Scan User Guide
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Contents Chapter 1: Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 3 Scan Module .............................................................................................................................................................. 4 Scanners and SCSI Adapters .....................................................................................................................................
Harmony Scan User Guide 2
Chapter 1 Introduction Toon Boom Harmony is a complete animation solution that offers a variety of tools to suit the user’s needs from pre-production steps to the end of production. Some of these tools are provided in specialized modules, such as the Xsheet, Paint, Scan and Play modules, which are designed to help the user focus on a specific task to ensure the efficacy of the whole production.
Harmony Scan User Guide Scan Module When working on a traditional animation production, in order to produce a scene, a large quantity of drawings must be scanned in. In order to speed up the process, these productions require the use of automated scanners. The Scan module is used to communicate with these scanners and set the parameters required to create the vectorization style and correct registration of the scanned animation.
Chapter 2 Interface It is important to become familiar with the following elements of the user interface, this will help you to start using Toon Boom Harmony. You can learn more about the highlights described here, and how to use them in a production context, throughout this guide. When you start Toon Boom Harmony for the first time, the default workspace is displayed. It contains all of the main elements you need to use.
Harmony Scan User Guide Interface Highlights The Harmony Scan module is composed of five major sections. Top Menu Control Panel Drawing List Image Panel Frame Preview Panel Top Menu The top menu contains most of the commands available in the Harmony Scan module. The menu categories are: • • • • File Use this menu to load drawings and manage exposure sheet elements.
Chapter 2: Interface Control Panel Located at the top left of the Scan module window directly below the menu bar, the buttons allow you to set up the scan. These buttons are used for scan preparation. These buttons are used for the scanning method and scanning process. • • • • • • • • Feed Press this button to display a menu. Use this menu to select how drawings will be fed through the scanner D Autofeed: Feed the drawings into the Automatic Document Feeder (ADF).
Harmony Scan User Guide D Colour: Select this option to scan a pre-coloured drawing, such as a background or an overlay. • • Scanner Press this button to display a menu. Use the menu to select one of the scanners that is connected to the host machine. The default model is the one that appears first in your scanner configuration file, scan.conf. Stop Press this button to interrupt a scan that is in progress.
Chapter 3 How to Scan Scanning with the Harmony Scan Module Toon Boom Harmony has a dedicated Scan module for fast scanning. It creates a drawing list out of the previously created exposure sheet. To use this module, you must create your exposure sheet in Stage prior to the scan process.
Harmony Scan User Guide Launching the Harmony Scan Module and Loading Drawings Usually when you are ready for the scanning process, a scene have been created containing the elements to be scanned and the exposure sheet has been filled. If you did not previously prepare your scene’s exposure sheet, create your elements or even create your scene, you can always create drawing lists, elements or scenes directly from the scan module without having to go through the Control Centre.
Chapter 3: How to Scan Scanning with the Harmony Scan Module The Database Selector dialog box opens, displaying the Environments available from the Harmony database. 4. Select the Environment, Job, Scene and then the Element you want to scan. 5. Click on Open. The Drawing Selector dialog box opens listing all the drawings contained in the selected element. The Drawing column lists the name of the drawings. The Scanned? column indicates if the drawing has been scanned (Yes) or not (No). 6.
Harmony Scan User Guide 7. Select the drawings you want to scan. Select specific drawings from the list using your mouse pointer. You can select several drawing using [Shift] + click. Press All to select all the drawings in the list. Press None to unselect all drawings. Press Scanned to select only the drawings that are stated as scanned (Yes) in the list. Press Unscanned to select only the drawings that are stated as not scanned (No) in the list. Click OK. 8.
Chapter 3: How to Scan Scanning with the Harmony Scan Module 3. Click on the Create Scene button The Create Scene dialog box opens. 4. In the Scene Name(s) field, type the new scene’s name. [Enter] Press [Enter] after each scene’s name to create more than one scene. Select the file system from the File System list. 5. Click on the Other File System browse button to select another file system to use. Refer to the Toon Boom Server Guide to learn more about creating project in the database.
Harmony Scan User Guide 2. Select the Environment, Job and Scene in which you want to add elements. 3. Click on the Create Element button. If the System Administrator did not complete the resolution configuration tasks, a warning message will open. This message notifies you that the resolution.conf file was not properly inserted in the configuration folder. Click on the OK button to continue. The Scan module interface and the Create Element dialog box open. 4.
Chapter 3: How to Scan Scanning with the Harmony Scan Module 8. 9. Select the field chart size of your element from the drop-down list. When you are done: Click OK to add the element and return to the Database Selector. Click Add to add the element and keep the dialog box open to add more. Click Close to cancel and return to the Database Selector without adding an element. Creating and Editing a Drawing List There are two ways you can create and edit a drawing list from the Scan module.
Harmony Scan User Guide 4. Select the drawings you want to scan. Select specific drawings from the list using your mouse pointer. You can select several drawing using [Shift] + click. Press All to select all the drawings in the list. Press None to unselect all drawings. Press Scanned to select only the drawings that are stated as scanned (Yes) in the list. Press Unscanned to select only the drawings that are stated as not scanned (No) in the list. Click OK. 5.
Chapter 3: How to Scan Scanning with the Harmony Scan Module D Left Peg: The peg holes appear on the left of the drawing. D Right Peg: The peg holes appear on the right of the drawing. d Select the desired resolution from the dpi drop-down list. This determines the quality and the size of scanned images. The resolutions that appear in the list depend on the selected scanner. e Select the size of the paper you are scanning from the drop-down list. The different choices appear in field units.
Harmony Scan User Guide 3. Select the appropriate feeding type from the Control Panel: 4. Autofeed: Select this option to feed the drawings through the automatic document feeder (ADF). Autofeed (One): Select this option to accept one drawing from the ADF when the Scan button is being pressed. Pegged: Select this option to scan a drawing from the flatbed each time the Scan button is being pressed.
Chapter 3: How to Scan Scanning with the Harmony Scan Module 6. 7. Click Preview to view the changes. Keep adjusting these values until you get the effect you want. These values will be applied to all the subsequent drawings you scan. NOTE: To keep the image from a trial scan without having to re-scan the drawing, press the Save button. This assigns the image to the currently selected drawing name in the Drawing List and marks it as Scanned.
Harmony Scan User Guide 2. Select the appropriate feeding type from the Control Panel: Autofeed: Select this option to feed the drawings through the automatic document feeder (ADF). Autofeed (One): Select this option to accept one drawing from the ADF when the Scan button is being pressed. Sort the paper drawings in your scanner in the same order as they appear in the Drawing List. 3. The Scan module uses the Drawing List order to scan the drawings.
Chapter 3: How to Scan Scanning with the Harmony Scan Module A portion of the entire scanned image appears in this window. Scroll to the animator’s label using the scroll bars. The entire drawing appears in Frame Preview panel. When the scan is complete, the Drawing List tags the drawing as Scanned and highlights the next drawing. If an Optical Registration Error occurs, an error dialog box appears.
Harmony Scan User Guide 4. Close the scanner cover, making sure the paper is laying flat against the glass, free of wrinkles and folds. You are now ready to scan the drawing. Never scan a drawing while the scanner cover is open. If you do, large black areas can appear around the edges (similar to a photocopier with the lid open). The scanner interprets this extra black area as part of the drawing, which drastically slows the vectorization process.
Chapter 3: How to Scan Scanning with the Harmony Scan Module The Scan module considers peg hole A to be the leftmost peg position on horizontal pan cels, and the topmost peg position for vertical pan cels. 4. 5. Place the pan cel face down on the scanner glass with the round A peg hole placed on the round registration peg on the scanner or position it in the optical registration search area as defined earlier. Close the scanner cover. Select the peg hole you are scanning first from the Peg Hole panel.
Harmony Scan User Guide The Scan module does not vectorize these types of digital drawings and you cannot view them in the Control Center. If you do decide to use these drawings, you must follow the standard procedure for scanning drawings for a regular scene (with the Control Center and Stage Modules). To manually build a list of drawings to Scan: 1. Select File > Build Manual List. The Manual List dialog box appears. 2.
Chapter 3: How to Scan Scanning with the Harmony Scan Module 4. Select the drawings you want to add to the Drawing List. By default, all the entries appear selected, but you can select the drawing(s) you want to scan. 6.Click the OK button to close the Manual List dialog box. The selected drawings appear in the Drawing List of the Scan module’s Control Panel.
Harmony Scan User Guide Setting the Vectorization Style You can set the vectorization style you want to apply to the subsequent drawings that will be sent to the Vectorize Queue in the Control Centre, using the Vectorize Style command. To set the vectorization style: 1. Select Edit >Vectorize Style. The Vectorization Styles dialog box opens. 2. 3. Select the desired vectorization style from the list. Click on the OK button.
Chapter 4 Scan Menu Commands This chapter is a quick reference to the commands available in the Scan Module menu: • • • • • Scan Commands on page 28 File Commands on page 28 Edit Commands on page 29 Scanner Commands on page 29 Help Commands on page 30 27
Harmony Scan User Guide Scan Commands About Toon Boom Scan If you are using Mac OS X, use the About Toon Boom Scan command to display product and version information. To activate this command: Select Scan > About Toon Boom Scan Quit Toon Boom Scan If you are using Mac OS X, use the Quit Toon Boom Scan command to close the Scan module window and end the current session.
Chapter 4: Scan Menu Commands Edit Commands Edit Commands Drawing List Use the command to open the Drawings Selector dialog box and label cells to accept drawings. To activate this command: Select Edit > Drawing List Create ScanInfo File Use the Create ScanInfo File command to create a plaintext file for each subsequent scan, such as the image’s resolution and aspect ratio.
Harmony Scan User Guide Help Commands About If you are using Windows or Linux, use the About command to display product and version information. To activate this command: Select Help > About Debug Mode Use the Debug Mode command to access the Debug window which helps to identify a problem encountered in the software. To activate this command: Select Help > Debug Mode Help Use the Help command to view the integrated help system.
Index Index A About 30 Scan Module Help Command 30 scan module 4 About Scan command 28 Scan Module 28 ADF using 19 Automatic Document Feeder using 19 B Scan Module Scanner Command 29 elements create from scan module 13 scanner 12 Epson supported scanners colour 4 Exit 28 Scan Module File Command 28 F File Commands Build Manual List 28 Exit 28 Load From File 28 Open Drawings 28 Build Manual List 28 Scan Module File Command 28 frame preview interface scan module 8 C Fujitsu supported scanners B&W 4
Harmony Scan User Guide Microtek supported scanners colour 4 O Open Drawings 28 Scan Module File Command 28 Ricoh 4 Sharp 4 Umax 4 list of 4 scanning ADF using 19 Automatic Document Feeder using 19 P drawings 19 manually 21 pan cel pegging 22 scanning 22 how to 9 launching 10 loading previously scanned drawings 25 pan cels 22 stop process 23 techniques advanced 23 pegging pan cels 22 Q Quit command 28 Scan Module 28 vectorization style setting of 26 R Reverse Drawing List 29 Scan Module Edit Co
