke done
w ith each preset.

Drawing Options
Icon

Property

Description

W hen this option is enabled, clicking close to a contour in your draw ing
w ill add the point to that contour. The line you are building w ill be linked
to that contour.

Snap to Contour

If this option is disabled, attempting to click on existing contours w ill
alw ays create a point very close to that contour, but not exactly on it.
Therefore, it is necessary to enable this mode if you w ant to create linesthat branch from into existing contours in your draw ing.

NOTE
If you draw a line w ith the Line tool and make its tip snap to acontour or another control point in your artw ork, they w ill belocked together. You can then manipulate both simultaneously
using theContour Editor tool. You can also separate tw o

draw ing strokes that have been snapped together by selecting
one of them w ith theSelect tool and moving it aw ay.

W hen enabled, draw ing a closed shape w ill automatically fill it w ith thecurrently selected Paint colour.

Auto Fill

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

TIP
By default the pencil line and its fill w ill be the same colour. To
select different colours for the line and its fill, do the follow ing:
1. In the Colour view , click the
2. Click on the

Unlock Three Colours button.

Set Current Pencil Colour sw atch. Then, inthe colour list, select the desired colour sw atch for youroutline.
3. Click on the

Set Current Paint Colour sw atch. Then, in thecolour list, select the desired colour sw atch for the fill.

W hen enabled, draw ing a closed shape w ill automatically remove theoutstanding lines.
Trim Extra Lines

W hen the Trim Extra Lines option is enabled, enable this option to makethe point w here the beginning and end of the stroke meet into a smooth
curve rather than a hard corner.
Align Handles AfterTrim

As you draw in the Line Art layer, the Automatically Create Colour Art
option instantly creates the corresponding strokes in the Colour Art
layer.
Automatically Create
Colour Art

Auto-Flatten Mode

By default, w hen draw ing on a vector layer, each new stroke is createdas a separate draw ing object, w hich can be edited independently fromother parts of the artw ork. W hen enabled, the Auto-Flatten option
automatically merges strokes into existing artw ork.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

NOTE
Using the Select tool, you can use select and remove a segment offlattened pencil lines. Overlapping pencil lines draw n w ith theAuto-Flatten mode are essentially cut into segments by theoverlap and can be treated as individual lines.

Pencil Properties Dialog
The Polyline tool draw s the same type of line as the Pencil tool. Hence, you can configure the Polyline tool'slines using the Pencil Properties dialog, w hich you can open by clicking on the arrow button right of the stroke
display area in the Tool Properties view .

Size and Smoothness Tab
The Size and Smoothness tab allow s you to select your pencil's size, its smoothing parameters as w ell as theshape of its tips and corners.

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Property

Description

Maximum Size

Defines the maximum size of the pencil line. If the tool is used w ith a pressure
sensitive pen tablet, the w idth of the stroke w ill vary betw een its maximum size andminimum size depending on the amount of pressure used. If used w ith a mouse, thew idth of the stroke w ill alw ays be its maximum size.

Minimum Size

Defines the minimum size of your stroke as a percentage of the maximum size. If you
do not have pressure sensitivity from a pen table, the minimum size value w ill beignored.

Proportional to Camera

If you check this option, the size of the pencil w ill be adjusted to the position of thecamera on the z-axis. This means that if the camera is zoomed in on the scene, thepencil w ill be proportionally smaller so that it appears the same size in the rendered
image. Likew ise, if the camera is zoomed out, the pencil w ill be proportionally bigger.

Centerline Smoothing

Defines the amount of smoothing Harmony should perform on the central line of thepencil stroke. A higher setting w ill prevent your line from being shaky and w ill reduce
the amount of control points it has, making it easier to tw eak, but is liable to reducedraw ing precision and turn sharp angles into curves.

Defines the amount of smoothing Harmony should perform on the outer contour ofthe pencil stroke.

Contour Smoothing

A pencil line is defined by its centreline and its variations in thickness, rather than its
apparent shape. W hen draw ing a pencil line w ith a mouse, its thickness is uniform.
Therefore, its outer contour does not have any control point, except at its extremities,
and no smoothing is required for its contour.
How ever, w hen draw ing a pencil line w ith a pressure sensitive tablet, its contour w ill
have control points and Bezier curves to define the line's variations in thickness, andthus smoothing must be performed on its contour. An increased contour smoothing
w ill reduce the amount of control points on the line's thickness and smoothen its
curves, but may affect the precision of the variations in line thickness.

You can adjust the start, end, and join style of a pencil line.

Shape

l

Start: Lets you select the style of the start tip, w hich is the first tip you drew .
You can choose betw een Round or Flat style.

lEnd: Lets you select the style of the end tip, w hich is the last tip you drew .

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Property

Description

You can choose betw een Round or Flat style.
lJoin: Lets you select the joint style. The joints are w here the line curves
abruptly. You could also define the Join style as the corner style. You canchoose betw een Round, Mitre and Bevel style.

Texture Tab
In the Pencil Properties view , the Texture tab allow s you to select a pencil texture from the currently selected
pencil texture palette to use w ith the Pencil tool. You can also add, remove or rename textures, save thecurrent pencil texture palette as the default one, or import the pencil texture palette into your scene.
The pencil texture palette used in the Texture tab of the Pencil Properties dialog is the one selected in the
Colour view . You can select a pencil texture palette by selecting it from the pencil texture palette list in the
Colour view —see Colour View on page 644.

Icon

Property

Description

This option is available from the menu
Use as Default Pencil
Texture Palettebutton. Sets the currently

selected pencil texture palette as the default pencil texture palette inyour user preferences. The default pencil texture palette is added toevery scene you create in Harmony. The palette is copied in yourpreferences, so it w ill be added to your new scenes in the exact state it
is w hen you make it the default pencil texture palette.

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Icon

Property

Description

Reload Default Texture
PaletteImports the default pencil texture palette as a new pencil texture
palette into your scene's palette list, and selects it as the current pencil
texture palette.

New Texture

Allow s you to import an image file into a new pencil texture sw atch inthe current pencil texture palette. The pencil texture's effect on yourpencil line w ill be based on the image's transparency channel, and w illfollow your pencil lines on its horizontal axis. This option is alsoavailable from the menu

Delete Texture

Rename Texture

button.

Deletes a pencil texture sw atch from the current pencil texture palette.
This option is also available from the menu

button.

Renames the selected pencil texture sw atch in the current pencil
texture palette. This option is also available from the menu

button.

Pencil Texture Display

Displays the pencil textures in the current pencil texture palette andallow s you to select one to use w ith the Pencil tool.

Pencil Texture Palette

Displays the name of the currently selected pencil texture palette, forreference. To select a different pencil texture palette, you must select itin the Colour view —see Colour View on page 644.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Rectangle Tool Properties
The Rectangle tool allow s you to quickly draw a rectangle or a square.

How to access the Rectangle tool properties
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Rectangle

tool.

The tool's properties are displayed in the Tool Properties view .

Pencil Properties
Just like other shape tools, this tool creates pencil lines. Hence, its tool properties are similar to the ones of thePencil tool and it can be used w ith pencil presets.
Property

Description

The Preview area lets you see a preview of the stroke your draw ing tool w ill make.
Preview Area

Pencil Properties
Dialog

The arrow button right of the preview area opens the Pencil Properties dialog.

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Property

Description

W hile the Tool Properties view only gives you access to a few of the pencil properties,
a list of pencil presets and other draw ing options, the Pencil Properties dialog gives youaccess to all the available options for your pencil's shape and texture. For more
information on the Pencil Properties dialog, see the Pencil Properties Dialog on page541 section below .

SizeDefines the w idth of the pencil line used to draw the shape.

You can adjust the start, end, and join style of a pencil line.

Shape

l

Start: Lets you select the style of the start tip, w hich is the first tip you drew .
You can choose betw een Round or Flat style.

lEnd: Lets you select the style of the end tip, w hich is the last tip you drew . You
can choose betw een Round or Flat style.

lJoin: Lets you select the joint style. The joints are w here the line curves
abruptly. You could also define the Join style as the corner style. You can choose
betw een Round, Mitre and Bevel style.

Drawing Options
These options affect the w ay your shape is added to your artw ork.
Icon

Property

Description

Draw Behind

W hen enabled, your brush strokes w ill appear behind the existingartw ork.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Icon

Property

Description

NOTEYour brush stroke w ill temporarily appear over your artw ork as
you draw it, until you release the mouse cursor or tablet pen.

W hen enabled, the shape you draw is automatically filled w ith theselected colour. By default, draw ing a shape only creates its outlines.

Auto Fill

TIP
By default the pencil line and its fill w ill be the same colour. To
select different colours for the line and its fill, do the follow ing:
1. In the Colour view , click the
2. Click on the

Unlock Three Colours button.

Set Current Pencil Colour sw atch. Then, inthe colour list, select the desired colour sw atch for youroutline.
3. Click on the

Set Current Paint Colour sw atch. Then, in thecolour list, select the desired colour sw atch for the fill.

Allow s you to enable or disable snapping for this tool and all otheranimation and draw ing tools that support snapping, as w ell as to selectw hich types of snapping are enabled.

Snapping

If you double-click or long-click on this button, it w ill open a pop-up
menu in w hich you can toggle different snapping modes. You can also
click on this button to toggle it off, w hich w ill disable all snapping
modes, and click on it again and toggle it on to re-enable the snapping
modes w hich w ere previously enabled.
This tool supports the follow ing snapping modes:

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Icon

Property

DescriptionlSnap to Contour: W hen enabled, w hile you're draw ing, themouse cursor w ill snap to the nearby contours of the artw ork inyour draw ing.

lSnap to Alignment Guides: W hile draw ing, the draw ing tool
w ill snap against nearby alignment guides.

lSnap and Align: W hen enabled, w hile you're draw ing, themouse cursor w ill automatically align to the rectangularbounding boxes of other strokes and shapes in your draw ing.

l

W hen enabled, w hile you're draw ing, the mouse cursor w ill snap
against the intersecting points of the grid.

TIP
To display the grid, select View > Grid > Show Grid fromthe top menu or press Ctrl + '.

As you draw in the Line Art layer, the Automatically Create Colour Art
option instantly creates the corresponding strokes in the Colour Art
layer.
Automatically Create
Colour Art

By default, w hen draw ing on a vector layer, each new stroke is createdas a separate draw ing object, w hich can be edited independently fromother parts of the artw ork. W hen enabled, the Auto-Flatten option
automatically merges strokes into existing artw ork.
Auto Flatten Mode

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Icon

Property

Description

NOTE
Using the Select tool, you can use select and remove a segment offlattened pencil lines. Overlapping pencil lines draw n w ith theAuto-Flatten mode are essentially cut into segments by theoverlap and can be treated as individual lines.

Use Stored Colour
Gradient

The Use Stored Colour Gradient option can be used w hen painting w ith
a gradient colour to alw ays position the gradient in the same w ay it w asstored, making it consistent across brush strokes. You can store a
gradient by selecting a zone painted w ith a gradient w ith the Select tool,
then clicking on Store Colour Gradientin the Tool Properties view .

W hen enabled, the rectangle tool w ill alw ays draw a rectangle of equal
w idth and height, making it a perfect square.
Draw Square

TIP
You can also draw a perfect square by holding the Shift key w hiledraw ing.

Pencil Presets
These options allow you to select, create and manage pencil presets.
Icon

Property

Description

Harmony provides a variety of pencil presets and thickness stencils andalso lets you create and save your ow n. It is a good idea to create andsave pencils w ith precise sizes and parameters w hen you draw for
efficiency and consistency.

Presets list

A thickness stencil saves the thickness information across the length ofthe line. W hen draw ing w ith a thickness stencil, the pressure sensitivityof the tablet is discarded. A thickness stencil can be used w hile draw ing,
or applied afterw ards.
You also have the possibility to apply different textures to your lines byeither using the default presets or to import your ow n.
You can export the pencil presets that you have created and importthose that others have created. This is a good w ay for you and project
collaborators to keep a consistent look for the project.

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Icon

Property

Description

New Brush Preset

Creates a new preset based on the current tool properties.

Delete Brush Preset

Deletes the currently selected preset.

Open a menu that contains the follow ing options:l

New Brush Preset: Creates a new preset based on the current
tool properties.

lDelete Brush: Deletes the currently selected preset.

lRename Brush: Allow s you to rename the currently selected
preset.

lImport Brushes: Allow s you to import brush presets exported
from Harmony.

l

Export Brushes: Allow s you to export your brush presets into an.xml file.

l

Small Thumbnail: Displays presets in a grid of small thumbnails
w ith a preview of their tip.

lLarge Thumbnail: Displays presets in a grid of big thumbnails,

Brush Presets Menu

w ith their name and a preview of their tip.
lStroke View: Displays presets in a list, w ith their name and apreview of a stroke done w ith each preset.

Pencil Properties Dialog
The Rectangle tool draw s the same type of line as the Pencil tool. Hence, you can configure the Rectangle
tool's lines using the Pencil Properties dialog, w hich you can open by clicking on the arrow button right of thestroke display area in the Tool Properties view .

Size and Smoothness Tab
The Size and Smoothness tab allow s you to select your pencil's size, its smoothing parameters as w ell as theshape of its tips and corners.

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Property

Description

Maximum Size

Defines the maximum size of the pencil line. If the tool is used w ith a pressure
sensitive pen tablet, the w idth of the stroke w ill vary betw een its maximum size andminimum size depending on the amount of pressure used. If used w ith a mouse, thew idth of the stroke w ill alw ays be its maximum size.

Minimum Size

Defines the minimum size of your stroke as a percentage of the maximum size. If you
do not have pressure sensitivity from a pen table, the minimum size value w ill beignored.

Proportional to Camera

If you check this option, the size of the pencil w ill be adjusted to the position of thecamera on the z-axis. This means that if the camera is zoomed in on the scene, thepencil w ill be proportionally smaller so that it appears the same size in the rendered
image. Likew ise, if the camera is zoomed out, the pencil w ill be proportionally bigger.

Centerline Smoothing

Defines the amount of smoothing Harmony should perform on the central line of thepencil stroke. A higher setting w ill prevent your line from being shaky and w ill reduce
the amount of control points it has, making it easier to tw eak, but is liable to reducedraw ing precision and turn sharp angles into curves.

Defines the amount of smoothing Harmony should perform on the outer contour ofthe pencil stroke.

Contour Smoothing

A pencil line is defined by its centreline and its variations in thickness, rather than its
apparent shape. W hen draw ing a pencil line w ith a mouse, its thickness is uniform.
Therefore, its outer contour does not have any control point, except at its extremities,
and no smoothing is required for its contour.
How ever, w hen draw ing a pencil line w ith a pressure sensitive tablet, its contour w ill
have control points and Bezier curves to define the line's variations in thickness, and542

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Property

Description

thus smoothing must be performed on its contour. An increased contour smoothing
w ill reduce the amount of control points on the line's thickness and smoothen its
curves, but may affect the precision of the variations in line thickness.

You can adjust the start, end, and join style of a pencil line.

Shape

l

Start: Lets you select the style of the start tip, w hich is the first tip you drew .
You can choose betw een Round or Flat style.

lEnd: Lets you select the style of the end tip, w hich is the last tip you drew .
You can choose betw een Round or Flat style.

lJoin: Lets you select the joint style. The joints are w here the line curves
abruptly. You could also define the Join style as the corner style. You canchoose betw een Round, Mitre and Bevel style.

Texture Tab
In the Pencil Properties view , the Texture tab allow s you to select a pencil texture from the currently selected
pencil texture palette to use w ith the Pencil tool. You can also add, remove or rename textures, save thecurrent pencil texture palette as the default one, or import the pencil texture palette into your scene.
The pencil texture palette used in the Texture tab of the Pencil Properties dialog is the one selected in the
Colour view . You can select a pencil texture palette by selecting it from the pencil texture palette list in the
Colour view —see Colour View on page 644.

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Icon

Property

Description

This option is available from the menu
Use as Default Pencil
Texture Palettebutton. Sets the currently

selected pencil texture palette as the default pencil texture palette inyour user preferences. The default pencil texture palette is added toevery scene you create in Harmony. The palette is copied in yourpreferences, so it w ill be added to your new scenes in the exact state it
is w hen you make it the default pencil texture palette.

Reload Default Texture
PaletteNew Texture

Imports the default pencil texture palette as a new pencil texture
palette into your scene's palette list, and selects it as the current pencil
texture palette.

Allow s you to import an image file into a new pencil texture sw atch inthe current pencil texture palette. The pencil texture's effect on yourpencil line w ill be based on the image's transparency channel, and w illfollow your pencil lines on its horizontal axis. This option is alsoavailable from the menu

Delete Texture

Rename Texture

Pencil Texture Display

button.

Deletes a pencil texture sw atch from the current pencil texture palette.
This option is also available from the menu

button.

Renames the selected pencil texture sw atch in the current pencil
texture palette. This option is also available from the menu

button.

Displays the pencil textures in the current pencil texture palette and544

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Icon

Property

Description

allow s you to select one to use w ith the Pencil tool.

Pencil Texture Palette

Displays the name of the currently selected pencil texture palette, forreference. To select a different pencil texture palette, you must select itin the Colour view —see Colour View on page 644.

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Reposition All Drawings Tool Properties
W hen you use the Reposition All Draw ings tool, its properties and options appear in the Tool Properties view .

Tool Options
Icon

OptionDescription

Easy Drag

W hen enabled, you can drag the selection by clicking anyw here inside its
bounding box. By default, you must click on the artw ork in the selection to beable to drag it.

Apply toSyncedIf the currently selected layer is synced w ith another layer, the tool w ill w ork on

Draw ing Layers

both the current layer and its synced layer.

Operations
Icon

OptionDescription

Flip Horizontal

Flips the current selection horizontally.

Flip Vertical

Flips the current selection vertically.

Rotate 90
Degrees CW

Rotates the current selection 90 degrees clockw ise.

Rotate 90
Degrees CCW

Rotates the current selection 90 degrees counter-clockw ise.

Offset X and Y

Use the Offset X and Offset Y operation fields to enter specific values andprecisely reposition the selected shape.

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Icon

OptionDescription

1. X: Type a value in this field to reposition your selection along the Xaxis.
2. Y: Type a value in this field to reposition your selection along the Yaxis.
3. Up/Down arrows: Use the up and dow n arrow s to modify the value in
the X or Y value field.

Use the W idth and Height operation fields to enter specific values to resize
the selected shape w ith precision.

W idth and Height
1. W idth: Type a value in this field to resize the w idth of your selection.
2. Height: Type a value in this field to resize the height of your selection.
3. Up/Down arrows: Use the up and dow n arrow s to modify the value in
the W idth or Height fields.
4. Lock icon: Click the lock icon to lock or unlock the ratio betw een the
W idth and Height values.

The Angle operation lets you to enter specific values and accurately rotate theselected shape.

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

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Rigging Tool Properties
In the Tool Properties view , you can customize not only the behaviour of the tool but also the settings of thedeformers that you w ill create.

Mode
ButtonName

Description

Bone Mode

Sets the Rigging tool to create Bone deformations.

Game Bone Mode

Sets the Rigging tool to create Game Bone deformations.

Options
ButtonParameter

Description

Show All Manipulators

Lets you immediately see the resting position in red (Setup) and theanimated position in green.

Operations
ButtonName

Description

Reset Deform (Reset Current
Keyframe)

Copies the resting position of the deformation skeleton to thecurrent frame.

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Select Tool Properties
The Select tool lets you select strokes and apply basic transformations such as repositioning, rotating, scalingor skew ing, using the different handles of the bounding box.
If you have text or pencil lines selected w ith the Select tool, their properties w ill display in the Tool Properties
view , allow ing you to make changes to your selection.

How to access the Select tool properties
1. In the Tools toolbar, select either the Selecttool or the Select by Colour

tool.

The tool's properties are displayed in the Tool Properties view .

NOTE
Selecting the Select by Colour

tool from the Tools toolbar activates the Select tool, w ith theSelect by Colour option enabled. Hence, this topic covers the tool properties for both the Selectand Select by Colour tools.

Tool Options
Icon

Property

Description

Allow s you to choose the method to visually select multiple
elements:l

Selection Mode

Lasso: Allow s you to select multiple elements bydraw ing an irregular closed shape around them w ith yourmouse.

lMarquee: Allow s you to select multiple elements by549

Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Icon

Property

Description

draw ing a rectangle around them. This is faster, as you only
need to drag your mouse from one corner of the rectangle toits opposite corner, but it may not be as precise as you w ant.

TIP
You can press and hold the Alt key to temporarily use theother selection mode.

Easy Drag

W hen enabled, you can drag the selection by clicking anyw here
inside its bounding box. By default, you must click on the artw ork inthe selection to be able to drag it.

Allow s you to enable or disable snapping for this tool and all otheranimation and draw ing tools that support snapping, as w ell as toselect w hich types of snapping are enabled.
If you double-click or long-click on this button, it w ill open a pop-up
menu in w hich you can toggle different snapping modes. You canalso click on this button to toggle it off, w hich w ill disable allsnapping modes, and click on it again and toggle it on to re-enable
the snapping modes w hich w ere previously enabled.
This tool supports the follow ing snapping modes:lSnap to Contour: W hile moving the selection or one of its
control points, it w ill snap against the nearby points andcontours of your artw ork, allow ing you to snap parts of yourartw ork together.

lSnap to Alignment Guides: W hile moving the selection or
one of its control points, it w ill snap against nearbyalignment guides.

lSnap and Align: W hile moving the selection, the rectangularbounding box of the selection w ill align w ith the rectangularbounding boxes of other strokes and shapes in your artw ork.
If you move one of your selection's control points, it w ill alsoalign w ith the bounding boxes of other strokes and shapes inyour artw ork.

Snapping

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Icon

Property

DescriptionlSnap to Grid: W hile moving the selection, the mouse cursor
w ill snap against the intersecting points of the grid.

TIP
To display the grid, select View > Grid > Show Gridfrom the top menu or press Ctrl + '.

W hen enabled, the w idth of pencil lines w ill be adjusted w hen
scaling them w ith the Select tool.
Scale Pencil Line
Thickness

TIP
You can quickly enable this mode by selecting the Scale
Pencil Line Thickness

tool, in the Selecttool'sproperties dialog.

W hen enabled, clicking on a coloured zone in your artw ork w ill
instantly select all the zones that are filled w ith the same colour.
Select by Colour

Select by Colour

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can also be accessed from the Tools toolbar.

Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Icon

Property

Description

NOTE
Only the zones painted w ith the same colour swatch in yourpalette w ill be selected. If another zone is coloured w ith theexact same colour, but not the same colour sw atch, it w ill not
be selected.

Allow s you maintain a selection w hile editing multiple draw ings.
Once this option is enabled, the selection zone made using the
Select tool w ill remain as you navigate through draw ings of thesame layer and draw ings from other draw ing layers.

Permanent Selection

This option allow s you to select w hich layers the tool should affect.
It can be toggled on or off. W hen toggled on, it has tw o different
modes. You can select a mode by clicking and holding on the button.

Apply to Visible Draw ing
Layersl

Off: W hen this button is toggled off, the tool only w orks on
the currently selected layers. If several layers are selected,
the tool w ill w ork on all these layers simultaneously.

l

On W hen this button is toggled on, the tool w ill w ork on all
the visible layers.

l

Apply to Visible Drawing Layers: The tool w ill w ork on
all the visible layers in the Camera view .

lApply to Synced Drawing Layers: If the currently
selected layer is synced w ith another layer, the tool w ill
w ork on both the current layer and its synced layer.

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Icon

Property

Description

NOTE
This option only w orks in the Camera view .

This option allow s you to determine w hich draw ings in the current
layer the tool should affect. It can be toggled on or off. W hen
toggled on, it has tw o different modes. You can select a mode byclicking and holding on the button.
ll

Off: W hen this button is toggled off, the tool only w orks on
the draw ing in the current frame.
Apply to All Frames: The tool w ill w ork on every
exposed draw ing in the selected layer simultaneously.

lApply to All Frames

Apply to Line and Colour
Art

Apply to Onion Skin Range: The tool w ill w ork on every
draw ing displayed in the Onion Skin. Onion Skin must be
enabled for this option to w ork.

Allow s you to perform draw ing operations on both the Line Art andColour Art layers of your draw ing simultaneously.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Icon

Property

Description

NOTE
If you have Overlay and Underlay Art layers enabled, theyw ill also be affected w hen this option is enabled.

Operations
Icon

Property

Description

Flip Horizontal

Flips the current selection horizontally.

Flip Vertical

Flips the current selection vertically.

Rotate 90 Degrees CW

Rotates the current selection 90 degrees clockw ise.

Rotate 90 Degrees CCW

Rotates the current selection 90 degrees counter-clockw ise.

Smooth out selected draw ing strokes and remove extra points.

SmoothFlattenMerges draw ing objects and brush strokes into a single layer. If you
draw new lines to fix a draw ing or line w ith many brush strokes, it
can be useful to flatten them all into a single shape. By default, lines
are draw n one on top of each other. If you intend to repaint the lines
or modify their shape, it w ill be easier if they are flattened.

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Icon

Property

Description

Create Colour Art fromLine Art

Lets you use the outline you traced on one of the four embedded
layers (line art, colour art, overlay, underlay) and create invisible
strokes to paint your draw ings on separate layers. This provides
more inking and painting flexibility.
You can also configure this option to create the invisible strokes on
any of the four embedded layers.

The Distribute to Layers option is used to separate the selected art
strokes and send them to new draw ing layers. In the Camera view ,Distribute to Layers

Store Colour Gradientonce you have draw n your artw ork, you can select the strokes you
w ant to distribute using the Select tool and click on the Distribute toLayers button; you can also select Drawing > Distribute to Layers. It
w ill automatically take every stroke from the draw ing selection madein the Camera view and separate them into a different layer for each.
If an artw ork is composed of several strokes, you must group themusing Edit > Group > Group before using the Distribute to Layers
option. This option cannot be done from the Draw ing view .

Use the Store Colour Gradient operation to record the selectedgradient’s position. This reuses the stored position of the gradientw hen draw ing new brush lines or painting colour zones. Enable theUse Stored Colour Gradientoption in the Paint or Brush Tool

Properties view to do this.

Pencil to Brush

Converts the selected centre line pencil strokes into contour strokes
brush lines.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Icon

Property

Description

Because pencil lines are defined by their centre lines, tw o pencil linesthat brush against each other may not actually make a closed shape,even if they appear closed. If you select several pencil lines that areclose together, you can use this button to close the small gaps
betw een these pencil lines and make them into a single pencil line.

Merge Pencil Lines

NOTE
Points must be close enough to be merged. If there is a large
gap betw een the lines, they w ill not be merged.

The Reverse Pencil Thickness option inverts the thick and thin section
on a selected pencil line. This option w ill take the thickest size on theline and apply it to the thinnest, and it w ill apply the thinnest to thethickest.

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Icon

Property

Description

Offset X

Lets you enter a value to reposition the selection along the X-axis.

Offset Y

Lets you enter a value to reposition the selection along the Y-axis.

W idthLets you enter a value to resize the w idth of the selection.

HeightLets you enter a value to resize the height of the selection.

Lock

Locks or unlocks the ratio betw een the W idth and Height values.

Angle

Lets you enter specific values to rotate the selection. A positive value
rotates the selection counter clockw ise and a negative value rotates
the selection clockw ise.

Pencil Selection
If the selection contains pencil lines, the Pencil Selection section appears at the bottom of the Tool Properties
view , allow ing you to adjust the properties of those pencil lines.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Icon

Property

Description

Maximum Size

Adjusts the size of the parts of the pencil lines that are the thickest.
Parts of the pencil lines that are betw een the minimum andmaximum sizes w ill be adjusted proportionally.

Minimum Size

Adjusts the size of the parts of the pencil lines that are the thinnest.
Parts of the pencil lines that are betw een the minimum andmaximum sizes w ill be adjusted proportionally.

You can adjust the start, end, and join style of a pencil line.

lStart: Lets you select the style of the start tip, w hich is thefirst tip you drew . You can choose betw een Round or Flatstyle.

lEnd: Lets you select the style of the end tip, w hich is the last
tip you drew . You can choose betw een Round or Flat style.

lJoin: Lets you select the joint style. The joints are w here theline curves abruptly. You could also define the Join style as
the corner style. You can choose betw een Round, Mitre andBevel style.

Pencil Line Shape

Allow s you to apply one of the available line thickness stencils tothe selected pencil lines. Stencils set the w idth of a pencil lines allalong its length. You can use one of the preloaded presets, or create
your ow n pencil stencils.

Pencil Stencils

Adding Texture to a
Pencil Line

Pencil lines support texture. Once a pencil line is draw n, you canapply a preset texture or load your ow n. Textures are independent
from pencil stencils.

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Text Selection
If your selection include text boxes created w ith the Text tool, a Text Selection section w ill appear at thebottom of the Tool Properties view , allow ing you to adjust the formatting of the w hole text box.

TIP
You can also adjust the formatting of parts of the text in the text box using the Text tool—see Text
Tool Properties on page 577.

Icon

Property

Description

Lets you select the font in w hich to display the text.

Font

Makes the selected text bold.
Bold

Makes the selected text italic.
ItalicAlign Left

Aligns the text in the selected text box to the left.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Icon

Property

Description

Aligns the text in the selected text box to the centre.

Align Center

Aligns the text in the selected text box to the right.

Align Right

Makes the text in the selected text box take all the horizontal space byadjusting the spacing betw een each w ord. Text that use a single line
and text in the last line of a paragraph is aligned to the left.

Justify

Allow s you to set the size of the selected text.
Size

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Icon

Property

Description

Allow s you to increase or decrease the spacing betw een eachcharacter.

Kerning

Auto Kern

Sets the kerning automatically based on the font’s predefined
standard.

Allow s you to increase or decrease the indentation of the first line oftext in each paragraph.
IndentIncreases or decreases the space betw een each line of text.

Line Spacing

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Shift and Trace Tool Properties
The Shift and Trace tool allow s you to temporarily move, rotate and scale draw ings, then trace over them inother draw ings, using Onion Skin to keep the outlines of the shifted draw ings in your draw ing space. Contrary
to Shift and Trace w ith the Draw ing Desk, you can use the Shift and Trace tool in the Camera view .

How to access the Shift and Trace Tool Properties
1. Do one of the follow ing:l

In the Tools toolbar, double-click on the Hand

tool and select Shift and Tracein thepop-up menu.
l

In the top menu, select Drawing > Drawing Tools > Shift and Trace.

The Shift and Trace tool properties appear in the Tool Properties view .

Icon

Tool Name

Description

Shift and Trace Tool Options

Enable/Disable Shiftand Trace

Enabled by default. W hen disabled, draw ings that w ere repositioned,rotated or scaled w ith the Shift and Trace tool appear in their original
position.

Display Cross Hair

Enabled by default. W hen disabled, cross hairs added w ith the Shift andTrace tool are invisible.

Show manipulatorsfor shift and trace

Enabled by default. This displays the manipulator allow ing you to rotateand scale draw ings for Shift and Trace, as w ell as to re-position their pivot

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Icon

Tool Name

Description

point. W hen hidden, you can only shift draw ings laterally.

Show the outline of
the selected shift andtrace draw ing

W hen enabled, the contours of each brush stroke for the current draw ing
w ill appear highlighted in cyan.

Enabled by default. W hen using the Shift and Trace tool, peg holes areShow /Hide Pegs

Peg Position

displayed at the bottom of every draw ing to help keep track of how offset
draw ings are from their original position and from each other. You canalso click and drag on the left or right peg hole of a draw ing to rotate itaround the centre peg hole. W hen disabled, those peg holes are hidden.

Allow s you to select on w hich edge of the draw ings to display peg holes.
By default, they are displayed at the bottom of the draw ings.

Modes and Operations

W hen selected, clicking on the draw ing w ill add a cross hair w here you
click. Cross hairs are marks that appear on the same location on every
Set Add Cross HairModedraw ing in the current layer and w hich move w hen you offset a draw ing
w ith the Shift and Trace tool, and they appear in the Onion Skin renditionof neighbouring draw ings as w ell. This allow s you to keep track of how
offset each draw ing is.

Remove All Cross
Hair

Removes all the cross hairs created for shift and trace.

Reset Selected
Draw ings Shift
Position

Undoes all transformations done w ith the Shift and Trace tool on theselected draw ings, resetting them to their original position, angle andscale.

Reset All Draw ings
Shift Position

Undoes all transformations done w ith the Shift and Trace tool on all
draw ings, resetting them to their original position, angle and scale.

Info

Selected Draw ings

The element name and draw ing name of the currently selected draw ing.

Position

The offset of the current draw ing from its original position on the x and y563

Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Icon

Tool Name

Description

axes, in fields, w hen moved w ith the Shift and Trace tool.

Scale

The Shift and Trace scale factor of the currently selected draw ing, w hen
scaled w ith the Shift and Trace tool.

Rotation

The Shift and Trace rotation angle of the currently selected draw ing, indegrees, counterclockw ise, w hen rotated w ith the Shift and Trace tool.

Pivot

The offset, in fields, of the current draw ing's pivot point from its centre, on
the x and y axes. The pivot point is the point from w hich draw ings arerotated and scaled.

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

Icon

Tool Name

Description

The Smoothing Style options allow you to smooth aportion of your draw ing by tracing a smoothing strokeover the zone to optimize or by selecting an area ofthe draw ing w ith the Marquee or Lasso.
Note that by default, the Smooth Editor tool colour isyellow , it w as changed to orange for screen grab
clarity.

Smoothing Style

The Show Control Points option allow s you to showor hide the Bezier points around lines. W hen the
Bezier points are displayed, you can see the result ofyour smoothing and the number of points left on the
curve. W hen it is turned off, only the original artw ork
is displayed.

Show Control Points

This is w here you set the minimum and maximum
sizes of your draw ing tool w hich w ill produce the thickand thin effect on your stroke. This w orks w ith thepressure sensitivity of a pen tablet.

Minimum Size andMaximum Size

This options is available w hile using the Brush
Smoothingl565

style.

Maximum and Minimum Size: Defines the
maximum and minimum w idth of the stroke.

Chapter 4: Tools Propertiesl

Up/Down arrows: Use the up and dow narrow s to set the minimum and maximum sizevalue.

The Smoothness impacts the strength of thesmoothing result. The higher the value, the morepoints are removed and the smoother the curve. The
Smoothness range is from 0 to 100; the default value
is 20.

Smoothness

You can modify the colour of the control points
displayed on the artw ork w hile w orking w ith the
Smooth Editor tool by double-clicking on the colour
sw atch.

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Stamp Tool Properties
The Stamp tool allow s you to create and use stamps, w hich can contain one or several draw ings that can be
stamped individually or in sequence onto your artw ork.

How to access the Stamp tool properties
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Stamptool.

The tool's properties are displayed in the Tool Properties view .

Stamp Properties
The follow ing options allow you, among other things, to preview your stamp, to change the size of your stamp
as w ell as to flip it horizontally and vertically.
Property

Description

The Preview area lets you see a preview of w hat w ill appear if you draw a stroke w ith the
Stamp tool.
Preview Area

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Property

Description

The arrow button right of the preview area opens the Stamp Properties dialog.

Stamp Properties
DialogW hile the Tool Properties view only gives you access to a few of the stamp properties and alist of stamp presets, the Stamp Properties dialog gives you access to all the available options
for the w ay your stamp w ill be applied. For more information on the Stamp Properties dialog,
see the Stamp Properties Dialog on page 571 section below .

The tw o-ended arrow s to the left and over the Stamp thumbnail allow you to flip the stamp
horizontally or vertically.
Flip Horizontally/ Flip Vertically

The maximum scaling factor to apply to the stamp before stamping it onto the draw ing.
This setting is a percentage, w hich is relative to the size of the original draw ing that w as used
to create the stamp. This means that, at 100%, the draw ing w ill be stamped into your artw ork
in its original size.

Maximum Scale

NOTE
If the tool is used w ith a pressure sensitive tablet, the scale of the stamp can be made to
be relative to the amount of pressure you put on your pen. To do this, you must reducing
the Minimum Scale property of your stamp in the Stamp Properties dialog. If the
Minimum Scale setting is left at its default value, w hich is 100%, the size of the stamp
w ill not vary.

W hen using a multi-draw ing stamp, this is the number of the draw ing in the series that w ill
be stamped on the next time you use the Stamp tool. For example, if your stamp has 3
draw ings and this is set to 2, the next draw ing that w ill be stamped on is the second draw ing
in the series.
Stamp

If your stamp's Cycle setting is set to Hold, then you have to use this slider to select w hichdraw ing to stamp w ith the Stamp tool.
If your stamp's Reset Cycle for Each Stroke option is enabled, then you can use this slider toselect w hich draw ing to start each stroke w ith.
Otherw ise, w hen you draw a stroke w ith the Stamp tool, the Stamp slider w ill automatically568

Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Property

Description

update to the next draw ing in the sequence.

TIP
You can also cycle through the draw ings in your stamp by using the Left Arrow and Right
Arrow keys.

NOTE
The Cycle and Reset Cycle for Each Strokee options are available in the Stamp
Properties dialog.

Stamp Presets
These options allow you to select, create and manage stamp presets.
Contrary to the Brush and Pencil tools, creating a Stamp preset is required to use the Stamp tool, as thispreset w ill contain the draw ings to stamp onto your artw ork. A Stamp preset is created by selecting one orseveral layers, then adding a preset to the Stamp Presets list. If several layers are selected, the Stamp w ill
contain a series of draw ings, w hich it w ill stamp onto your artw ork in a sequence as you draw strokes w ith the
Stamp tool.
Icon

Property

Description

Presets list

The list of Stamp presets. Click on one of the presets to select it anduse it in your draw ing.

Creates a new Stamp preset based on the selected artw ork. The
artw ork can either be a selection made w ith the Selecttool, or by

selecting a layer.
New Brush Preset

If several layers are selected, this w ill create a multi-draw ing Stamp.
As you draw a stroke w ith the Stamp tool using a multi-draw ing
stamp, each draw ing in the stamp w ill be applied onto your artw ork,
one after the other.

Delete Brush

Deletes the currently selected preset.

Brush Presets Menu

Open a menu that contains all of the previous options, along w ith allof the follow ing options:569

Chapter 4: Tools Propertiesl

New Brush Preset: Creates a new stamp based on theselected artw ork.

lRename Preset:Allow s you to rename the currently selected
preset.

lImport Brushes:Allow s you to import brush presets exported
from Harmony.

l

Export Brushes:Allow s you to export your brush presets into
an .xml file.

l

Small Thumbnail: Displays presets in a grid of small
thumbnails w ith a preview of their tip.

lLarge Thumbnail: Displays presets in a grid of big thumbnails,
w ith their name and a preview of their tip.

lStroke View: Displays presets in a list, w ith their name and apreview of a stroke done w ith each preset.

Drawing Options
These options affect the w ay your draw ing strokes are added to your artw ork
Icon

Property

Description

W hen enabled, your brush strokes w ill appear behind the existingartw ork.

Draw Behind

NOTEYour brush stroke w ill temporarily appear over your artw ork as
you draw it, until you release the mouse cursor or tablet pen.

Allow s you to enable or disable snapping for this tool and all otheranimation and draw ing tools that support snapping, as w ell as to selectw hich types of snapping are enabled.
Snapping
If you double-click or long-click on this button, it w ill open a pop-up
menu in w hich you can toggle different snapping modes. You can also
click on this button to toggle it off, w hich w ill disable all snapping

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

modes, and click on it again and toggle it on to re-enable the snapping
modes w hich w ere previously enabled.
This tool supports the follow ing snapping mode:lSnap to Alignment Guides: W hile draw ing, the draw ing tool
w ill snap against nearby alignment guides.

Stamp Properties Dialog
The Stamp Properties dialog allow s you to set more specific settings for your stamp, such as pressure
sensitivity, spacing, angle, randomness and, for multi-draw ing stamps, how to cycle through each draw ing inthe stamp. To open the Stamp Properties dialog, click on the arrow button right of the stroke display area.

Property

Description

The maximum scaling factor to apply to the stamp before stamping it onto the draw ing.
Maximum Scale

This setting is a percentage, w hich is relative to the size of the original draw ing that w as
used to create the stamp. This means that, at 100%, the draw ing w ill be stamped into yourartw ork in its original size.

Minimum Scale

The minimum scaling factor to apply to the stamp before stamping it onto your draw ing.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Property

Description

W hen using the Stamp tool w ith a pressure-sensitive pen tablet, the size of the stamps
applied onto your artw ork w ill vary betw een its Minimum Scale and Maximum Scale
properties, relative to the amount of pressure you apply to the pen.
This setting is relative to the Maximum Scale property. This means that if the Maximum
Scale is set to 50% and the Minimum Scale is set to 50%, the actual scaling factor applied tothe stamp w ill vary betw een 25% and 50%.
This setting is also used w ith the Random Size setting.

The tw o-ended arrow s to the left and over the Stamp thumbnail allow you to flip the stamp
horizontally or vertically.
Flip Horizontally /Flip Vertically

The Roundness and Angle parameters allow you to change the shape and orientation of thestamp.
lRoundness: The vertical scaling to apply to the stamp. Reducing this setting
squashes the stamp vertically, allow ing you to turn round or square stamps into flatstamps.

lRoundness &Angle

Angle: The angle at w hich to rotate the brush tip, counterclockw ise.

NOTE
The squashing is not relative to the angle—if the stamp is rotated, the squashing w ill
still be done relative to the stamp's original orientation.

Spacing

Defines the amount of space betw een each stamp that is applied onto the artw ork. The
larger the value, the greater the space betw een each stamp.

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Property

Description

The percentage of randomness to apply to the size of the stamp. This makes the size of thestamp randomly vary betw een its Maximum Scale and Minimum Scale settings each time itis applied to your artw ork.

Random Size
The greater the value of the Random Size property, the closer to its Minimum Scale the sizeof each stamp can get. For example, if the Random Size setting is set to 50% and the
Minimum Scale is set to 50%, the size of the stamp w ill randomly vary betw een 75% and100% of its Maximum Scale.

The maximum value of randomness to apply to the angle of the stamp. This makes theRandom Angle

Random Spacing

angle of the stamp randomly vary w ithin the range of degrees in this setting, in either
direction, each time it is applied to your artw ork. For example, if the stamp's Angle is set to0°, and the Random Angle is set to 180°, each instance of the stamp w ill be at a random
angle varying betw een -90° and 90°.

The maximum amount of randomness to apply to the spacing of the stamp. Increasing thissetting makes the distance betw een each instance of the stamp vary randomly as you draw
a stroke. At 100%, this makes the distance betw een each stroke vary betw een 0% and200% of its Spacing property.

For multi-draw ing stamps, this decides the logic w ith w hich to cycle through the sequenceof draw ings in the stamp as you draw a stroke.
Cycle

l

Forward: Starts by applying the first draw ing in the sequence, then the next one,and so on until it reaches the last draw ing in the sequence, then cycles back to thefirst one.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Property

DescriptionlReverse: Starts by applying the last draw ing in the sequence, then the previous one,and so on until it reaches the first draw ing in the sequence, then cycles back to thelast one.

l

Forward- >Reverse: Starts by cycling forw ard through the sequence until it reaches
the last draw ing, then cycles backw ard to the first draw ing, and so on.

lReverse- >Forward: Starts by cycling backw ard through the sequence until itreaches the first draw ing, then cycles back to the last draw ing, and so on.

lRandom: Applies a random draw ing in the sequence each time the stamp is applied.

lHold: Applies a single one of the draw ings in the sequence over and over again.

TIP
W hen this option is set to Hold, you can select w hich one of the draw ings is stamped onby changing the Stamp setting in the Tool Properties view .

For multi-draw ing stamps. This makes it so each stroke you draw w ith the stamp too alw ays
starts w ith the first draw ing in the cycle, w hich is decided by the Stamp option in the Tool
Properties view .
Reset Cycle for
Each Stroke

W hen disabled, the Stamp tool keeps track of w hich draw ing it w as going to stamp next
w hen you finish draw ing a stroke by storing the number of that draw ing in the Stampsetting. W hen this option is enabled, it simply stops updating the Stamp setting. Hence,
your strokes alw ays start at the draw ing selected w ith that setting. Likew ise, you canmanually decide w hich draw ing to start your strokes w ith by adjusting the Stamp setting.

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

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

Icon

Tool Name

Description

Draw Stroke as
Straight Lines

Enable the Draw Stroke as Straight Lines option if you w ant the newstrokes you draw to be a perfect straight line. Disable the option if you
w ant the stroke to follow the mouse gesture.

Connect Line Ends

Enable the Connect Line Ends option if you w ant the start or end point of
your new stroke to connect to your existing strokes to make sure no gaps
are left in your draw ing.

W hen enabled, draw ing a closed shape w ill automatically fill it w ith thecurrently selected Paint colour.

Auto FillW hen enabled, draw ing a closed shape w ill automatically remove theoutstanding lines.

Trim Extra Lines

Align Handles AfterTrim

W hen the Trim Extra Lines option is enabled, enable this option to makethe point w here the beginning and end of the stroke meet into a smooth
curve rather than a hard corner.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Auto-Flatten Mode

By default, w hen draw ing on a vector layer, each new stroke is created asa separate draw ing object, w hich can be edited independently from otherparts of the artw ork. W hen enabled, the Auto-Flatten option
automatically merges strokes into existing artw ork.

Allow s you to perform draw ing operations on both the Line Art and Colour
Art layers of your draw ing simultaneously.
Apply to Line andColour Art

NOTE
If you have Overlay and Underlay Art layers enabled, they w ill also
be affected w hen this option is enabled.

Apply to Synced
Draw ing Layers

If the currently selected layer is synced w ith another layer, the tool w ill
w ork on both the current layer and its synced layer.

Smoothness

You can modify the central line smoothness of your line using this option.
This parameter smooths the initial movement of your line. Increasing thevalue w ill result in a smoother line w ith few er control points. Use the left
and right arrow s to increment the value by one full unit. Use the Up Dow n slider to quickly increment the value.

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Text Tool Properties
The Text tool lets you add text fields to your project, in w hich you can type text, then adjust its formatting
using various fonts and text attributes.
W ith the Text tool selected, you can select text w ithin text boxes you created and change the formatting of
the selection. You can also select and manipulate text boxes using the Select tool, and change the formattingof the entire text box in the Select tool properties.

How to access the Text tool propertiesl

In the Tools toolbar, select the Text

tool.

The tool's properties are displayed in the Tool Properties view .

Icon

Property

Description

Lets you select the font in w hich to display the text.

Font

Makes the selected text bold.
Bold

ItalicMakes the selected text italic.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Icon

Property

Description

Aligns the text in the selected text box to the left.

Align Left

Aligns the text in the selected text box to the centre.

Align Center

Aligns the text in the selected text box to the right.

Align Right

Makes the text in the selected text box take all the horizontal space byadjusting the spacing betw een each w ord. Text that use a single line
and text in the last line of a paragraph is aligned to the left.

Justify578

Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Icon

Property

Description

Allow s you to set the size of the selected text.
Size

Allow s you to increase or decrease the spacing betw een eachcharacter.

Kerning

Auto Kern

Sets the kerning automatically based on the font’s predefined
standard.

Allow s you to increase or decrease the indentation of the first line oftext in each paragraph.
IndentIncreases or decreases the space betw een each line of text.

Line Spacing579

Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Transform Tool Properties
W hen selecting the Transform tool, several options are available in the Tool Properties view .

Icon

Tool Name

Description

Sets the selection mode to Lasso, w hich allow s you to selectmultiple items by draw ing a lasso around them.
Lasso

TIP
W hen this option is enabled, you can press and hold theAlt key to temporarily use Marquee mode.

Sets the selection mode to Marquee, w hich allow s you to selectmultiple items by draw ing a rectangle around them.
MarqueeTIP
W hen this option is enabled, you can press and hold theAlt key to temporarily use Lasso mode.

Easy Drag

Snapping

W hen enabled, you can drag the selection by clicking anyw here
inside its bounding box. By default, you must click on the artw ork
in the selection to be able to drag it.

Allow s you to enable or disable snapping for this tool and allother animation and draw ing tools that support snapping, as
w ell as to select w hich types of snapping are enabled.
If you double-click or long-click on this button, it w ill open a popup menu in w hich you can toggle different snapping modes. You

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

can also click on this button to toggle it off, w hich w ill disable allsnapping modes, and click on it again and toggle it on to reenable the snapping modes w hich w ere previously enabled.
This tool supports the follow ing snapping modes:lSnap to Alignment Guides: W hile moving the selection
or one of its control points, it w ill snap against nearbyalignment guides.

lSnap and Align: W hile moving the selection, therectangular bounding box of the selection w ill align w ith
the rectangular bounding boxes of other elements in yourscene. If you move one of your selection's control points,
it w ill also align w ith the bounding boxes of otherelements.

lSnap to Grid: W hile moving the selection, the mouse
cursor w ill snap against the intersecting points of the
grid.

TIP
To display the grid, select View > Grid > Show
Grid from the top menu or press Ctrl + '.

Peg Selection ModeIn the Camera view , the Peg Selection Mode limits the selection
to peg layers instead of draw ing layers. This mode is usefulw hen you have created a character rig using peg layers for eachdraw ing. That w ay, you do not accidentally select the draw ing
layer w hen you w ant to animate on the peg.
W hen disabled, the Transform tool selects the draw ing layers.

Mixed Manipulation Mode

Allow s the selection and manipulation of different types ofinterfaces, such as pegs and curves, together in the same
operation.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

W hen enabled, certain deformation controls and extra controls
w ill be able to be selected and manipulated w ith the Transform
Tool. This w ill extend the bounding box used by the tool toencompass the selected controls. These controls can then betransformed at the same time w ith other selected pegs,
draw ings and compatible controls.

Hide Manipulator Controls

The Hide Manipulator Controls button lets you hide thebounding box and manipulator controls from the Camera vieww hen an element is selected.

Flips the current selection horizontally.
Flip Horizontal

You can also select Animation > Flip > Flip Horizontal from the
top menu or press 4 or 5.

Flips the current selection vertically.
Flip Vertical

You can also select Animation > Flip > Flip Vertical from the top
menu or press 4 or 5.

Rotate 90 Degrees CW

Rotates the current selection 90 degrees clockw ise.

Rotate 90 Degrees CCW

Rotates the current selection 90 degrees counter-clockw ise.

Use the Offset X and Offset Y operation fields to enter specificvalues and precisely reposition the selected shape.

Offset X ad Y

1. X: Type a value in this field to reposition your selection
along the X-axis.
2. Y: Type a value in this field to reposition your selection
along the Y-axis.
3. Up/Down arrows: Use the up and dow n arrow s tomodify the value in the X or Y value field.

W idth and Height

Use the W idth and Height operation fields to enter specificvalues to resize the selected shape w ith precision.

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

1. W idth: Type a value in this field to resize the w idth ofyour selection.
2. Height: Type a value in this field to resize the height ofyour selection.
3. Up/Down arrows: Use the up and dow n arrow s tomodify the value in the W idth or Height fields.
4. Lock icon: Click the lock icon to lock or unlock the ratio
betw een the W idth and Height values.

The Angle operation lets you to enter specific values andaccurately rotate the selected shape.

Angle
1. Angle: Type a degree value in this field to rotate yourselection.
2. Up/Down arrows: Use the up and dow n arrow s tomodify the value in the Angle value field.

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Chapter 4: Tools Properties

Zoom Tool Properties
The Zoom tool lets you zoom in and out of the Camera, Draw ing, Side and Top view s. You can also use it toreset the zoom level.

How to access the Zoom tool properties
1. In the Tools toolbar, select the Zoom

tool.

The tool's properties are displayed in the Tool Properties view .

Tool Options
Icon

Parameter

Description

Zoom In ModeUse the mouse cursor to zoom in to the Camera or Draw ing view .

Zoom Out ModeUse the mouse cursor to zoom out of the Camera or Draw ing view .

Operations
Icon

Parameter

Description

Zoom in the Camera or Draw ing view .
Perform Zoom In
The keyboard shortcut is 2.

Perform Zoom
Out

Zoom out the Camera or Draw ing view .

Reset Zoom

Restores the current zoom level to 100%.

Reset View

Restores the original display by resetting any pan, rotation or zoom actions.

The keyboard shortcut is 1.

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

585

Chapter 5: Toolbars

Chapter 5: Toolbars
Harmony contains toolbars w hich, by default, are located at the top of the interface. Some view s also have a
toolbar w hich you can reposition to suit your w ork style. You can show or hide toolbars, as w ell as customize itw ith the tools you use most often and hide the ones you don't.
W orkspace Toolbars

587

Advanced Animation Toolbar

588

Art Layer Toolbar

589

Deformation Toolbar

591

Display Toolbar

594

Easy Flipping Toolbar

595

Edit Toolbar

596

File Toolbar

597

Flip Toolbar

599

Game Toolbar

600Mark Draw ing Toolbar

601

Mini Playback Toolbar

602

Onion Skin Toolbar

603

Pen Settings Toolbar

605

Playback Toolbar

608

Scripting Toolbar

611

Shift and Trace Toolbar

612

Tool Presets Toolbar

614

Tools Toolbar

615

W orkspace Toolbar

621

View Toolbars

622

Script Editor Toolbar

623

Timeline View Toolbar

627

Xsheet View Toolbar

632

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

W orkspace Toolbars
Harmony has a series of toolbars that are added by default at the top of the interface. These toolbars can be
moved on the sides of the interface as w ell as w ithin specific view s.
All top toolbars can be added by selecting W indows > Toolbars in the top menu.
Advanced Animation Toolbar

588

Art Layer Toolbar

589

Deformation Toolbar

591

Display Toolbar

594

Easy Flipping Toolbar

595

Edit Toolbar

596

File Toolbar

597

Flip Toolbar

599

Game Toolbar

600Mark Drawing Toolbar

601

Mini Playback Toolbar

602

Onion Skin Toolbar

603

Pen Settings Toolbar

605

Playback Toolbar

608

Scripting Toolbar

611

Shift and Trace Toolbar

612

Tool Presets Toolbar

614

Tools Toolbar

615

W orkspace Toolbar

621

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Chapter 5: Toolbars

Advanced Animation Toolbar
The Advanced Animation toolbar contains tools to position and animate layers. The Scale, Translate andRotate tools can be used to reposition the permanent pivot position of a layer. Unlike the Transform tool, eachtool in the Advanced Animation toolbar performs a single operation, either rotate, scale, translate or scale inrelation to the camera distance.

How to access the Advance Animation toolbar
1. Select W indows > Toolbars > Advanced Animation.

Icon

Tool Name

Description

TranslateLets you move the selected element along the X and Y
axes.

RotateTurns a selected element around its pivot point.

Increases or decreases the size of a selected element.
You can scale an object up to make it larger or dow n
to make it smaller. Press Shift to scale the element
w hile maintaining its proportions.

Scale

Skew

Slants the selected element.

Maintain Size

Keeps elements the same size aspect ratio in the
Camera view as you move them tow ards or aw ay
from the camera.

Spline Offset

Lets you reposition the visual trajectory w ithout
offsetting or modifying your animation. By default, thetrajectory is located at 0,0,0 fields. If your elements
w ere draw n in a different location than the centre of
the draw ing area, it w ill look like the trajectory is notaligned w ith your draw ing. Also, if you have several
elements attached to one trajectory, you might w ant
your trajectory to be at a different location torepresent the group's motion better.

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Art Layer Toolbar
The Art Layer toolbar lets you access the art layers. By default, only the Line Art and Colour Art are displayed.
A draw ing is composed of tw o layers, a line layer and a colour layer. The colour layer is alw ays placed under
the line layer. These layers are accessible in the Draw ing or Camera view (using draw ing tools). W hen you
view the final draw ing, you w ill see the final composition of the lines and colours, not tw o separate layers.

You can draw and paint in all layers. If you prefer to w ork in a single layer, everything can be done in the LineArt layer.
You can change your preferences to enable the advanced use of layers and have access to four layers insteadof tw o:lOverlaylLine ArtlColour Artl

Underlay

How to access the Art Layer toolbar
1. Select W indows > Toolbars > Art Layer.

How to enable the Support Overlay and Underlay Arts option
1. Select Edit > Preferences ( W indow s/Linux ) or Harmony Advanced > Preferences ( macOS ).
2. In the Preferences dialog box, select the Advanced tab.
3. In the Advanced Options section, select the Support Overlay and Underlay Arts option.
4. Click OK.

Icon

Tool Name

Description

Preview Line Art andColour Art

Displays all Art layers.

Overlay Art

Makes the Overlay Art layer current.

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Chapter 5: Toolbars

Line Art

Makes the Line Art layer current.

Colour Art

Makes the Colour Art layer current.

Underlay Art

Makes the Underlay Art layer current.

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Deformation Toolbar
T-RIG-007-009
The Deformation toolbar contains the various tools and options used to create a deformation rig. This toolbar
is displayed in the default interface.
By default, the Deformation toolbar only contains the essential options. If you right-click on the toolbar andselect Customize, you can add additional buttons.

NOTE
The Customize option is only available if a toolbar is right-clicked in the space above the Camera
view . To move the toolbar to the space above the Camera view , either click and drag the toolbar
directly to the space above, or right-click in the space above and select the toolbar you w ish to
add.

Default Buttons
Icon

Tool Name

Description

The Rigging tool is used to create a Bone deformation
chain. You also use it to set up the resting position.
Rigging Tool
To learn more about the Rigging tool's properties, see
Rigging Tool Properties on page 548.

Show Selected
Deformation Chain and
Hide All Others

Displays the deformation controls for the selected
element and all of its children in the Camera view , andhides the deformation controls for any other element
in your scene.

Show Selected
Deformers

Displays the deformation controls for the selected
element and all of its children in the Camera view . If
deformation controls for other elements are currently
visible, they w ill remain visible as w ell.

Show Deformation Mesh

Overlay the deformation mesh as a w ireframe overthe draw ings.

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Chapter 5: Toolbars

W hen several points from a curve or envelope
deformation chain are selected, this displays amanipulator bounding box around them. Using thismanipulator, you can move, rotate and scale theselected points together.

Show Manipulator

The Reset Current Keyframe copies the resting
position, the original setup of your skeleton before
undergoing any deformation, to your current frame.
Once you have created a deformation chain, you can
use the Rigging tool to adjust the position andappearance of the rig to fit the element. W hen the

Reset Current Keyframe

skeleton is in place, you can use the Reset Current
Keyframe button to reset the current frame position to
the resting position.

The Enable Deformations button allow s you todisplay your draw ings in their original state or w ith
deformations w hile creating additional draw ings.
Depending on the artw ork you need to create, you
might need to refer to the other images either
deformed or in their original position.
Enable Deformations

NOTE
Disabling deformations is only a display
mode. Although draw ings w ill not appear
deformed in the Camera view , even in RenderView mode, they w ill still be deformed in therendered images.

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Optional Buttons
Icon

Tool Name

Description

Remove All Keyframes

The Remove All Keyframes option removes all
keyframes on the selected deformation chain.

The Show All Controls button lets you visualize theresting position in red (Setup mode) and the active
position (Animation) in green at the same time

Show All Controls593

Chapter 5: Toolbars

Display Toolbar
The Display toolbar lets you select the different Display nodes available in the node system.

Harmony Advanced doesn't allow you to add Display nodes. The display selection feature is only available forthe possible scenario that you need to use a specific Display node created by a Harmony Premium user.
W hen your scene does not have a Display node, it is automatically set to Display All w hich uses the Timelineview ordering and show s floating nodes from the Node view . You can also set your scene to use Display All
using the Display toolbar.

NOTE
If you try to add a peg or other transformation layer in the Timeline view w ithout having a layer
selected, an error message w ill display. Make sure to change to Display All. The peg layer w ill befloating in the Node view and w ill not be visible in the Timeline view . The Timeline view show s
only layers that are connected to the Composite node.
If you sw itch to Display All, you run the risk of not realizing w hen you have floating nodes that are
not connected to your composite. For this reason, it is not recommended to w ork in Display All
mode.

How to access the Display toolbar
1. Select W indows > Toolbars > Display.

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Easy Flipping Toolbar
T-LAY-003-007
The Easy Flipping toolbar lets you rapidly flip through draw ings in the Draw ing view as is done w ith paper
draw ings. In order for the features in this toolbar to w ork, you must be in the Draw ing view .

How to access the Easy Flipping toolbar
1. Select W indows > Toolbars > Easy Flipping.

Icon

Tool Name

Description

Previous Draw ing

Displays the previous draw ing of your animation.

Next Draw ing

Displays the next draw ing of your animation.

SliderLets you flip forw ards or backw ards through yourdraw ings by moving the slider.

Loop

Displays draw ings in the first frame after you reachthe last frame of your animation.

Easy Flip

Automatically flips through the draw ings based on
the FPS.

Preroll

Sets the number of draw ings to be flipped throughbefore the starting draw ing. The starting draw ing isdetermined by the position of the red playhead in theTimeline view .

FPS

Sets the speed of playback in the units of frames per
second.

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Chapter 5: Toolbars

Edit Toolbar
The Edit toolbar contains common operations such as Undo, Redo, Cut, Copy and Paste. These commands canalso be found in the Edit top menu.

How to access the Edit toolbar
1. Select W indows > Toolbars > Edit.

Icon

Tool Name

Description

Undo

Removes the last change made to your project.
Harmony supports multiple undo, so you can undochanges you made in the order you made them.

Redo

Redoes an operation you have undone. This commandis active only after you use the Undo command.

Cut

Removes selected objects. You can then paste theobject or its properties to another object.

Copy

Copies selected objects and properties.

Paste

Places an object you cut or copied into the location
you select in a view .

Create Symbol

Creates a symbol from selected draw ing elements inthe Draw ing or Camera view or a layer or cells in theTimeline view .

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

File Toolbar
The File toolbar contains buttons for common file operations such as New , Save and Open. These commands
can also be found in the File top menu.

NOTE
The

New , andServer,Save As buttons are only available in Harmony Stand Alone. W ith Harmony

Control Center must be used to create scenes.

How to access the File toolbar
1. Select W indows > Toolbars > File.

Icon

Tool Name

Description

New (Harmony Stand
Alone)Creates a new scene w hile closing any scene already open. The New
Scene dialog box opens, asking for directory, name, and resolution
information.

Open

Displays the Open Scene dialog box w here you can brow se for ascene file. You can open a new scene from the current one and theprevious scene w ill close.

Save

Saves all changes made to the opened scene, draw ings, palettes, andpalette lists.

Saves the current file w ith a different name and at a different location.
Save As

Saves the current state of a scene as another scene. The Save As
w indow prompts you for a new name and a different location for thisscene before saving it. This w ill create a complete scene directory forthe new scene.

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Icon

Tool Name

Description

NOTE
The scene name cannot exceed 23 characters.

Import Images

Imports bitmap images w hich you can choose to vectorize.

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Flip Toolbar
The Flip toolbar lets you determine the type of draw ing to include in your flipping selection. You can flip
through the key, breakdow n or in-betw een draw ings individually, or view a combination.

How to access the Easy Flipping toolbar
1. Select W indows > Toolbars > Easy Flipping.

Icon

Tool Name

Description

Show Key Draw ings

Displays key draw ings w hen flipping throughdraw ings.

Show Breakdow nDraw ings

Displays breakdow n draw ings w hen flipping throughdraw ings.

Show In-betw een
Draw ings

Displays in-betw een draw ings w hen flipping throughdraw ings.

Show Retake Key
Draw ings

Displays retake key draw ings w hen flipping throughdraw ings.

Show Retake Breakdow nDraw ings

Displays breakdow n retake draw ings w hen flipping
through draw ings.

Show Retake In-betw een
Draw ings

Displays retake in-betw een draw ings w hen flipping
through draw ings.

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Game Toolbar
The Game toolbar contains tools for setting anchors and props, as w ell as exporting to sprite sheets and Easel
JS.

How to access the Game toolbar
1. Select W indows > Toolbars > Game.

Icon

Tool Name

Description

Toggle Anchor

Adds the Anchor parameter to the selected layer.

Toggle Prop

Adds the Prop parameter to the selected layer.

Export to Sprite Sheets

Opens the Export to Sprite Sheets w indow w here youcan export your animation as sprite sheets .

Export to Easel JS

Opens the Export to Easel JS w indow w here you canexport your animation as Easel JS.

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Mark Drawing Toolbar
The Mark Draw ing toolbar lets you identify draw ings such as key, breakdow n and in-betw een. The draw ing
Identification feature can help the animator stay w ell organized and save time w hen identifying key,breakdow n or in-betw een draw ings in the Xsheet and Timeline view s.

How to access the Mark Drawing toolbar
1. Select W indows > Toolbars > Mark Drawings.

Icon

Tool Name

Description

Mark as Key Draw ing

Identifies the selected draw ing as a key draw ing.

Mark as Breakdow nDraw ing

Identifies the selected draw ing as a breakdow n
draw ing.

Mark as In-betw een
Draw ing

Identifies the selected draw ing as an in-betw een
draw ing.

Mark as Retake Key
Draw ing

Identifies the selected draw ing as a key retakedraw ing.

Mark as Retake
Breakdow n Draw ing

Identifies the selected draw ing as a breakdow n retakedraw ing.

Mark as Retake Inbetw een Draw ing

Identifies the selected draw ing as a in-betw een retakedraw ing.

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Mini Playback Toolbar
The Mini Playback toolbar allow s you to quickly preview a short span of animation starting a few frames
before the current frame and ending a few frames after the current frame, at a customizable frame rate.

How to add the Mini Playback toolbar to your workspace
1. Do one of the follow ing:

Icon

l

In the top menu, select W indows > Toolbars > Mini Playback.

l

Right-click on any existing toolbar and select Mini Playback.

Tool Name

Description

Mini Playback
DialogOpen the Mini Playback dialog. This dialog allow s you to set the amount offrames before and after the current frame to playback w hen using Mini Playback,to set the speed of Mini Playback and to start Mini Playback.

Mini Playback

Begins Mini Playback using the last settings entered in the Mini Playback dialog.
By default, Mini Playback w ill play 5 frames before and after the current frame,at the scene's frame rate.

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Onion Skin Toolbar
The Onion Skin toolbar contains a few options that can be used w ith Onion Skin. Specifically, you can use it toquickly toggle the Enable Onion Skin for other elements option, as w ell as to only display draw ings w ith
specific markers in the Onion Skin.

How to access the Onion Skin toolbar
1. Select W indows > Toolbars > Onion Skin.

Icon

Tool Name

Description

In the Draw ing View , w hen the Light Table is enabled, making otherlayers visible alongside the current layer, this w ill make the Onion Skinfor other visible layers appear alongside the Onion Skin for the current
layer. Draw ings for elements above the current layer w ill appear inblue, and draw ings for elements below w ill appear in yellow .
Enable Onion Skin in
Other Elements

NOTE
The draw ings from other elements that get displayed in theOnion Skin are the draw ings that are exposed at the same timeas the draw ings displayed in the current layer's Onion Skin.

Show Key Draw ings

Only displays draw ings marked as key draw ings in the Onion Skin.

Show Breakdow nDraw ings

Only displays draw ings marked as breakdow ns in the Onion Skin.

Show In-betw een
Draw ings

Only displays draw ings w ith no marker in the Onion Skin. Draw ings
w ith no marker are considered in-betw eens.

Show Retake Key
Draw ings

Only displays draw ings marked as retake key draw ings in the Onion
Skin.

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Icon

Tool Name

Description

Show Retake Breakdow nDraw ings

Only displays draw ings marked as retake breakdow ns in the Onion
Skin.

Show Retake In-betw een
Draw ings

Only displays draw ings marked as retake in-betw eens in the Onion
Skin.

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Pen Settings Toolbar
The Pen Settings toolbar provides options for enabling and configuring the Pen Stabilizer, w hich can help you
draw smooth lines w ith precision and minutia. It also allow s you to access the Pen Pressure Feel dialog, w hichallow s you to configure how the pressure you apply to your tablet pen is processed by Harmony to affect thesize of your draw ing strokes.

NOTE
For information on how to use the Pen Settings toolbar, refer to the User Guide.

Icon

Parameter

Description

Allow s you to select a method for Harmony to stabilize your draw ing strokes.
Stabilization is a process by w hich Harmony uses the general direction of yourdraw ing strokes to create smooth, stable curves and avoid jittering and sharp
corners.
Harmony accomplishes this by his by letting you draw a stroke of a certain
length w ithout generating artw ork right aw ay. After your stroke has reachedthat length, Harmony starts generating an draw ing stroke that keeps trailingbehind your mouse cursor or tablet pen as you draw . Harmony uses the buffer
betw een your mouse cursor or pen tablet and the actual draw ing stroke togenerate smooth curves and ignore jittering and small mistakes.
The w ay Harmony does this depends on the stabilization method you choose:Pen Stabilizer
ModelStabilizer Off: No stabilization is performed. W hen you draw a stroke,artw ork for it is generated immediately.

lAverage: Harmony calculates the average direction of all of your mouseor pen gestures betw een the end of the actual draw ing stroke and thecurrent position of your mouse cursor or pen tip, and extends the strokein this average direction, effectively evening out jitter and rounding
sharp turns.

lPulled String: W hen you start draw ing a stroke, Harmony positions thedraw ing tool w here your stroke starts. As you move the mouse or tablet
pen, the draw ing tool remains in that position, but a "string" appears,

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Icon

Parameter

Description

linking your draw ing tool to your mouse cursor or pen tip.

This string has a certain maximum length. Once that length is reached,
the string pulls the draw ing tool in the direction of your mouse cursor ortablet pen.

NOTE
The distance betw een your mouse cursor or tablet pen and thestroke can be adjusted. For the purpose of demonstration, theseimages w ere done using the largest supported distance.

This parameter determines how far your draw ing strokes trail behind yourmouse cursor or tablet pen as you draw .
In the case of the Average technique Harmony lets you draw an invisible stroke
Pen Stabilizer
Distanceof a certain length before it starts generating the artw ork based on the average
direction of that invisible stroke. This parameter determines the invisible
stroke's length.
In the case of the Pulling String, Harmony binds your draw ing tool to yourmouse cursor or tablet pen w ith a virtual string of a given length. Thisparameter sets the length of that string.

Allow s you to enable or disable the follow ing options:l

Pen Stabilizer
Settings

Catch Up: W hen using stabilization, your draw ing strokes trail behind
your mouse cursor or tablet pen. W ith this option enabled, w hen you
stop moving your pen and just leave it pressed against your tablet, thebrush stroke w ill progressively catch up to the position of your pen.

NOTES

l

l

This option only w orks if you are draw ing w ith a pen tablet.

lThis option only w orks w ith the Average stabilization
method.

Show String: W hen using the Pulled String method, the virtual string
binding your draw ing tool to your mouse cursor or tablet pen w ill be

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Icon

Parameter

Description

displayed as you draw , allow ing you to visualize how the brush stroke
trails behind your mouse cursor or tablet pen.
lEraser: If enabled, strokes w ith theEraser tool w ill also bestabilized. By default, the stabilizer w orks w ith theandPen Pressure
Feel

Brush,

PencilStroke tools.

Opens the Pen Pressure Feel dialog, w hich allow s you to configure how
Harmony processes the pressure you put on your tablet pen before applying itto the thickness of your draw ing strokes—see Pen Pressure Feel Dialog Box.

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Playback Toolbar
The Playback toolbar allow s you to play your animation as w ell as to set some playback options such as
looping, audio playback, playback range and playback speed.

Name

ButtonDescription

Plays the scene in the Camera or Draw ing
view .
Play
You can also select Play > Play or Stop fromthe top menu.

Renders your scene's frames, then opens therendered frames in Play for playback.
This allow s you to preview your scene's
animation in real time, w ith the effects
rendered and w ith no risk of slow dow n.

Render and PlayYou can click and hold this button to sw itch its
mode to Record and Play or Test SW F Movie.

Exports your scene as it appears in the Camera
view into a movie file, then opens it in yourw orkstation's default video player.
Record and PlayThis allow s you to preview your animation
w ithout any risk of slow dow n, but it does notpreview the effects in your scene. How ever, it
is much faster than Render and Play.

Quickly exports your scene as a Flash Movie(.swf), then opens it in your w orkstation's
default w eb brow ser.

Test SW F Movie

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If pressed, your scene w ill repeat indefinitely
w hen playing. Otherw ise, it w ill stop w hen theend is reached.

Enable Loop

You can also select Play > Loop from the topmenu.

W hen pressed, your scene's soundtrack w illplay during playback.
Enable SoundYou can also select Play > Enable Sound fromthe top menu.

W hen pressed, you w ill hear a sample of yourscene's soundtrack at the current frame w hen
moving your scene's playhead in the Timelineview .
Enable Sound Scrubbing

This allow s you to easily situate w here theaction is relative to the sound track.
You can also select Play > Enable Sound
Scrubbing.

Allow s you to quickly play your scene forw ard
or backw ard to preview your animation.
Moving the handle tow ards the right w ill playyour scene forw ard, w hile moving it tow ards
the left w ill play your scene backw ard.
The closer to the edge you move the handle,
the faster the playback w ill be, allow ing you todose the speed at w hich your scene is played.
W hen the handle is at the edge, your scene
w ill play at its actual framerate.

Jog Frames

Once the head is released, it returns to the
middle and playback stops.

Frame

Lets you manually enter the current frame
number, setting the playhead's position.

Start

Let's you manually enter the number of thefirst frame to play during playback.

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Chapter 5: Toolbars

TIP
You can also click on Start (just leftof the input field) to quickly set theStart frame to the current frame.

Let's you manually enter the number of thefirst frame to play during playback.

TIP

Stop

You can also click on Stop (just left of
the input field) to quickly set the Stop
frame to the current frame.

Lets you set the amount of frames that shouldbe played during every second of playback,w hich is how the playback speed isdetermined.
FPS (Frames per second)

NOTE
This does not change the frames per
second setting in your scene's
resolution settings.

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Scripting Toolbar
The scripting toolbar allow s you to create buttons that run functions in your scripts. You can add one button
for each function you w ant to be able to run, and clicking on the button w ill instantly run the script function
your linked it to.

How to add the Scripting toolbar to your workspace
1. Do one of the follow ing:

Icon

l

In the top menu, select W indows > Toolbars > Scripting.

l

Right-click on any existing toolbar and select Scripting.

Tool Name

Description

ManageScripts

Opens the Scripts Manager dialog box w here you can add scripts and functions
to your Scripting toolbar.

Stop Script

Stops the execution of a script launched from the Scripting toolbar.

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Chapter 5: Toolbars

Shift and Trace Toolbar
The Shift and Trace toolbar allow s you to temporarily move, rotate and scale draw ings, then trace over themin other draw ings using Onion Skin. Contrary to Shift and Trace w ith the Draw ing Desk, you can use the Shiftand Trace toolbar in the Camera view .

How to access the Shift and Trace toolbar
1. Do one of the follow ing:l

In the top menu, select W indows > Toolbar > Shift and Trace.

l

Right-click on any existing toolbar and select Shift and Trace.

NOTE
You can also select the Shift and Trace
the Handtool from the Tools toolbar, under the pop-up menu oftool. W hen the Shift and Trace tool is active, all the commands in the Shift and Trace

toolbar are available in the Tool Properties view .

Icon

Tool Name

Description

Enables the Shift and Trace tool, w ith w hich you can temporarily offset,
rotate and scale draw ings.

Shift and Trace Tool

The transformations done on draw ings w ith the Shift and Trace tool are
only meant to allow you to trace these draw ings, and can be undone at
any time to reset the draw ings back to their intended position.
Selecting the Shift and Trace tool also enables Shift and Trace and Onion
Skin.

Enable/Disable Shiftand Trace

Enabled by default. W hen disabled, draw ings that w ere repositioned,rotated or scaled w ith the Shift and Trace tool appear in their original
position.

Set Add Cross HairMode

W hen selected, clicking on the draw ing w ill add a cross hair w here you
click. Cross hairs are marks that appear on the same location on every

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Icon

Tool Name

Description

draw ing in the current layer and w hich move w hen you offset a draw ing
w ith the Shift and Trace tool, and they appear in the Onion Skin renditionof neighbouring draw ings as w ell. This allow s you to keep track of how
offset each draw ing is.

Remove All Cross
Hair

Removes all the cross hairs created for shift and trace.

Reset Selected
Draw ings Shift
Position

Undoes all transformations done w ith the Shift and Trace tool on theselected draw ings, resetting them to their original position, angle andscale.

Reset All Draw ings
Shift Position

Undoes all transformations done w ith the Shift and Trace tool on all
draw ings, resetting them to their original position, angle and scale.

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Chapter 5: Toolbars

Tool Presets Toolbar
The Tool Presets toolbar lets you create new tool presets and manage them.

How to access the Tool Presets toolbar
1. Select W indows > Toolbars > Tool Presets.

Icon

Tool Name

Description

New Tool Preset

Creates a new tool preset from the current tool
settings.

Manage Presets

Opens the Manage Tool Preset dialog box w here you
can update, organize, and delete existing presets.

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

TIP
Many toolbar buttons have a keyboard shortcut associated to them. You can check w hich keyboard
shortcut is associated to a button by leaving your mouse cursor over the button for a second. If the
button has a keyboard shortcut, it w ill be indicated in the tooltip that appears.

By default, the Tools toolbar hides some of its tools inside pop-up menus. For example, to select thetool, you must double-click or long-click the

Select tool button, and select615

CutterCutter in the pop-up menu.

Chapter 5: Toolbars

How ever, it is possible to make the Tools toolbar display each tool as a separate button by enabling the Flat
Tools Toolbar preference. This makes the selection of tools quicker.

How to make every tool in the Tools toolbar display in buttons rather than pop- up
menus
1. Do one of the follow ing to open the Preferences dialog:ll

W indows or GNU/Linux:l

In the top menu, select Edit > Preferences.

l

Press Ctrl + U.

macOS:l

In the top menu, select Harmony Advanced > Preferences.

l

Press ⌘ + U.

2. Select the General tab.
3. In the Options section, check the Flat Tool Toolbar option.
4. Click OK.
5. Close and relaunch Harmony.

NOTE
In Flat Tools Toolbar mode, some tools are hidden from the Tools toolbar by default. To
customize w hich tools are displayed in the Tools toolbar, and the order in w hich they aredisplayed, right-click on the Tools toolbar and select Customize.

How to customize which tools are displayed in the Tools toolbar when it is in Flat
mode
1. Right-click on the Tools toolbar and select Customize.
The Toolbar Manager dialog appears.

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

2. In the Available Tools list, select each tool that you w ant to add to the Tools toolbar, then click on
the Add the selected tool to the toolbar

button.

3. In the Toolbar list, select each tool that you w ant to remove from the Tools toolbar, then click on
the Remove the selected tool from the toolbar

Tool Name

Iconbutton.

Description

Allow s you to select and reposition, scale, rotate and skew brushstrokes, pencil lines, shapes and other parts of your artw ork.

SelectCutterAllow s you to cut a part of your artw ork, then reposition, scale,rotate and skew it.

Reposition All
Draw ings

Allow s you to reposition, scale, rotate and skew all draw ings in
the current layer.

Contour Editor

Allow s you to edit the vector contours of brush strokes, pencil
lines and shapes in your artw ork. You can add, remove, tw eak andmove vector points, move the Bezier handles of the vector points
as w ell as deform vector outlines.

Centerline Editor

Allow s you to tw eak and deform a brush stroke by manipulating
the points at the centre of its line rather than its contour.

Pencil Editor

Allow s you to adjust the thickness of a pencil line at its different
points and corners, tw eak the shape of its extremities and scale its
texture.

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Chapter 5: Toolbars

Smooth Editor

Allow s you to optimize contours and lines by removing its extra
points, making them easier to edit.

Perspective

Allow s you to deform artw ork by applying a perspective effect onit.

Envelope

Allow s you to deform and w arp artw ork by moving points andtw eaking lines in a grid.

Edit Gradient/Texture

Allow s you to adjust the position, angle and size of gradients andtextures in a colour zone.

Brush

A pressure-sensitive tool for creating a contour shape w ith a thickand thin line effect, as if created w ith a paint brush.

PencilA pressure-sensitive tool for draw ing outlines. Pencil lines are
made of central vector lines, making them easier to tw eak and edit
than brush strokes.

Text

Allow s you to add text and to format it.

EraserA pressure-sensitive tool for erasing parts of a draw ing.

Paint

Allow s you to fill colour zones w ith a colour or texture.

Ink

Allow s you to recolour pencil lines w ith precision by changing thecolour of one segment at a time.

Paint Unpainted

Allow s you to quickly fill empty zones in your artw ork w ith acolour or texture, leaving filled zones unchanged.

Repaint

Allow s you to quickly repaint painted zones in your artw ork.
Empty zones w ill remain empty.

Unpaint

Allow s you to empty filled colour zones of their colour andtexture.

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

StrokeAllow s you to create invisible lines that can serve as colour zones
that can be filled, or close the gaps in existing colour zones.

Close Gap

Allow s you to close open shapes so that they can be filled w ith
the Paint tool. By draw ing a stroke near a small gap in a shape,
this tool w ill create a small invisible stroke connecting the tw oclosest points around the gap.

Line

Draw s a straight line segment going from one point to the other.

Rectangle

Draw s a rectangle.

EllipseDraw s an ellipse.

Polyline

Allow s you to draw shapes, segmented lines or complex curvedlines by clicking to create each point in the sequence of line
segments.

Colour Eyedropper

Pencil Texture
Eyedropper

Allow s you to select a colour by clicking on a colour in yourartw ork.

Allow s you to select a pencil texture by clicking on a textured
pencil line.

Draw ing Pivot

Allow s you to position the pivot on a draw ing layer by clicking
w here you w ant its location to be.

Morphing

Allow s you to create and configure a morphing sequence, w hichw ill automatically generate the in-betw eens betw een tw o
draw ings in the current layer.

Hand

Allow s you to pan the Camera and Draw ing view s.

Zoom

Allow s you zoom in and out of the Camera and Draw ing view s.

Rotate View

Lets you rotate the Camera and Draw ing view s just like w ith a realanimation disc.

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Chapter 5: Toolbars

Shift and Trace

Allow s you to temporarily move draw ings so you can trace overthem in other draw ings using Onion Skin.

W hen this option is selected, every time you use theTransform or
Animate Current Frame

Advanced Animation tools tomanipulate an element in your scene, the position of the element
w ill be stored in a keyframe at the current frame. This allow s you
to animate elements in your scene w ithout creating keyframes
manually.

W hen this option is selected, if you use theTransform or
Advanced Animation tools to make transformations

Animate Onion SkinRange

to an element in your scene, the transformations w ill be stored as
keyframes at the beginning and at the end of the current Onion
Skin range, as w ell as on every existing keyframe in-betw een.
This can be useful if you w ant to reposition an element that you
have already animated, but only during a specific range of frames,
w hich you can define by enabling Onion Skin and setting theOnion Skin range to cover that range of frames.

W hen this option is selected, if you use theTransform or
Advanced Animation tools to make transformation
Animate Off

to an element in your scene, the transformations w ill affect theelement throughout the w hole scene. This can be useful if you
w ant to reposition an element after you have already animated it.

Transform

Allow s you to select draw ing layers and position, rotate, scale andskew them.

Onion Skin

Displays the previous and next frames of an animation. Usefulw hen animating cut-out characters.

Advanced Onion Skin

Enables Advanced Onion Skin, a more flexible kind of Onion Skinthat can be easily configured using the Onion Skin view .

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

W orkspace Toolbar
The W orkspace toolbar lets you load other w orkspaces. The first time you start Harmony, the default
w orkspace is loaded. Other w orkspaces are available such as the Hand-Draw n Animation and Compositing
w orkspaces; these display different view s and toolbars. You can access these w orkspaces and any you create,from the W indow s menu and the W orkspace toolbar.

How to access the W orkspace toolbar
1. Select W indows > Toolbars > W orkspace.

Icon

Tool Name

Description

W orkspace List

Allow s you to select an existing w orkspace.

Opens the W orkspace Manager w here you can
W orkspace Manager

organize, display, and remove w orkspace from yourlist.

W hen the Automatically Save W orkspace preferenceis disabled, the Save W orkspace button becomes
available. This allow s you to manually save your new
w orkspace configuration.

Save W orkspace

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Chapter 5: Toolbars

View Toolbars
Harmony has a series of view specific toolbars that are only available in a given view . These toolbars can be
moved only w ithin their view .
All view toolbars can be added, as long as the view is visible, through the top menu W indows > Toolbars >desired toolbar.
Script Editor Toolbar

623

Timeline View Toolbar

627

Xsheet View Toolbar

632

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Script Editor Toolbar
The Script Editor toolbar gives you quick access to some commonly used commands for editing and testing
scripts in the Script Editor view —see Script Editor View on page 685.

How to access the Script Editor toolbar
1. Add the Script Editor view to your w orkspace by doing one of the follow ing:l

In the top-right corner of an existing view , click on the

Add View button and select Script

Editor.
l

In the top menu, select W indows > Script Editor.

2. Click on the Script Editor view to set the focus on it.
3. In the top menu, select W indows > Toolbars > Script Editor.

Icon

ButtonDescription

Creates a new script. W hen you click on this button, you are first prompted totype in a name for the script. Then, you w ill be prompted to select w hichlocation to save the script in:l

User: Saves the script to a directory in your user preferences directory.
You w ill be able to run and edit the script from any scene as long as you
are logged in as the same user.

NOTE

New Script

If you are using Harmony Stand Alone, the script w ill be saved tothe preferences for your account on your computer. if you areusing Harmony Server, the script w ill be saved to the preferences
for your Harmony database user.

lGlobal: If you are using Harmony Server, select this option to save thescript to the Harmony database's global script directory. Anyone w ho islogged in to the database w ill be able to edit and run this script.

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Chapter 5: Toolbars

Icon

ButtonDescriptionlEnvironment: If you are using Harmony Server, select this option to savethe script to the current scene's environment. Anyone w ill be able to edit
and run the script as long as they are w orking on a scene inside thisenvironment.

lJob: If you are using Harmony Server, select this option to save the scriptto the current scene's job. Anyone w ill be able to edit and run the script
as long as they are w orking on a scene inside this job.

l

Scene: Save the script to the scene's scripts sub-folder. Anyone w ill
be able to edit and run the script w hen w orking on this specific scene.

lSystem Variable: Save the script to the directory in the TOONBOOM_GLOBAL_SCRIPT_LOCATION environment variable. This option is only
available if this environment variable is set.

NOTE
For more information on script locations, see Script list on page 685.

Allow s you to import a script from your machine into Harmony. W hen you clickon this button, you are prompted to brow se for and select a script on your filesystem. Then, you are prompted to select w hich location to import the script in:l

User: Saves the script to a directory in your user preferences directory.
You w ill be able to run and edit the script from any scene as long as you
are logged in as the same user.

NOTE
If you are using Harmony Stand Alone, the script w ill be saved tothe preferences for your account on your computer. if you areusing Harmony Server, the script w ill be saved to the preferences
for your Harmony database user.

Import ScriptlGlobal: If you are using Harmony Server, select this option to save thescript to the Harmony database's global script directory. Anyone w ho islogged in to the database w ill be able to edit and run this script.

lEnvironment: If you are using Harmony Server, select this option to savethe script to the current scene's environment. Anyone w ill be able to edit
and run the script as long as they are w orking on a scene inside thisenvironment.

lJob: If you are using Harmony Server, select this option to save the scriptto the current scene's job. Anyone w ill be able to edit and run the script
as long as they are w orking on a scene inside this job.

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Icon

ButtonDescriptionl

Scene: Save the script to the scene's scripts sub-folder. Anyone w ill
be able to edit and run the script w hen w orking on this specific scene.

lSystem Variable: Save the script to the directory in the TOONBOOM_GLOBAL_SCRIPT_LOCATION environment variable. This option is only
available if this environment variable is set.

NOTES
l

W hen you import a script, any user interface (.ui) or icon (.png) filethat is in the same directory and has the same filename as the script
w ill also be imported.

l

For more information on script locations, see Script Editor View on
page 685.

Deletes the selected script.

NOTES
l

You cannot delete a script if it is in the Application Resources location,
as those are scripts that are installed w ith Harmony.

l

If you delete a script that w as originally in Application Resources but
w hich you copied to another location so you could make changes to it,
the original version of the script in the Application Resources folder
w ill be restored to the list.

Delete Script

Refresh Script
File List

Refresh the list of scripts in the Script Editor. If there are new scripts in your user
preferences or your scene's scripts sub-folder, click on this button to be able toopen them in the Script Editor.

Allow s you to type in the path and name for your preferred text editing
softw are.

NOTES
Set External
Editorl

On macOS, only typing the name of your preferred text editing
softw are is enough if that application supports the AppleScript OpenDocument protocol.

l

On W indow s and GNU/Linux, unless your text editor is in yoursystem's PATH environment variable, you w ill have to type in the fullpath to the editor.

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Chapter 5: Toolbars

Icon

ButtonDescription

Open w ith
External Editor

Opens the selected script in the chosen external text editing softw are.

Prompts you to select w hich script and w hich function to use w ith the
and

Run

Debug buttons.

NOTES
Set Targetl

You can set the entire script as the target by selecting the <Nothing>
function from the functions list.

l

You cannot link an entire script to a toolbar button. Only functions
w ithin scripts can be added as toolbar buttons. Therefore, running or
debugging an entire script rather than one of its functions should bedone for testing purposes only.

Runs the target script and function.

NOTES
l

If you have not set a target script and function, you w ill be prompted
to set one w hen you click on this button.

l

You can set or change the target script and function by clicking on theRun

Set Target button.
l

If you are editing <<<Sandbox>>>, this button w ill simply run w hat
you typed into the sandbox, regardless of w hether another target is
set.

Open the target script and function in the Qt Script Debugger, in w hich you cantest and debug the function.

NOTES
l

If you have not set a target script and function, you w ill be prompted
to set one w hen click on this button.

l

You can set or change the target script and function by clicking on the

Debug

Set Target button.
l

Stop Execution

If you are editing <<<Sandbox>>>, this button w ill simply debug
w hat you typed into the sandbox, regardless of w hether anothertarget is set.

If a script is currently running, this interrupts its execution.

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Timeline View Toolbar
The 3D Graph toolbar w orks in conjunction w ith the elements in the 3D Graph view .

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

In the top menu, select W indows > Toolbars > Timeline View.

lRight-click on the space at the top of the Timeline view and, in the context menu, selectTimeline View.

Icon

Name

Description

Allow s you to quickly apply an ease to the selected animation keyframes in thecamera view .

Set Ease TypeTo set the ease of an animation, simply select the first keyframe in the
animation, then select the ease type in this drop-dow n. The ease-in w ill beapplied to the selected keyframe, and the ease-out w ill be applied to the next
keyframe in the timeline.
The follow ing presets are available:

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Chapter 5: Toolbars

Icon

Name

Description

Icon

PresetEase- In (Selected
Keyframe)

Ease- Out (Nextkeyframe)Linear0%0%Slow ease-in

25%

0%

Medium ease-in

50%

0%

Fast ease-in

75%

0Fast ease-in /ease-out

75%

75%

Medium ease-in/ ease-out

50%

50%

Slow ease-in /ease-out

25%

25%

Slow ease-out

0%

25%

Medium easeout

0%

50%

Fast ease-out

0%

75%

Quick Ease

Sets the ease before and after the selected keyframe to 33%.

Quick Ease In

Sets the ease before the selected keyframe to 33%.

Quick Ease Out

Sets the ease after the selected keyframe to 33%.

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Icon

Name

Description

Set Ease on
Selected
Keyframes

Opens the Set Ease on Keyframes dialog. In this dialog, you can set the ease-in(before) and the ease-out (after) on the selected keyframes to a custom
percentage.

Set Ease forMultiple
Parameters

Opens the Set Ease for Multiple Parameters dialog. This dialog allow s you toadjust the Bezier handles on all the selected animation keyframes in theTimeline.

Create Empty
Draw ing

Creates a draw ing in the selected cell, replacing any draw ing that may alreadybe exposed in that cell and the follow ing ones until it meets another draw ing,
key exposure or a blank cell.

Creates a duplicate of the selected draw ing in the layer. The duplicate draw ing
w ill be exposed at the selected frame instead of the original draw ing. Hence,
this command allow s you to instantly start w orking on a duplicate of thecurrent draw ing and retain the original.
Duplicate
Draw ing

NOTE
W hen duplicating a draw ing, the exposure at the selected cell is replaced
w ith the new draw ing, up until the next key exposure.

Insert Keyframe

Adds a keyframe on the selected cell in the Timeline view .

DeleteKeyframes

Deletes the selected keyframes.

Set Motion
Keyframe

Converts the selected keyframes to motion keyframes. W ith motion keyframes,
Harmony generates the interpolation betw een the motion keyframe and thenext keyframe. This means that a value for each frame betw een the keyframes
is calculated by Harmony to progress from the value of the previous keyframeto the value of the next keyframe.

Set Stop-Motion
Keyframe

Converts the selected keyframes to stop-motion keyframes. Betw een a stopmotion keyframe and the next keyframe, Harmony does not generate any
animation and the element remains static until the next keyframe.

Go to Previous
Keyframe

Goes to the previous keyframe.

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Chapter 5: Toolbars

Icon

Name

Description

Go to Next
Keyframe

Goes to the next keyframe.

Add Key
Exposure

Adds a key exposure to the selected cell.

Delete Key
Exposure

Removes key exposures from the selected cells.

Centre On
Selection

Scrolls the layers list to the currently selected layer. This is useful if you w ant
to select a layer in the Camera view , then manipulate its timing Timeline view .

CreateKeyframes On

Opens the Create Keyframes On dialog box, in w hich you can create keyframes
at every set number of frames w ithin a given range of frames.

Fill Empty Cells

Fills the empty frames in the selection w ith the exposure just before. For
example, if you select a range of frame that starts w ith an exposed draw ing
and then ends w ith empty cells, all of the empty cells in the selection w ill befilled w ith the exposed draw ing just before the empty cells.

Paste Mode: All
Draw ing
Attributes

Paste Mode:
Keyframes Only

Sets the Paste Mode to All Draw ing Attributes. In this mode, w hen you cut or
copy and paste frames in the Timeline view , both the animation keyframes andthe exposed draw ings w ill be pasted.
Likew ise, if you drag and drop frames in the Timeline view , both the animation
keyframes and the exposed draw ings w ill be moved.

Sets the Paste Mode to Keyframes Only. In this mode, w hen you cut or copy
and paste frames in the Timeline view , only the animation keyframes w ill bepasted. The exposed draw ings w ill not be pasted.
Likew ise, if you drag and drop frames in the Timeline view , only the animation
keyframes w ill be moved. The exposed draw ings w ill not be affected.

Paste Mode:
Exposures Only

Sets the Paste Mode to Exposures Only. In this mode, w hen you cut or copy
and paste frames in the Timeline view , only the exposed draw ings w ill bepasted. The animation keyframes w ill not be pasted.
Likew ise, if you drag and drop frames in the Timeline view , only the exposeddraw ings w ill be moved. The animation keyframes w ill not be affected.

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Icon

Name

Description

Add Prefix or
SuffixOpens the Add Prefix or Suffix dialog. This dialog allow s you to instantly
rename all the selected layers by adding a prefix or a suffix to their name.

631

Chapter 5: Toolbars

Xsheet View Toolbar
The Xsheet toolbar contains the common timing operations such as Add Column, Delete Column, Clone
Column, and so on. These options can also be found in the top menu.

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

633

Chapter 6: View s

Chapter 6: Views
The Harmony interface is composed of different view s, each one designed for a specific purpose. You can
modify the location of the view s by adding a new view as a tab or as a w indow . You can also sw ap the locationof a view .
W hen a view is active, a red rectangle appears around the view . Keyboard shortcuts and top menu options areassociated w ith the active view . If a menu option is greyed out, it means it does not apply to the layer, draw ing
or other type of selection or the option does not apply to the active view .
Camera View

635

Colour View

644

Draw ing View

650

Draw ing Substitutions View

653

Function View

655

Guides View

658

Integrated Help View

662

Layer Properties View

663

Library View

665

Master Controller View

668

Message Log View

670

Metadata Editor View

671

Reference View

673

Onion Skin View

675

Perspective View

682

Script Editor View

685

Side View

690

Timeline View

692

Tool Properties View

702

Top View

703

Xsheet View

705

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Camera View
The Camera view is the centre of operations in Harmony. In this view , you can draw , paint, animate, set up yourscene, manipulate objects, open symbols and preview your animation.
The Camera view also has a top and bottom toolbar that you can use to navigate in the view , change thedisplay mode or go up your symbol hierarchy.

How to access the Camera view
Do one of the follow ing:l

From the top menu, select W indows > Camera.

l

From any of the other view s, click the Add View

Icon

button and select Camera.

SectionDescription

View Menu

The View menu contains all the tools and options that you can use in
the Camera view to draw , animate or set up the scene.

635

Chapter 6: View s

Icon

SectionDescription

Editing Stack

The Editing Stack menu displays the names of the symbols and theirhierarchy w hen you are editing a symbol. You can click on the
different names to go back up to the different parent symbols or the
top/current project.

Camera View Toolbar

The Camera View toolbar contains all the tools and options you canuse in the Camera view to draw , animate or set up the scene. The
toolbar can be displayed or hidden by right-clicking on it andselecting or deselecting the Camera View toolbar.

W hen you have a draw ing layer or draw ing selected, the Light Table
button button allow s you to fade the colours of the other layers so
you can see the current artw ork better as you edit w ith a draw ing
tool. Note that the light table does not w ork w hen using a layer
editing tool, such as the Transform tool.

Light Table

W hen this button is enabled, the draw ing that you are currently
editing w ith a draw ing tool is temporarily displayed in front of all theother elements. The actual scene is not modified.

Current Draw ing on Top

Camera Mask

The Camera Mask button show s or hides Displays a black mask
around the scene’s frame to avoid seeing the unnecessary artw ork.
This option is handy w hen you're animating and setting up the scene.
It allow s you to see your scene’s composition better.

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Icon

SectionDescription

You can also access this from the top menu by selecting View >Show > Camera Mask.

The proportion grid is displayed in the camera view to help w ith
proportions and balancing the composition of an image. The gridfollow s the camera frame, similar to camera mask and safe area.
The number of divisions in the proportion grid can be defined by theuser in the Preferences > Camera > Proportion Grid > Horizontal
Divisions > Vertical Divisions.
Proportion Grid
The default is 3 division on each axis to create a rule of third grid.

TIP
You can access the Proportion Gridbutton in the Camera

View toolbar.

The Safe Area button show s or hides Displays the TV safety zone
and the centre of the camera frame. The safe area adapts to thescene resolution, as w ell as the safety zone and frame’s centre.
You can also access this feature from the top menu by selecting
View > Show > Safe Area.

Safe Area

637

Chapter 6: View s

Icon

SectionDescription

W hen enabled, alignment guides w ill be visible in the Camera andDraw ing view s.
Show Alignment Guides

This is enabled by default. Disabling this option w ill hide and disablealignment guides, meaning that animation and draw ing tools w ill not
snap to them, even if theSnap to Alignment Guides option isenabled in the Tool Properties view .

W hen you select an object in the Camera view w ith the Transform
tool, a bounding box alw ays appears around the object and theartw ork is tinted in fuchsia, red or yellow . Enabling this option w ill
only keep the bounding box and remove the colour tint.

BBox Selection Style

Draw ings that are locked in the Timeline view (cannot be selected in
the Camera view ) are displayed as w ireframes.

Outline Locked Draw ings

Reset View

The Reset View button resets any panning, zooming or rotation donein the Camera view and returns the display to the initial settings. You
can also press Shift + M.

Saves the preview image of the Camera view in memory as asnapshot.
Take Snapshot

Harmony stores five snapshots and have a drop dow n list w ith fiveavailable slots. So if any snapshot w as in memory w hen taking asnapshot, it w ill be overw ritten by the new snapshot.

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Icon

SectionDescription

NOTES
l

Snapshots are not saved to the scene and are discarded
w hen the scene is closed.

Displays the snapshot currently in memory. To display the snapshot,
you must click and hold the button. Releasing it w ill restore theCamera view preview .

Show Snapshot

NOTE
The snapshot is displayed as it w as taken, regardless of thepreview mode of the Camera view . For example, if you took ascreenshot in Render View mode, and display it w hile in
OpenGL View mode, the snapshot w ill display as it w as taken
in Render View mode.

The Zoom menu lets you enlarge or reduce the Camera or Draw ing
view display.
To make the camera frame size alw ays match the size of your view ,select the Fit to View option. Click the drop-dow n arrow and select azoom level or press 1 and 2.

Zoom Menu

OpenGL View Mode

The OpenGL View Mode button sw itches the Camera view to fast
display, letting you see your animation play in real time. The OpenGL
display requires less memory. The final look of your effects is notshow n in the OpenGL View Mode. You must sw itch to the RenderView Mode to see your effects.

639

Chapter 6: View s

Icon

SectionDescription

The Render View Mode button sw itches the Camera view to a fully
rendered display show ing the final image of the current frame. If a
modification is done to your current frame or if you move to adifferent frame, click the Update Preview button to update thedisplay if your preview does not update automatically.The RenderView Mode display lets you see the final look of your frames
including effects and antialiasing. You cannot play back your scene in
Render View Mode. To see your scene fully rendered and to play it
back, you must press the Render and Play button in the Playback
toolbar.
Render View Mode

Matte View Mode

The Matte View Mode button sw itches the Camera view to a mattedisplay show ing the alpha channel of the elements in your scene.
The transparency level ranges from 0 to 100 percent. Zero percent iscompletely transparent and represented by black and 100 percent iscompletely opaque and represented by w hite. Everything in betw een
these extremes has a transparency level somew here betw een 1 and99 percent and is represented in various shades of grey.
l

To access the Matte View mode, click on the Render View
button and select Matte View from the drop-dow n menu.

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Icon

SectionDescription

The Depth View mode displays images in a relative w hite to black
gradient scale. The object(s) closest to the camera are displayed in
w hite and the object(s) furthest from the camera are displayed inblack. If the position of the last object changes along the z-axis, that
object w ill still remain black, so long as it retains its position as theobject the farthest back. It does not matter w here that object is in 3D
space, it just matters w hat its position is relative to the other object inthe same space. The objects closest and farthest from the camera set
the range of the w hite to black scale. All the other objects fall
somew here in betw een.

Depth View Model

To access the Depth View mode, click on the Render View
button and select Depth View from the drop-dow n menu.

The colour space in w hich to display the preview image w hen in
Render Preview mode.
Preview Colour SpaceYou can set this to any colour space supported by Harmony. It is
recommended to set this to the colour space intended for rendering
your frames, unless that colour space is not supported by yourmonitor. In the latter case, it’s recommended to set this to the closest
colour space available that your monitor can display.

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Chapter 6: View s

Icon

SectionDescription

The follow ing colour spaces are available:lLinear: The same primaries and w hite point as sRGB and Rec.
709, but w ith no gamma transfer curve applied to the colour
values. This colour space is useful for compositing
intermediary images that are meant to be rendered in sRGB
or Rec. 709.

l

Display P3: A colour space commonly used for digitalprojection. It has the same primaries as DCI-P3, the same
w hite point as sRGB and the same gamma transfer curve as
sRGB.

l

Display P3 Linear: The same as Display P3, except w ith no
gamma transfer curve. This colour space is useful forcompositing intermediary images that are meant to berendered in Display P3.

lRec. 709: The colour space used for HDTV. It has the same
primaries and w hite point as sRGB, but has a different
gamma transfer curve.

lRec. 709 2.4: The same colour space as Rec. 709 or sRGB,
except w ith a gamma transfer curve of 2.4 (per ITU-R
BT.1886). This colour space exists because some editing
systems use a gamma transfer curve of 2.4 instead of thestandard gamma curve for Rec. 709.

lRec. 2020: A colour space used for Ultra High Definition TV(UHDTV). It has a complex gamma transfer curve andprimaries that cover more of the human-perceivable colour
space than other colour spaces, especially in the area of
human-perceivable greens.

lRec. 2020 2.4: The same colour space as Rec. 2020, except
w ith a simple gamma transfer curve of 2.4 (per ITU-R
BT.1886). This colour space exists because some editing
systems use a gamma transfer curve of 2.4 instead of thestandard gamma curve for Rec. 2020.

lRec. 2020 Linear: The same colour space as Rec. 2020,
except w ith no gamma transfer curve. This colour space isuseful for compositing intermediary images that are meant tobe rendered in Rec. 2020.

lsRGB: A colour space typically used for standard computer
monitors. It has the same primaries and w hite point as Rec.
709, but has a different gamma transfer curve.

642

Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Icon

SectionDescription

NOTE
You can only select the display colour space in
View mode. In

Render

OpenGL View mode, the preview image is

generated in the colour space selected in the Display Colour
Space drop-dow n in the Camera tab of the Preferences
dialog.

TIP
You can have multiple Camera view s in your w orkspace, each
set to their ow n colour space. Hence, you can preview yourscene on multiple monitors w ith different colour spaces by
having a Camera view on each monitor.

Draw ing NameThe Draw ing Name field displays the name of the selected draw ing,
as w ell as the layer containing it. If the cell does not contain any
draw ing, an Empty Cell text is show n in the field.

The Preview Resolution button sets the resolution of the render
Preview Resolution

preview . A low er preview resolution w ill result in a faster loading
time w hen preview ing an effect.

Tool Name

The Tool Name field displays the name of the selected tool. If you
temporarily override a draw ing tool using a keyboard shortcut, thetool’s name w ill be highlighted in red. You can temporarily override atool by holding its keyboard shortcut w ithout the Alt key. For
example, the Select tool shortcut is Alt + S. If you hold dow n the S
key, you w ill sw itch to the Select tool. W hen you release the key, you
w ill return to the tool you w ere using.

Frame Number

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

Selected Colour

The colour sw atch displays the currently selected colour in the
Colour view .

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Chapter 6: View s

Colour View
The Colour view is w here you create colours and palettes and import existing palettes into your project. The
Colour view is also necessary for draw ing, painting and creating colour styling.

How to access the Colour view
Do one of the follow ing:l

From the top menu, select W indows > Colour.

lFrom any of the other view s, click the Add View

button and select Colour.

Palette List Panel
Icon

OptionDescription

View Menu

The View menu contains all the commands and options that you canuse in the Colour view to manage colours and palettes.

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Collapse/Expand Palette
List

Allow s you to show or hide your palette list and its options. By
default, the palette list is displayed, but you may w ant to hide it if you
are w orking w ith a single palette and w ant to allow more verticalspace for the colour sw atch list.

Add Palette

Allow s you to create a new palette.

Deletes the currently selected palette. If the colour sw atch is used inyour project, zones painted w ith colour sw atches w hich have been
deleted w ill turn red, easily identifying them so you can repaint themw ith another colour sw atch.

Remove Palette

Link Palette

Allow s you to add a palette from a different location, be it in a scene,
job, environment or even an element to your palette list. The palette
w ill be linked to its original location rather than copied to yourscene's folder. Hence, if you make changes to the original palette, it
w ill affect the colour of elements in your scene.
If you w ant to import a palette as a copy into your scene's palette
library, right-click on your palette list and select Import. You can also
link to a palette in any location on your machine or netw ork by
selecting Link to External.

Moves palettes further up or dow n the palette list.
Order Palette List

Edit Palette List Mode
Indicator

If a palette has been cloned, the highest palette among the original
palette and its clone(s) w ill be used by Harmony. This can beoverridden by using a Colour-Override effect—see Colour-Override
Layer on page 357.

In Harmony Server, this icon appears w hen you have the modifying
rights on your scene's palette list. W hile several users can w ork on ascene at the same time, only one user may have the right to modify apalette list at any given time.

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Chapter 6: View s

NOTE
In Harmony Stand Alone, you can alw ays modify your scene's
palette list. On Harmony Server, you must unlock your palette
list before making modifications to it.

Show Colour Palettes

Show s only colour palettes in the palette list. This is the default
option.

Show Pencil Texture
Palettes

Show s only pencil texture palettes in the palette list.

Show All Palettes

Show s both colour and pencil texture palettes in the palette list.

Palette List
Icon

Description

In Harmony Server, this indicates that you have the rights to modify the palette.

Indicates that the palette is stored at the same level as its palette list. For example, a palette that isstored in the scene's palette library and w hich is listed in the scene's palette list, or a palette that isstored in an element's palette library and w hich is listed in that same element's palette list.

Indicates that the palette file is stored in an external location, such as a different scene, an element in
a different scene, a job other than the scene's job, or an environment other than the scene's
environment. This means the palette is liable to be missing if it is moved from its original location, or if
the scene is exported from the database into an offline scene or to a different database.

This indicates that the palette is stored at a higher level than its palette list, making it a shared
palette. For example, a palette in your scene's palette list that is stored in the palette library of thescene's job or environment, or a palette in an element's palette list that is stored in the palette libraryof the scene.

Indicates a potentially dangerous situation. For example, a palette file that is stored in one of thescene's element folders, but w hich is added to your scene's palette list. The w hole scene can use thepalette, but since it's stored inside an element, deleting that element w ill make your w hole scene lose
access to that palette.

646Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Colour Swatch List Panel
Icon

OptionDescription

Add Colour

Adds a new colour sw atch to the bottom of your colour list.

The Remove Colour button lets you delete the currently selectedcolour sw atches. If the colour sw atch is used in your project, andconfirmation dialog w ill appear prompting you to confirm that you
w ant to delete the colour. Zones painted w ith colour sw atches
w hich have been deleted w ill turn red, easily identifying them so
you can repaint them w ith another colour sw atch.

Remove Colour

Allow s you to import a bitmap image as a texture, w hich can be
painted w ith just like a colour. W hen used w ith the Brush or Paint
tools, bitmap textures are tiled inside the shape they fill. The
scaling and position of the texture inside their shape can be
tw eaked w ith the Edit Gradient/Texture tool. W hen used w ith thePencil tool or one of the Shape tools, a bitmap texture w ill follow
the pencil line's direction.

Add Texture

647Chapter 6: View s

Set Current Brush Colour

W hen enabled, the colour you select in the colour view w ill beselected for the Brush tool.

Set Current Pencil Colour

W hen enabled, the colour you select in the colour view w ill beselected for the Pencil tool, as w ell as other tools that create
pencil lines, such as the Line, Rectangle, Ellipse and Polyline tools.

Set Current Paint Colour

W hen enabled, the colour you select in the colour view w ill beselected for the Paint tool.

W hen enabled, the colour you select w ill be selected for all
draw ing tools. W hen disabled, you can select individual colours
for the Brush, Pencil and Paint tools.

Link/Unlink Three Colours

In Harmony Server, this allow s you to get the modifying rights tothe selected palettes.

Edit Palette Mode

Since several people can w ork on any given scene at the sametime, and a palette can be shared betw een scenes, palettes may
be loaded in read-only mode w hen opening a scene on a Harmony
database. Then, an user w ould only be able to edit a palette by
first activating Edit Palette Mode. This prevents several users frommaking changes on the palette at the same time, since a user
cannot activate Edit Palette Mode on a palette that is alreadybeing edited by someone else. This also prevents users from
accidentally making modifications on important palettes.

In Harmony Server, this icon appears w hen you have the modifying
rights on the currently selected palette.
Edit Palette Mode Indicator

NOTE
In Harmony Stand Alone, you can alw ays modify yourpalettes.

Colour Sw atch Name

Each colour sw atch available in the Colour view can have its ow n
name, making it easy to identify w hich colour is used to paint w hat

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

part of your character or background.

NOTE
Tw o colours can have the same name. Harmony identifies
colours by an identification number.

Also referred to as colour pots, the colour sw atch is the actual
colour information for a colour in your palette. It is represented bya rectangle displaying the colour in the list.
Colour Sw atch

649

Chapter 6: View sDrawing View
In Harmony, you can draw in both the Draw ing or Camera view s. Although the tw o view s are similar, there aresome differences w hen it comes to draw ing.
Only the selected draw ing is displayed by default in the Draw ing view . You can use features, such as the lighttable to display the current draw ing of all the enabled layers of your scene in w ashed-out colours, or theOnion Skin to display the previous and next draw ings of the currently selected draw ing layer.

How to access the Drawing view
Do one of the follow ing:l

From the top menu, select W indows > Drawing .

lFrom any of the other view s, click the Add View

Icon

button and select Drawing.

SectionDescription

View Menu

The View menu contains all the tools and options thatyou can use in the Draw ing view to draw , animate andpaint.

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

This is the main space in the Draw ing view . It is w here
you draw and w here the draw ings are displayed.

Draw ing Area

The Zoom menu lets you enlarge or reduce theCamera or Draw ing view display.
To make the camera frame size alw ays match the sizeof your view , select the Fit to View option. Click thedrop-dow n arrow and select a zoom level or press 1
and 2.

Zoom Menu

Draw ing NameThe Draw ing Name field displays the name of theselected draw ing, as w ell as the layer containing it. If
the cell does not contain any draw ing, an Empty
Cell text is show n in the field.

Tool Name

The Tool Name field displays the name of the selected
tool. If you temporarily override a draw ing tool using akeyboard shortcut, the tool’s name w ill be highlighted
in red. You can temporarily override a tool by holding
its keyboard shortcut w ithout the Alt key. For
example, the Select tool shortcut is Alt + S. If you holddow n the S key, you w ill sw itch to the Select tool.
W hen you release the key, you w ill return to the tool
you w ere using.

Frame NumberThis field displays the current frame of the animation
you are w orking on.

Cursor Coordinates

This indicates the position of the your pointer in thedraw ing area.

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Chapter 6: View s

The Colour Picker allow s you to select a colour fordraw ing.

Colour Picker

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Drawing Substitutions View
T-H16NEW -002-001
The Draw ing Substitutions view allow s you to view all the draw ings in the selected layer in a list of
thumbnails, as w ell as to quickly select w hich draw ing should be exposed at the current frame.

How to access the Drawing Substitutions view
1. Do one of the follow inglFrom the top menu, select W indows > Drawing Substitutions.

l

In the top-right corner of any view , click on the

Add View button and select Drawing

Substitutions.

SectionDescription

Opens a menu w ith the Create Key Exposure option. This option can be enabled or disabled.
It determines w hat happens w hen you set the draw ing in the current frame to the samedraw ing as the draw ing in the previous frame.
View Menul

W hen enabled, the exposure of the draw ing at the current frame w ill be separated
from the draw ing in the previous frame w ith a key exposure.

l

W hen disabled, the exposure of the current frame w ill be merged w ith the exposure of
the previous frame.

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Chapter 6: View s

SectionDescription

Allow s you to select the draw ing to be exposed at the current frame. This w ill also replace thedraw ing for all subsequent frames during w hich the current draw ing is exposed.

Thumbnails

Current layer
name

The name of the currently selected layer. The draw ings in the thumbnails list are the draw ings
currently stored in this layer.

Zoom slider

Allow s you to change the size of the thumbnails.

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Function View
The Function view lets you edit function curves and parameters. It contains a visual graph for adding,removing, and editing keyframes, as w ell as adjusting the velocity. The Function view allow s you to display
multiple functions in the background as a reference.

How to access the Function view
Do one of the follow ing:l

From the top menu, select W indows > Function.

l

From any of the other view s, click the Add View

button and select Function.

How to display functions in the Function view
1. Open the Function view .
The Function view is blank until you select the layer containing the functions you w ant to display.

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2. To display a function in the Function view , click on the layer containing the functions to adjust in theTimeline view .
3. To select the functions you w ant to edit, select them in the Function list.

Parameter

Description

Function List

W hen selecting a layer in the Timeline view , all the corresponding functions are
displayed (if any). Select the functions you w ant to see and edit, and hide the ones
you don't.

Display Toolbar

Allow s you to modify how the editing area is displayed. You can hide the grid,disable the synchronization w ith the current frame, reset the zoom level andnormalize the function display by stacking them one over the other to comparethem regardless of their value range.

Current Frame

Displays the current scene frame.

Selected Keyframe Value

Displays the value of the selected keyframe.

Display Advanced Parameter
Values

Displays the Projection, Bias, Tension and Continuity parameters to adjust the
curve around the selected keyframe.

Keyframe, Velocity andInterpolation Options

This toolbar lets you add and delete keyframes, adjust the velocity curve, adjust
the segments to motion or stop-motion keyframes and set the velocity to create
steps instead of a constant progression.

Function Types

This toolbar lets you click on the different function types to enable or disable all
the listed functions of that type.

Value Scale

Displays the value range for the displayed editing area. It can be referenced toknow the value of a keyframe.

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Selected Keyframe

The selected keyframe is displayed in red. W hen selected, the keyframe values
are displayed in the corresponding fields.

Bezier Handles

The Bezier handles let you adjust the ease in and ease out of each keyframe. The
more the handle is pulled out horizontally, the slow er the animation w ill be. The
more the handle is pulled out vertically, the faster the animation w ill be.

Function Curve

The thin line going from keyframe to keyframe is the actual curve. The section of acurve located betw een tw o keyframes is called a segment.

Frame Scale

The Frame Scale displays the frame range for the displayed editing area. It can bereferenced to know the current frame of a keyframe.

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Guides View
The Guides view allow s you to add draw ing guides to the current scene, to select w hich guide to use, tomanage existing guides, to export and import guides and to enable or disable draw ing guides as w ell as theirvarious options.

NOTE
For more information on each type of guide and how to use them, refer to the User Guide.

Icon

Name

Description

Enable Guide

Enables or disables draw ing guides. W hen guides are disabled, they are
not visible and you cannot edit them or use them w ith draw ing tools.

Options

W hen enabled, w hen draw ing w ith theandAlign w ith Guide

Brush,

Pencil,StrokeLine tools tool, the cursor is automatically locked against the axisof the currently selected guide that most closely matches the angle of yourstroke, as if you w ere draw ing against a rule.
W hen disabled, the draw ing tools are not constrained by the axes of theguide, allow ing you to draw freely. The guide's axes act as a visual aids
only.

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Icon

Name

Description

Lock Guide

W hen enabled, you cannot do modifications on the currently selected
guide. This prevents making unw anted modifications to the guide w hen
draw ing.

Enable Guide w ith
EraserAllow s you to use the Eraser tool w ith draw ing guides.

W hen enabled, the guide's axes that go through the mouse cursor in thedraw ing space go throughout the entire draw ing space and display evenw hen you're draw ing.
Full Cursor Display
W hen disabled, the guide's axes that go through the mouse cursor only
display over a short distance from the mouse cursor. Also, the guide's axes
disappear w hen draw ing a stroke.

Show ReferenceLines

W hen enabled, semi-transparent reference lines for each of the currently
selected guide's axes appear all over your draw ing space.

Adjusts the amount of reference lines to display in your draw ing space.
Number of Lines

Guides List

Allow s you to add a guide to the scene's guides list. You can add a guideof one of the follow ing types:

New Guide

l

Ruler

l

Square Gridl

Isometric Perspectivel

1-Point Perspectivel2-Point Perspectivel3-Point Perspective (Bird’s-Eye View )l3-Point Perspective (W orm’s-Eye View )l3-Point Perspective (Horizontal Pan)l3-Point Perspective (Vertical Pan)l4-Point Continuous Perspective659

Chapter 6: View s

Icon

Name

Descriptionl4-Point Perspective (Vertical Pan)l5-Point Perspective (Fisheye)

NOTE
For more information on each type of guide and how to use them,refer to the User Guide.

Delete Guide

Deletes the selected draw ing guides from the scene's guides list.

Guides View Menu

Opens a menu w ith the follow ing commands:

RenameGuide

Renames the selected draw ing guide.

Cut

Cuts the selected draw ing guides from the list and adds them to the
clipboard.

Copy

Copies the selected draw ing guides to the clipboard.

Paste

Pastes draw ing guides from the clipboard to the current scene's guides
list. Pasted guides are inserted under the selected guide.

ImportGuidesImports draw ing guides that w ere previously exported to a file and inserts
them at the bottom of the scene's guides list. Duplicate guides are filteredout to avoid cluttering the list.

ExportSelected
GuidesExports the selected draw ing guides into a file.

Draw ing Guides List

Displays the scene's list of guides and allow s you to select w hich guide todisplay, edit and use.

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Icon

Name

Description

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Integrated Help View
Use the Integrated Help w hen you are unsure about w hat a certain menu item is or the function of a specificpreference in the Preferences panel.
If you keep the Integrated Help w indow open for the entire duration of your w ork session, then you can use theforw ard and backw ard arrow s to scroll through a history of the help information that you called up during yoursession.

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

From the top menu, select W indows > Integrated Help.

l

From any of the other view s, click the Add View

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Layer Properties View
The Layer Properties editor or view lets you adjust the properties of a layer in the Timeline view The Layer
Properties can be view ed as a floating w indow or as a view (docked).
Each layer has its ow n set of properties that can be modified, including effect and peg layers. Display the Layer
Properties editor or view if you w ant to modify some of the layer’s properties, such as the name or theantialiasing quality.

NOTE
To know more about the parameters displayed in the Layer Properties view , see Layers on page338.

How to access the Layer Properties view
Do one of the follow ing:

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Chapter 6: View slFrom the top menu, select W indows > Layer Properties.

l

From any of the other view s, click the Add View

button and select Layer Properties.

How to access the Layer Properties editorlDouble-click on a layer in the Timeline viewlRight-click on a layer in the Timeline view and select Layer Properties.

l

Select a layer in the Timeline view and press Shift + E.

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Library View
The Library view is used to store elements such as animation, draw ings, backgrounds and character models so
as to reuse in different scenes and projects. You can also use the Library view to create and store symbols, as
w ell as to store and import images and sound files.
To reuse elements from a scene in other scenes, you must create a template so that you can import it into
different scenes. Templates can contain anything from a single draw ing to a w hole scene structure. You cancreate a template by creating it in a scene, then copying the elements you w ant in your template into a library.
The resulting template is structured like a mini-scene that contains only the elements you copied into it. A
template does not have any dependencies on the scene it w as originally created in. Hence, it can safely be
imported in any other scene.
Additionally, the Library view 's Draw ing Substitutions panel allow s you to quickly change the current frame's
exposure to one of the existing draw ings in a layer. This is especially useful for animating a cut-out character's
mouths, hands, eyelids and other such body parts w hich typically contain several draw ings to choose from.

How to access the Library view
Do one of the follow ing:l

From the top menu, select W indows > Library.

l

From any of the other view s, click the Add View

Icon

button and select Library.

SectionDescription

View Menu

The Library menu lets you access commands related to the Libraryview , importing .sw f movies and Illustrator files, add a new folder, and665

Chapter 6: View s

Icon

SectionDescription

refresh the library’s content.

The Preview w indow lets you see the content of the currently selected
template or symbol in the Template/Symbol list.

Preview W indow

Preview Playback

The Preview Playback button lets you play back the content of theselected template or symbol if it contains more than one frame. Pressthe Play button to play back the preview .

The Library Folder List displays all the folders linked to the Libraryview .

There are tw o default folders:
Library Folder Listl

Symbols: This folder is the only folder containing symbols. You
can organize it by adding subfolders inside.

lHarmony Advanced Library: This is a default folder found on
the hard drive in your user documents. This folder can containtemplates, but no symbols.

You can link new library folders to the Library view and organize themw ith subfolders.

W hen w orking on a movie or series, you w ill probably end up w ith
many templates and symbols in your library. Using the Search tool,
you can quickly find the templates and symbols in your folders.
Library Search tool

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Icon

SectionDescription

Template/Symbol List

The Template/Symbol list displays the templates or symbols
contained in the selected library folder. You can display the templates
by right-clicking the symbols’ thumbnails and selecting View >Thumbnails.

A slider could be used to adjust the display size of thumbnails in the
Library view .

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Chapter 6: View s

Master Controller View
T-RIG3-008-008
The Master Controller view allow s you to quickly find, select and display Master Controllers in the current
scene.

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

In the top-right corner of an existing view , click on

Add View and select Master

Controller.
l

Icon

In the top menu, select W indows > Master Controller.

SectionDescription

Path

Allow s you to select a group in the current scene. W hen a group is selected,
only the Master Controllers w ithin that group w ill be listed in the Master
Controllers list. This can be useful if you have several characters and only
w ant the list of Master Controllers for a specific character.

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Icon

SectionDescription

Name

Allow s you to filter the Master Controllers in the Master Controllers list by
their path or name. W hen you type something in this field, only the Master
Controllers that contain the text you typed in their full path including theirname w ill be listed in the Master Controllers list.

Master Controllers

Allow s you to select one of the Master Controllers in your scene. This list
displays the Master Controllers in your scene w ith their full path in the grouphierarchy. Groups in the hierarchy are separated by forw ard slashes (/).
MasterControllers

If a group is selected in the Path list, only the Master Controllers w ithin thisgroup w ill appear in the list. If anything is typed in the Name field, only Master
Controllers w ith this text in their full path including their name w ill appear in
the list. Otherw ise, all the Master Controllers in your scene are listed.

Refresh List

Refreshes the Path list if there are any changes in the name or hierarchy ofgroups in your scene, as w ell as the Master Controllers list if there are anychanges in the Master Controllers in your scene.

Locate and SelectMaster Controller

If a Master Controller is selected in the Master Controllers list, clicking on thisbutton w ill select the actual Master Controller node. It w ill also make theNode View navigate instantly to and focus on that Master Controller node.

Show Master
Controller

If a Master Controller is selected in the Master Controllers list, clicking on thisbutton w ill display its w idget in the Camera view .

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Chapter 6: View s

Message Log View
The Message log view displays information gathered during a render task, such as w hich frames and at w hattime they w ere each rendered. The view also contains a list of the colour recovery operations.

How to access the Message Log view
Do one of the follow ing:l

From the top menu, select W indows > Message Log.

l

From any of the other view s, click the Add View

670

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Metadata Editor View

The Metadata Editor view lets you access the information of the props and anchors to be exported to Unity.

NOTE
Because the Unity game engine does not support Unicode characters, it is recommended to avoid
using it in scenes intended for games.

How to access the Metadata Editor viewlIn the top-right corner of a view , click the Add Viewl

In the top menu, select W indows > Metadata Editor.

Parameter

button and select Metadata Editor.

Description

This is a list of optional parameters you can create in a scene project to beexported to Unity. It w ill not have any incentive tow ards your scene assets, but
can help developers know w hat to do w ith the assets contained in your Harmony
scene.
Scene Metadata

Once in Unity, scene Metadata w ill appear in Inspector view > Metadata w hen the
Asset is selected in the Hierarchy view .

Name: Name of the Scene entry. (e.g. game.Armor001)

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Chapter 6: View s

Value: This can be anything that describes the state of an object. You could, forexample, have three different stages of armour: new , damaged and destroyed.

Displays only the props and anchors held inside your selection. If nothing isselected, no information w ill display. Name and value appear in this box as w ell.
Name w ill show you the associated .tvg name and value w ill be set as either On
or Off, depending on w hether you w ant the connection to be set as active or not.
Once in Unity, scene Metadata w ill appear in the Hierarchy view .
Node Metadata
Name: Name of the selected anchor or prop. (e.g. game.isAnchor). Notice that it
differs from the draw ing layer name on the top-left corner of the Node Metadata
section.

Value: Can be set to be active (On) or inactive (Off).

NOTE
For any anchor or prop information created w ithin the Metadata Editor, the naming convention
must alw ays use the prefix "game.". The term "game." is recognized automatically by Unity as a
metadata information. For example: game.Armor001.

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Reference View
W hen you are draw ing, you can use a fully-painted draw ing or bitmap image as a reference and load it in the
Reference view . This draw ing or bitmap image can be used and loaded in any of your Harmony scenes.
Once imported, your references w ill be saved in the scene, and you w ill not need to re-import them. To load
your previously used references in the scene, right-click the Reference View Toolbar and select Load Default
References.

How to access the Reference view
Do one of the follow ing:l

From the top menu, select W indows > Reference View.

l

From any of the other view s, click the Add View

Tool/Menu Itembutton and select Reference View.

Icon

Description

View Menu

The View menu contains all the tools and options thatyou can use to manage references.

Reference View Toolbar

The Reference View toolbar contains all the tools andoptions you can use in the Reference view to navigate
through and manage references.

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Chapter 6: View s

Allow s you to select a colour by clicking on a colour inyour artw ork.

Colour Eyedropper

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Onion Skin View
The Onion Skin view allow s you to quickly configure onion skin. Using this view , you can choose the colour ofprevious and next draw ings, w hich kind of marked draw ings to display and w hether to measure the span ofonion skin per frame or per draw ing. W hen using Advanced Onion Skin, you can also use this view to pickw hich draw ings are included in the Onion Skin, as w ell as the opacity of the draw ings relative to how far they
are from the current frame.

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

In the top-right corner of a view , click on thel

In the top menu, select W indows > Onion Skin.

Add View button and select Onion Skin.

The Onion Skin view is added to your w orkspace.

A lot of the controls in the Onion Skin view are only accessible w hen using Advanced Onion Skin.

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Chapter 6: View s

How to enable Advanced Onion Skin
1. Do one of the follow ing:l

In the Tools toolbar, click and holdOnion Skin and selectAdvanced Onion Skin.

l

In the Onion Skin view , click on the

Advanced Onion Skin button.

l

In the top-left corner of the Onion Skin view , open the

View Menu and select Advanced

Onion Skin.
The controls for the Advanced Onion Skin are now accessible in the Onion Skin view .

UserInterface

SectionDescription

View Menu

Open the Onion Skin view menu, w hich contains extra options for
Advanced Onion Skin—see Onion Skin View Menu on page 300.

Previous Drawings Settings

Previous
draw ings
visibility
sw itches

Allow s you to select w hich draw ings before the current frame to include in
the Onion Skin. A draw ing that is toggled on w ill be visible in the Onion
Skin, and a draw ing that is toggled up w ill be excluded from it. You canselect a range of draw ings, or include and exclude specific draw ings
individually.

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

User
Interface

SectionDescription

TIP
You can quickly select or deselect a range of draw ings by clicking
and holding on one draw ing, then dragging the mouse cursor over
the other draw ings you w ant to toggle.

Allow s you to adjust the opacity scale of draw ings before the current
frame. Each slider represents the opacity of one draw ing.
By default, moving one of these sliders w ill move the other sliders so thatthe opacity remain on a gradated scale. In this case, you can start byadjusting the opacity on one end, the opacity on another end and then, if
you w ant, adjust one of the sliders in-betw een to make a segmented
progression.

Previous
draw ings
opacity sliders

You can disable this behaviour by unchecking the Link Sliders option intheView Menu in the top-left corner of the Onion Skin view . This

option is enabled by default. W hen disabled, you can adjust the opacity ofeach draw ing independently.

Previous
draw ings colour

Allow s you to select the colour in w hich to display the draw ings before
the current frame.

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Chapter 6: View s

UserInterface

SectionDescription

Onion Skin Settings

Enables Advanced Onion Skin. Advanced Onion Skin allow s you to select,
on the fly, w hich draw ings to include in your Onion Skin, even if thosedraw ings are not consecutive draw ings, as w ell as the opacity scales forthe draw ings before and after the current frame.
Advanced Onion
Skin

Onion skinopacity slider

The controls for selecting w hich draw ings to display in the Onion Skin as
w ell as their opacity sliders are only accessible w hen Advanced Onion
Skin is enabled. Otherw ise, w hen using regular Onion Skin, the opacity ofdraw ings in the Onion Skin is determined by the Onion Skin settings in the
Preferences dialog. The amount of draw ings to include in the Onion Skin is
set using the Onion Skin Add / Reduce One Previous Draw ng and Onion
Skin Add / Reduce One Next Draw ing commands, available in the Camera
and Draw ing toolbars as w ell as in View > Onion Skin in the top menu.

Allow s you to set the overall opacity of all the draw ings in the Onion Skin.

Allow s you to select w hether the draw ings to include in the Onion Skin
are selected by frame or by draw ing.
lInclude byframes or bydraw ings

By Frames: Selects the draw ings to display in the Onion Skin by
their frame number relative to the current frame. For example, if
the Onion Skin is set to include 2 draw ings before and after thecurrent frame, it w ill include the draw ings up to tw o frames before
and up to tw o frames after the current frame, even if thosedraw ings are the same as the one in the current frame. This is more
useful for cut-out animation as it allow s you to position a draw ing
relative to its position in adjacent frames.

NOTE
This option only w orks in the Camera view .

l

By Drawings: Selects the draw ings to display in the Onion Skin by
the amount of different draw ings before and after the current
frame. For example, if the Onion Skin is set to include 2 draw ings
before and after the current frame, this w ill display the nearest tw o

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User
Interface

SectionDescription

different draw ings before and after the draw ing in the current
frame in the Onion Skin, even if those draw ings are further than 2frames aw ay from the current frame. This is more useful for frameby-frame animation.

NOTE
W hen this option is enabled, the handles allow ing you toadjust the extent of the Onion Skin in the Timeline view are
not available.

Next Drawings Settings

Allow s you to select w hich draw ings after the current frame to include in
the Onion Skin. A draw ing that is toggled on w ill be visible in the Onion
Skin, and a draw ing that is toggled up w ill be excluded from it. You canselect a range of draw ings, or include and exclude specific draw ings
individually.
Next draw ings
visibility
sw itches

TIP
You can quickly select or deselect a range of draw ings by clicking
and holding on one draw ing, then dragging the mouse cursor over
the other draw ings you w ant to toggle.

Allow s you to adjust the opacity scale of draw ings after the current frame.
Each slider represents the opacity of one draw ing.
Next draw ings
opacity sliders

By default, moving one of these sliders w ill move the other sliders so thatthe opacity remain on a gradated scale. In this case, you can start byadjusting the opacity on one end, the opacity on another end and then, if
you w ant, adjust one of the sliders in-betw een to make a segmented
progression.

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UserInterface

SectionDescription

You can disable this behaviour by unchecking the Link Sliders option intheView Menu in the top-left corner of the Onion Skin view . This

option is enabled by default. W hen disabled, you can adjust the opacity ofeach draw ing independently.

Next draw ings
colourAllow s you to select the colour in w hich to display the draw ings after thecurrent frame.

Marked Drawings Settings

Show Keydraw ings inOnion Skin

Only displays draw ings marked as key draw ings in the Onion Skin.

Show
Breakdow n
draw ings inOnion Skin

Only displays draw ings marked as breakdow ns in the Onion Skin.

Show Inbetw een
draw ings inOnion Skin

Only displays draw ings w ith no marker in the Onion Skin. Draw ings w ith
no marker are considered in-betw eens.

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User
Interface

SectionDescription

Show
RetakeKeydraw ings inOnion Skin

Only displays draw ings marked as retake key draw ings in the Onion Skin.

Show RetakeBD
draw ings inOnion Skin

Show RetakeIB
draw ings inOnion Skin

Only displays draw ings marked as retake breakdow ns in the Onion Skin.

Only displays draw ings marked as retake in-betw eens in the Onion Skin.

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Chapter 6: View s

Perspective View
T-HFND-008-016
The Perspective view is used during scene setup. It allow s you to see a multiplane scene’s orientation. The
Perspective view is similar to a 3D display, as it lets you rotate the scene through all possible angles tounderstand the spacing betw een the elements. You can also position and rotate your layers and the camera
inside the 3D display to achieve some 3D setup and camera moves.

How to access the Perspective view
Do one of the follow ing:l

From the top menu, select W indows > Perspective.

l

From any of the other view s, click the Add View

Icon

button and select Perspective.

SectionDescription

View Menu

The View menu contains all the tools and options thatyou can use to w ork in the Perspective view .

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Editing Stack

The Editing Stack menu displays the names of thesymbols and their hierarchy w hen you are editing asymbol. You can click on the different names to go
back up to the different parent symbols or the
top/current project.

X Control

The red circle rotates the view on its X axis.

Y Control

The green circle rotates the view on its Y axis.

Z Control

The blue circle rotates the view on its Z axis.

GridThis is a perspective (3D) grid reference.

Axis Reference Arrow s

The axis reference arrow s let you maintain yourorientation w hen navigating in the Perspective view .

Show /Hide Camera

Show s or hides camera frame in the Perspective view .

Reset View

Resets the pan, rotation, and zoom of the Perspective
view .

Reset Rotation

Resets the rotation of the Perspective view .

This field displays the current zoom level in the
Perspective view . You can use the Zoom level dropdow n menu to select a specific zoom level from thelist. Zoom levels from 2.5% to 6400% are available;
you can also select Fit To View to automatically use azoom level that lets you see all your scene layers andinformation in the Perspective view at once.

Zoom Menu

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Chapter 6: View s

Layer Name

This field displays the currently selected layer anddraw ing name.

Tool Name

This field displays the currently selected tool.

Frame NumberThis field displays the currently selected frame of youranimation.

This field displays the currently selected colour in the

Colour Sw atchpalette.

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Script Editor View
The Scripting view allow s you to edit scripts to run in Harmony directly from the application. It displays a list ofavailable scripts, from w hich you can select an existing script, edit it, test it and save it. The Script Editor w ill
highlight the syntax of your script for easy reading.

How to access the Script Editor view
Do one of the follow ing:l

From the top menu, select W indows > Script Editor.

l

From any of the other view s, click the Add View

button and select Script Editor.

Parameter

Description

Script Editor
menu

The menu for this view —see Script Editor View Menu on page 308.

Script Editor
toolbar

The toolbar for this view —see Script Editor Toolbar on page 623.

The list of script files available as w ell as their location and their read and w rite permissions.
Selecting a script in this list w ill open it in the editor.
Script list

NOTE
The << Sandbox >> item at the top of the list does not correspond to an actual script file. It
is a temporary container to type and test code, and its content cannot be saved.

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Chapter 6: View s

The file list has three columns: File, Location and Permissions.
l

The File column indicates the filename of each script.

NOTE
The << Sandbox >> item at the top of the list does not correspond to an actual
script file. It is a temporary container to type and test code, and its content cannot
be saved.

l

The Location of the script can be one of the follow ing:lApplication Folder: Scripts that are packaged and installed w ith Harmony. Bydefault, you cannot edit these scripts until you select them and click on Make
Editable, at w hich point you are prompted to copy the script to a location fromw hich you can edit them.
Scripts in the Application Resources folder are in the follow ing location:l

W indows: C:\Program Files (x86)\Toon Boom
Animation\Toon Boom Harmony 22
Advanced\resources\scriptslmacOS: /Applications/Toon Boom Harmony 22
Advanced/Harmony
Advanced.app/Contents/tba/resources/scriptsl

GNU/Linux:/usr/local/ToonBoomAnimation/harmonyAdvanced_
22/resources/scriptslUser: Scripts that are saved in your user preferences. Those scripts can beedited and executed from any scene, provided that you are logged in as thesame user.
In Harmony Stand Alone, scripts in the User folder are in the follow ing location:l

W indows: C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Roaming\Toon Boom
Animation\Toon Boom Harmony Advanced\2000-scriptslmacOS: /Users/[username]/Library/Preferences/Toon Boom
Animation/Toon Boom Harmony Advanced/2000-scriptsl

GNU/Linux:/home/[username]/Toon Boom Animation/Toon
Boom Harmony Advanced/2000-scripts

In Harmony Server, scripts in the User folder are in the follow ing location:/USA_DB/users/[username]/HarmonyAdvanced/2000-scriptslScene: Scripts in the scripts sub-folder of the currently open scene. These
scripts can only be edited and executed w hen the current scene is open.

lJob (Harmony Server only): W hen using Harmony Server, these are the scripts
saved in the directory of the current scene's jon. These scripts can be edited andexecuted by any user w hen any scene that is part of this job is open.

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Scripts in the Job folder can be found in the follow ing location:/USA_DB/jobs/[job name]lEnvironment (Harmony Server only): W hen using Harmony Server, these arescripts saved in the directory of the current scene's environment. These scripts
can be edited and executed by any user w hen any scene that is part of thisenvironment is open.
Scripts in the Environment folder can be found in the follow ing location:/USA_DB/environments/[environment name]lGlobal (Harmony Server only): Scripts in the Harmony database's scripts
directory. These scripts can be edited by any user w hen any scene in the
database is open.
Scripts in the Global folder can be found in the follow ing location:/USA_DB/scriptslSystem Variable: Scripts inside the directory set in the TOONBOOM_GLOBAL_SCRIPT_LOCATION environment variable, if this variable is set. These scripts
can be edited and executed by anyone on your w orkstation.

NOTE
W hen tw o or more scripts w ith the same file name exist in different locations,Harmony w ill give priority to a single one of these scripts. The script given priority
w ill be the one listed in the Script Editor and the one executed if it is associated toa toolbar button.
W hich script is prioritized is determined by the order of priority of script locations.
From highest priority to low est priority, the order goes as follow s:User > Scene > System Variable > Job > Environment > Global >Application Resources
An exception to this rule is if you have a script w ith the same name in both thescene folder and your user preferences. In this case, both versions of the script w ill
be listed and you w ill be able to edit both.

l

The Permissions of the script can be one of the follow ing:lRead Only: You cannot edit the script in the Script Editor and save yourchanges.

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NOTES

l

l

If the script's location is the Application Resources folder, it w ill
alw ays be Read Only to prevent you from making changes to scripts
packaged w ith Harmony. How ever, you can click on the Make
Editable button below the script editor to make a copy of the script inyour user preferences folder, after w hich you can make changes tothis copy.

l

If the script is in any other location and is Read Only, then it is likelythat a netw ork administrator made the script or the folder containing
the script read-only to prevent other users from making unw antedchanges to it.

Read/W rite: You can edit the script in the Script Editor and save your changes.

A text field in w hich you can edit the selected script.

EditorNOTE
If the selected script is in the Application Resources folder, you w ill not be able to edit it
until you click on the Make Editable button.

Search toolbar

Allow s you to type in a keyw ord and search for this keyw ord w ithin the script. You can use the
Next button to go to the next instance of the keyw ord and thePrevious button to go to
the previous instance.

CancelIf you have made any changes to your script that you have not yet saved, this discards thosechanges and reloads the saved version.

If the selected script is a script that w as packaged w ith Harmony, and w hich you copied to yourUser folder, to the Scene folder or to the Job, Environment or Global folder to make changes toit, you can click on this button to delete this copy of this script and resume using the original
version of the script that is packaged w ith Harmony instead.
Restore to
Default

IMPORTANTThis w ill permanently delete your version of the script and any changes you have made toit.

VerifyVerifies that the script has no syntax error.

Make Editable

If the currently selected script is in the Application Resources folder, you cannot edit it. By
clicking on this button, the script can be copied to a location w here you can edit it.

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W hen you click on this button, you are prompted to choose w hether to copy in either of theselocations:lUser: Saves the script to a directory in your user preferences directory. You w ill be able
to run and edit the script from any scene as long as you are logged in as the same user.

NOTE
If you are using Harmony Stand Alone, the script w ill be saved to the preferences
for your account on your computer. if you are using Harmony Server, the script w ill
be saved to the preferences for your Harmony database user.

lGlobal: If you are using Harmony Server, select this option to save the script to theHarmony database's global script directory. Anyone w ho is logged in to the database
w ill be able to edit and run this script.

lEnvironment: If you are using Harmony Server, select this option to save the script tothe current scene's environment. Anyone w ill be able to edit and run the script as longas they are w orking on a scene inside this environment.

lJob: If you are using Harmony Server, select this option to save the script to the current
scene's job. Anyone w ill be able to edit and run the script as long as they are w orking
on a scene inside this job.

l

Scene: Save the script to the scene's scripts sub-folder. Anyone w ill be able to edit
and run the script w hen w orking on this specific scene.

lSystem Variable: Save the script to the directory in the TOONBOOM_GLOBAL_SCRIPT_
LOCATION environment variable. This option is only available if this environment
variable is set.

NOTE
This button w ill be greyed out if the script is in any location other than Application
Resources and is read only.

Saves the modifications you made to the script.
Save

This button replaces the Make Editable button after you have used the Make Editable button tocopy the script to a location from w hich you can edit it.

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Chapter 6: View s

Side View
T-HFND-008-015
The Side view is used mainly for multiplane scenes and to position elements in 3D space. It allow s you to see
a scene’s stage from the side. This lets the camera cone and spacing betw een the elements to be seen.

How to access the Side view
Do one of the follow ing:l

From the top menu, select W indows > Side.

l

From any of the other view s, click the Add View

Icon

button and select Side.

SectionDescription

View Menu

The View menu contains all the tools and options thatyou can use to w ork in the Side view .

Thumbnails

A thumbnail of each draw ing layer in the scene. The
order of the thumbnail images is based on eachelement’s FB position in the scene space. You can see
a representation of the FB position of each layer in the690Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

camera cone.

Camera Cone

The camera cone represents the camera’s position andfield-of-view (FOV).

Axis Reference Arrow s

The axis reference arrow s let you maintain yourorientation w hen navigating in the view .

Show /Hide Camera

Show s or hides camera frame in the Perspective view .

Reset View

Resets the pan, rotation, and zoom of the Perspective
view .

This field displays the current zoom level in the
Perspective view . You can use the Zoom level dropdow n menu to select a specific zoom level from thelist. Zoom levels from 2.5% to 6400% are available;
you can also select Fit To View to automatically use azoom level that lets you see all your scene layers andinformation in the Perspective view at once.

Zoom Menu

Layer Name

This field displays the currently selected layer anddraw ing name.

Tool Name

This field displays the currently selected tool.

Frame NumberThis field displays the currently selected frame of youranimation.

Colour Sw atchThis field displays the currently selected colour in thepalette.

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Chapter 6: View sTimeline View
T-HFND-006-002
To set your animation timing, you w ill mostly w ork w ith the Timeline and Xsheet view s. It's extremely useful
to become familiar w ith the Timeline view , how it w orks, and its interface.
The Timeline view is the main view used w hen adjusting the timing of draw ings, adding keyframes andordering layers. The Timeline view displays layers, effects, sounds, keyframe values, scene length, layer
names, draw ings, keyframes, timing, and frames.

The Timeline view allow s you to read your timing from left to right. It represents the scene’s elements in theirsimplest form. You can also see the layers and their names, as w ell as the draw ing’s exposure. The draw ing
name is displayed w hen you place your pointer over the draw ing’s exposure.

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

From the top menu, select W indows > Timeline.

l

From any of the other view s, click the Add View

Icon

button and select Timeline.

SectionDescription

View Menu

The View menu contains all the tools and options that you can use to
manage models.

The Enable/Disable All button lets you enable or disable layers. Disablinga layer makes the scene behave as if it didn't exist, including w hen
rendering the scene. For example:l

A disabled draw ing layer w ill be invisible.

l

A disabled sound layer w ill be mute.

l

A disabled peg layer w ill not affect the position of its child layers.

To disable a layer, click the layer's Enable/Disable button or press D.

To enable a layer, click the layer's Enable/Disable button or press A.
Enable/Disable Layer

NOTE
Next to sound layers, the Enable/Disable layer button w ill look like
this:

.

TIP
You can enable or disable all layers by clicking on the Enable ordisable all layers
button in the top row .

Enable/Disable Solo
Mode

Solo mode allow s you to only view specific layers in the Camera view andhide all others. W hen solo mode is enabled on one layer, only this layer

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Chapter 6: View s

w ill be visible. If solo mode is enabled on several layers, and only theselayers w ill be visible. If solo mode is not enabled on any layer, all enabledlayers w ill be visible.
You can also use solo mode on sound tracks. If solo mode is enabled on
any sound tracks, only those sound tracks w ill play during playback.

TIP
W hen some layers are in solo mode, you can disable or re-enablesolo mode on all layers that have it enabled by clicking on the
Toggle solo mode on or off
button in the top row .

For w hen the Onion Skin option is enabled, this allow s you to enable ordisable Onion Skin on specific layers.

Add to/Remove fromOnion Skin

TIP
To activate the general Onion Skin preview , in the Tools toolbar,
click the Onion Skin button

Lock/Unlock Layer

The Lock/Unlock Layer button lets you prevent the selection or editing ofa layer in the Camera view . To select some of the layers w ithout selecting
others, in the Timeline view , lock the layers you do not w ant to select.
W hen a layer is locked, its name is displayed in red.

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In the top menu, there is a series of locking options. Select Animation >Lock > select one of the follow ing:lLock: Locks the currently selected element.

l

Unlock: Unlocks the currently selected element.

lLock All: Locks all the elements in the Camera view .

lUnlock All: Unlocks all the elements in the Camera view .

lLock All Others: Locks all the elements in the Camera view
except the currently selected one.

Each draw ing layer has a little colour sw atch that has tw o functionalities:lSingle- clicking a layer's colour sw atch toggles Outline mode on
or off. Outline mode makes the layer display as nothing but theoutlines of its vector shapes in the Camera view , allow ing you to
see the draw ing's shape w ithout it blocking the view of layers
behind it.

lDouble- clicking the layer's colour sw atch opens a colour picker
dialog that allow s you to change the layer's track colour. The trackcolour displays in the layer's track in the Timeline view , allow ing
you to give special visibility to specific layers. It also determines
the colour of the layer's outlines if it's in outline mode.

Toggle Outline Mode /Change Track Colour

Show /Hide
Thumbnails

Expands the layer to display a thumbnail of the draw ing in the current
frame, as w ell as for each draw ing in the timeline.

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Chapter 6: View s

NOTE
By default, the timeline's zoom level does not allow enoughhorizontal space to fully display the thumbnails of draw ings
exposed for one or tw o frames only. To see the thumbnails fordraw ings w ith short exposure, you must increase the timeline's
zoom level—see Timeline Zoom on page 701.

W hen a draw ing layer is in Show Thumbnails mode:lAn exposure indicator appears at the right of each exposeddraw ing in the timeline, indicating the amount of frames thedraw ing spans over.

l

An Opacity parameter appears to the left of the layer, allow ing
you to set the layer's opacity level.

TIP
You can show or hide thumbnails for all draw ing layers by clicking
on the Show /Hide All Thumbnails

button in the top row .

Allow s you to set the opacity level of the layer. Click and drag the value
left or right to decrease or increase the layer's opacity.
Opacity

NOTEThis parameter only displays for draw ing layers that are in Show
Thumbnails mode.

Active Draw ing Layer
Indicator

This icon appears next to the active draw ing layer, w hich is the layer you
draw on w hen using draw ing tools.

696Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

NOTE
The active draw ing layer is not alw ays the selected layer. For
example, if you select a draw ing layer, then a peg layer, the peg
layer w ill be the selected layer, but the active draw ing layer w ill
remain the last draw ing layer you selected, until you select anotherdraw ing layer.

The Add Layers button lets you add new layers to the Timeline view .
Add Layer

W hen you click the Add Layers button, a menu appears displaying theavailable layer types.

DeleteThe Delete Layers button lets you delete the currently selected layers in
the Timeline view .

Add Draw ing Layer

The Add Draw ing Layer button lets you automatically add a new draw ing
layer to the Timeline view . By default, the layer is named Drawing.

The Add Peg button lets you add a peg layer to the timeline. If several
layers are selected, a peg is added and parented to each layer.
Add Peg

The Expand/Collapse button is used to display the children layers of aparent layer. Once a layer is parented to another layer, it is indented to
the right and the Collapse/Expand Children button appears on the parent
layer allow ing you to show or hide the child layer.
Expand/Collapse

The Show /Hide Functions button lets you display the functions
embedded in each layer. The functions are the different coordinates andvalues used to record a layer’s parameters at each frame. This informationis stored on the function curves using keyframes.
Show /Hide Functions
If the layer can be connected to another layer, for example to use adraw ing layer as a matte, expanding a layer's functions w ill also list its
possible connections. You can connect layers by dragging and dropping alayer onto another layer's connection.

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Chapter 6: View s

Adds a keyframe at the current frame of the selected function or removes
the keyframe at the current frame of the selected function, if there is one
already.
Add/Remove
Keyframe

NOTE
This button only displays for function layers.

Moves the timeline cursor to the previous keyframe on the selectedfunction.
Previous Keyframe

NOTE
This button only displays for function layers.

Moves the timeline cursor to the next keyframe on the selected function.

Next Keyframe

NOTE
This button only displays for function layers.

Displays the Function menu, w hich allow s you to create a new function
for the function layer, or to link it to an existing shared function.
Function Menu

NOTE
This button only displays for functions layers, in the Parameterscolumn—see Show /Hide Parameters on page 700.

Function Keyframe

A frame w here the value for one or more of the layer's functions is preset.
The position of each layers in key poses for digital animation is recorded
in function keyframes. You can grab and move function keyframes as w ell
as copy, cut, paste and delete them.

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

TIP
If you have a keyframe and a draw ing selected simultaneously, andyou w ish to delete the keyframe w ithout deleting the draw ing's
exposure by doing one of the follow ing:l

In the Timeline toolbar, click on the Delete Keyframe
button.

l

Press F7.

l

From the top menu, select Animation > Delete Keyframe

NOTE
If a collapsed layer has children that have function keyframes, you
w ill see a w hite squareinstead.

The Split button lets you split the Timeline view in tw o sections, allow ing
you to see tw o different portions of the Timeline view . This can be useful
if you need to often sw itch betw een tw o specific points of a lengthy
scene.

Split

Draw ing Exposure

View Modes

In the Timeline view , w hen a draw ing is exposed, it is represented by agrey block that extends from the first frame it is exposed to the last frame
it is exposed.

Lets you choose betw een different view modes allow ing you to decide
w hich layers are listed in the Timeline view . This can be useful if you're
w orking on a scene w ith a lot of layers, and you only w ant layers you w ill
be w orking on to appear in the Timeline view so as to declutter it. The
follow ing view modes are available:lNormal View Model

Selection Only Modew ill hide all the layers that are notcurrently selected, leaving only the currently selected layers in theTimeline view .

699

w ill show all the layers in your scene.

Chapter 6: View slView Tagged Layers

w ill only show layers w hich you havetagged.

TIP
You can tag a layer by doing one of the follow ing:lRight click on the layer and select Tag > Timeline Tag.

lOpen the Timeline view menu

and select Edit > Tag >Timeline Tag.

Show s or hides the Parameters column, right of the Layers column. The
Parameters column displays information on the layer at the current frame,depending on the type of layer it is:l

If the layer is a draw ing, it displays the name of the draw ing at thecurrent frame.

l

If the layer is a function, it displays the value of the function at thecurrent frame.

l

If the layer is a sound track, it displays the sound track's volume.

Show /HideParameters

Using the mouse, you can drag the parameter left and right to change its
value. This is especially useful for quickly changing a draw ing's exposure
at the current frame.

Show /Hide Additional
Links

Show s or hides the Additional Links column. The Additional Links column
displays layers that are connected under the layer, but for other purposes
than being the parent of those layers. For example, if a layer is used as
the matte of an effect, the effect w ill be displayed in that layer's
Additional Links.

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

If more than one layers are in a layer's Additional Links, only the first ofthese layers w ill be displayed, follow ed by the amount of extra linked
layers there are.
By clicking on the Additional Links, you can open a menu listing the linked
layers, and click on one of these layers to navigate to it.
In the follow ing example, the BOOM_Animation layer is used as thematte of Cutter_1 and Cutter_2:

Timeline Zoom

Reduces or increases the w idth of frames in the Timeline view . Move theslider right to increase the w idth or left to reduce it. You can also press 2
to zoom in and 1 to zoom out w hen the Timeline view is focused on.
If you w ant to reset the Timeline view 's zoom, click on the Timeline Zoon
icon left of the slider.

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Chapter 6: View s

Tool Properties View
T-HFND-004-002
The Tool Properties view contains the most common options and operations related to the currently selected
tool. W hen you select a tool from the Tools toolbar, the Tool Properties view updates.
For example, if you choose the Select tool, the Tool Properties view w ill display the options and operations
related to it, such as Snap to Contour, Apply to All Draw ings, Flip Horizontal, and Flatten.

NOTE
To learn more about the options appearing in the Tool Properties view , see Tools Properties on
page 406.

How to access the Tool Properties view
Do one of the follow ing:l

From the top menu, select W indows > Tool Properties.

l

From any of the other view s, click the Add View

702

button and select Tool Properties.

Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Top View
T-HFND-008-014
The Top view is used mainly for multiplane scenes and to position elements in 3D space. It allow s you to see
the scene’s stage from above. This lets the camera cone and the spacing betw een the elements be seen.

How to access the Top view
Do one of the follow ing:l

From the top menu, select W indows > Top.

l

From any of the other view s, click the Add View

Icon

button and select Top.

SectionDescription

View Menu

The View menu contains all the tools and options thatyou can use to w ork in the Side view .

Thumbnails

A thumbnail of each draw ing layer in the scene. The
order of the thumbnail images is based on eachelement’s FB position in the scene space. You can see
a representation of the FB position of each layer in thecamera cone.

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Chapter 6: View s

Camera Cone

The camera cone represents the camera’s position andfield-of-view (FOV).

Axis Reference Arrow s

The axis reference arrow s let you maintain yourorientation w hen navigating in the view .

Show /Hide Camera

Show s or hides camera frame in the Perspective view .

Resets the pan, rotation, and zoom of the Perspective

Reset View

view .

This field displays the current zoom level in the
Perspective view . You can use the Zoom level dropdow n menu to select a specific zoom level from thelist. Zoom levels from 2.5% to 6400% are available;
you can also select Fit To View to automatically use azoom level that lets you see all your scene layers andinformation in the Perspective view at once.

Zoom Menu

Layer Name

This field displays the currently selected layer anddraw ing name.

Tool Name

This field displays the currently selected tool.

Frame NumberThis field displays the currently selected frame of youranimation.

Colour Sw atchThis field displays the currently selected colour in thepalette.

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

Xsheet View
T-HFND-006-003
The Xsheet view lets you read the timing vertically by displaying it in a grid, w ith each draw ing layer
represented by a column, each frame of your scene represented by a row , and each exposed draw ing
displayed by its name in the cells. It is meant to w ork like a traditional animation exposure sheet.
Using the functions panel, you can also view the functions and keyframes of the motion paths for the selectedcolumn, w ith the value of those functions for each frame listed in the cells.
Contrary to the Timeline view , the Xsheet view does not display pegs, effects or layer hierarchy. Hence, it is
optimized for traditional and paperless animation, w hereas the Timeline view is optimized for digital or cut-out
animation.

How to access the Xsheet view
Do one of the follow ing:l

From the top menu, select W indows > Xsheet.

l

From any of the other view s, click the Add View

705

button and select Xsheet.

Chapter 6: View s

Icon

SectionDescription

View Menu

The View menu contains all the tools and options thatyou can use to manage columns and timing.

View Toolbar

The view toolbar contains all the tools and options
you can use in the Xsheet view to manage columns
and timing.

The Xsheet view has three sections. By default, only
the main section is visible. It displays the draw ing
layers, also know n as draw ing columns.

Xsheet Main Section

W hen using advanced compositing and animation
techniques, unconnected functions (motion paths)
also appear in the main section. Unconnectedfunctions mean that some motion paths are notattached to any particular layer.
W hen you reconnect functions to a layer, they are stillvisible in the main section.

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Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

The Functions section is used for more advanced
techniques. This section displays the functions (paths)
related to the selected layer in the Timeline view . By
default, the Functions section is hidden.
In the Xsheet view , click the Expand button located on
the right side of the main section. Click on the same
button to collapse it. You can also use the Show
Column List button in the Xsheet View toolbar. If you
select a draw ing column in the main section of the
Xsheet view , the function columns w ill not be
displayed. You must select the layer from the Timelineview .
Functions Section

The Column List section allow s you to show and hidecolumns in the Xsheet view . W hen you hide a layer inthe Xsheet view , it is also disabled in the Timelineview .

Column List Section707

Chapter 6: View s

You can use the Column List to hide individualcolumns or hide an entire column type (draw ing orfunction) from the Xsheet view . By default, theFunctions section is hidden.
In the Xsheet view , click the Expand button on theright side of the main section to show the Functions
section. Click on the same button to collapse it. You
can also use the Show Column List

button in the

Xsheet toolbar.
Go to the Xsheet view menu and select View > Show
Column List. Click the Expand button on the right sideof the Functions section to display the Column List
section.

Each column available in the Xsheet view has aheader displaying the column’s name. The column’sname is the same as the corresponding timeline layer.
If you rename one or the other, they w ill both berenamed.
A quick access menu is available w hen you right-click.
This menu contains the command affecting an entire
column such as renaming, changing the default
colour, or deleting a column.

Column Header

The tooltip that appears w hen you hover at the top ofeach Xsheet column show s the folder path to the708Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guidesource draw ings for that column.

In Harmony, the column header show s the layer’s
name and the name of the draw ing folder to w hich it
is linked. If the name of the layer is the same as thedraw ing folder, the draw ing folder’s name w ill not be
displayed. To modify the name of the element folder
independently from the column and layer name, youmust select the Advanced Element Mode option
preference in the Advanced tab of the Preferences
dialog box.

A draw ing selected in dark red indicates that thedraw ing is currently displayed in the Draw ing and
Camera view s. The current draw ing selection is not
linked to the draw ing displayed in the Camera view
since draw ings from each visible layer are displayed
at once.

Current Draw ing

The darker frame appearing in the Xsheet view
represents the current frame.
Current FrameIn the draw ing columns, you can see the draw ing
names and their exposure. You can use anyalphanumeric symbol to name your draw ing. W hen adraw ing is exposed over more than one cell, a vertical
black line is displayed to indicate the continuity of the
exposure. W hen there is no draw ing in a cell, the cell

Draw ing Exposure709

Chapter 6: View s

w ill be blank.

On the left side of the Xsheet view , the frame
numbers are show n indicating w here you are. These
read vertically instead of being displayed horizontallyas they are in the Timeline view .
lTo go to a particular frame, click the frame
number.

l

To select an entire range of frames, click anddrag a selection dow nw ards.

Frame Numbers

At the bottom-right of the Xsheet view , you can see
the current frame number, as w ell as the column
containing the draw ing currently displayed in the
Draw ing view .
Current Frame Display

The functions columns are displayed in the Functions
section of the Xsheet view . They represent the motion
and rotation you applied to a draw ing layer.

Functions Column

710Harmony 22 Advanced Reference Guide

A function column can also be related to an effect.
Selecting the effect layer show s you thecorresponding function column in the Xsheet view .
The function columns display the position value or
effect value on each cell. If there is a keyframe on acell, a black square is displayed. Holding the samevalue for several frames displays a vertical black line.

You can quickly increase or decrease the exposure of
the selected cell by clicking on the up and dow narrow s in the Increase/Decrease Exposure field.

Increase/Decrease
Exposure

The Overw rite/Insert button allow s you to decide thew ay the values are inserted into the Xsheet.

Overw rite/Insert Modes

711