Adding Layers and Columns
There are different ways to add a drawing layer to your project. By default, when you create a new scene there is one Drawing column in the Xsheet view and one corresponding Drawing layer in the Timeline view.
You can add an element for each drawing and it will appear as a column in the Xsheet view
- In the Timeline view, click the Add Drawing Layer button or press Ctrl + R (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ + R (Mac OS X).
The Add Drawing Layer window opens.
- In the Name field, name your new layer.
- Set the Line Art and Colour Art options to Vector to get a vector layer or to Bitmap to have a bitmap layer.
- Do one of the following:
‣ | Click Add to add a first layer and keep the window open to add more layers. |
‣ | Click Add and Close to add a new layer and close the window. |
A new drawing layer is added to the Timeline view.
- From the top menu, select Insert > Drawing.
The Add Drawing Layer dialog box opens.
- In the Name field, type a relevant element name and click OK.
The new drawing element appears in your scene.
- Do one of the following:
‣ | In the Xsheet menu, select Columns > Add Columns. |
‣ | Click the Add Columns button. |
‣ | Press Shift + C. |
The Add Column dialog box opens.
- In the Name field, type a relevant element name.
- In the Type field, select Drawing.
- To complete the operation:
‣ | Click OK to add your new layers and close the dialog box. |
‣ | Click Apply to add your new layers and keep the dialog box open to add column. |
‣ | Click Close to cancel the operation. |
The new drawing element appears in the Timeline, Xsheet and Node views—see Layer and Column Types.
You can use the advanced Add Column dialog box to make more file format and field size options available when you insert a column.
- From the top menu, select Edit > Preferences (Windows/Linux) or Stage Advanced > Preferences (Mac OS X) and select the Advanced tab.
- In the Advanced Options section, select the Advanced Element Mode option to access the advanced Add Column dialog box.
- Click OK.
- In the Xsheet menu, select Columns > Add Column or press Shift + C.
The Add Column dialog box opens.
- In the Name field, type the new column’s name.
- In the Type menu, select the Drawing type.
- In the Element section, select one of the following:
‣ | Create New Element: Creates an independent column with its own drawing folder. |
‣ | Use Existing Element: Uses drawings from an existing column in the new column. Both columns will be attached to the same set of drawings, but their timing will remain independent from one another. If you modify one of the drawings, it will be modified in both columns. This is the same principle as the Clone column. |
In the Name menu, select the column to which you want to link your new column.
- If you selected the Create New Element option:
‣ | Deselect the Vector option if you want your layer to contain bitmap images or enable it if you want the layer to contain vector drawings. Most of the time, the Vector option will be enabled. |
‣ | If you deselected the Vector option, from the Bitmap Format list, select which type of bitmap image you want to insert in the column. Select the SCAN type if you are planning to scan drawings using the Toon Boom Harmony Scan module. |
‣ | If you deselected the Vector option and you chose the SCAN type, from the Scan Type menu, select what kind of scanning you want to achieve. |
‣ | In the Field Chart field, when importing traditional animation, indicate the size of paper on which the animation or background was drawn. If you are not using perforated animation paper, leave the 12 field default value as is. |
- Do one of the following:
‣ | Click OK button to create the new column and close the dialog box. |
‣ | Click Apply to create the new column but keep the dialog box opened to create other new columns. |