Exporting to Toon Boom

Using Storyboard Pro, you can export your animatic as Stage, Animate 2, and Animate Pro 2 scene files. You can select to export your whole storyboard project or only a selection of scenes. Once your export is ready, you can open it in the destination software. When you first save this new scene, the exported file will be converted as the proper format depending on the software you used.

The following elements of your storyboard will be exported to the Toon Boom project:

Layers
Layer motion
Camera moves

Before exporting to Toon Boom, you can use the Layers view to deselect specific layers. In the Layers view, deselect the Toon Boom option from the Export To section. Note that this layer will still be exported to Toon Boom, but it will be disabled. You can enter the symbol and re-enable it at anytime.

NOTE: Transitions and holds in the layer motions are not supported by the Export to Toon Boom  option.

Refer to the Layers chapter to learn more about the Layers view.

To export to Toon Boom:

  1. Select File > Export > Export to Toon Boom.

The Export to Toon Boom dialog box opens.

  1. In the Destination Path, select a folder in which to save your storyboard project. You can type in the exact path or use the Browse button to browse to a specific folder on your system. You should create a folder for your exported project since Storyboard Pro will generate several files during the export.
  1. In the Scene Name Pattern field, you can set your own pattern which will be used to name the Harmony scenes created from the export. Leave this field blank to use the default pattern. The following variables can be used to define the scene name pattern:
%t = Project title
%a = Act name (when acts are enabled)
%q = Sequence name (when project contains sequences)
%s = Scene name

You can add a number between the % sign and the letter of the variable to define a minimum number of characters to use. For example, if the scene is named 16 and the Scene Name Pattern value is MyProject_sc%4s, the resulting export will be named: MyProject_sc0016.

For example, if you export separate soundtracks for a project named The Story of the Three Little Pigs, the resulting audio files will be named: The Story of the Three Little Pigs-A1.wav, The Story of the Three Little Pigs-A2.wav, The Story of the Three Little Pigs-A3.wav, ...

  1. In the Export Target section, select the Toon Boom animation software you want to export to:
Export to Animate/Animate Pro: Select this option to export to either Animate or Animate Pro.
Export to Harmony: Enable this option to either export to Harmony Server or Harmony Stand-alone.
To determine if your export will be created for Harmony Server or Stand-alone, in the Format menu, select the Offline option for a Stand-alone export or To Database for a Network format.
Depending on which Harmony version you have, select either 7.8 or 9.2 or higher.
  1. From the Export Style section:
Select the Rendered Animatic option to export a storyboard to be rendered in bitmap images and contained in an Animate / Animate Pro/Harmony scene. For each scene in your storyboard, an Animate / Animate Pro/Harmony scene will be created. You should use this option if you have 3D content, and want to export to Animate,Animate Pro, or Harmony 9.2 and under. Also, use this option to export to Harmony if you have made use of bitmap drawing layers.
All Frames: Renders the full storyboard project.
One Frame Each: Renders only one frame for every chosen number of frames input by the user. For example, if a user chooses to render every 5 frames, then a new image will appear every fifth frame, with each image being held for 5 frames to maintain the timing.
Resolution: Lets you select the render size of the project: Full size, half size or quarter size.
Generate One Scene: Generates a scene by shot or by selected panels.
Per Scene: Generates the scene by shots.
Per Selection: Generates the scene by selected panels.
Per Sequence: Generates the scene by sequences. Note that this option only appears when sequences are added in the project.
Per Act: Generates the scene by act. Note that this option only appears when the Enable Act option is selected.
Animatic on Top: If you generate your scenes based on your sequences or acts, this option becomes available. When enabled, the animatic is rendered and placed as the top layer and column in Stage or Animate.
Select Original Scene to export your storyboard in a project where the vector drawings, layers and camera settings are kept as is. For each shot scene in your storyboard, a Harmony/Animate scene is created.
Nest Panels in Symbols: Upon export to Harmony or Animate, your panel's content will be nested inside symbols. Instead of having several layers in your root timeline, you will have a single one. You will need to enter the symbol to edit its content.
Add a Camera Reference Layer: When enabled, a layer containing the different camera frames will be added on top of the other layers to use as a reference in Harmony and Animate.
Apply Transformation on Drawings: When enabled, transformation will be applied on the first and last position of each panel. Note that the in-between animation will be lost.
  1. If you selected Rendered Animatic as the Export Style, you can now select the additional information you want to overlay on the exported images. This information is add to each image and is specific to the panel. You have the following choices:
Export Range: Decide if you want to export the entire project (All), Selected Scenes, Current Scene, or the Current Act.
Sounds: Using the drop-down menu, choose how the soundtrack will be exported:
Keep Original Files: Keeps and uses all original sound files.
Process Soundtrack Individually: Creates one audio file per soundtrack.
Merge Soundtracks: Creates a single audio file, gathering sounds from every soundtrack of your storyboard.
Burn-In:
Print Time Code: Prints the global timecode on each rendered image.
Print Scene Names and Panel Numbers: Prints the scene names and panel numbers for the current frame.
Print Panel Time Code: Prints each panel’s timecode for the current frame.
Camera Grids: Adds boundaries to the images that indicate what the camera includes or excludes.
Project Safety: Prints the safe area on your video—see Safe Area.
4:3 Safety: Prints the 4:3 safe area on each panel of your storyboard that has a camera movement—see 4:3 Safety.
4:3 References: Prints the 4:3 area on each panel of your storyboard that has a camera movement—see 4:3 Safety.
  1. Select the Open document/folder after export option to view the file when it is ready.