Toonz is now open source

[rtil]

the same animation software that Studio Ghibli uses is now available for free to the public.

https://opentoonz.github.io/e/index.html

also included is a scanning utility and a list of open source plugins.

GET IT

i can't wait to get my hands on this

[Bamyasi]

I am very excited about this but also fear it may be Ghibli's parting gift to the world.

[rtil]

it wasn't really Ghibli's to give, Ghibli just happened to use it. they did develop that in-house scanning tool for Toonz, but Toonz itself was owned by another company called Dwango.

[Bamyasi]

Oh yes, I'm sorry, I meant like symbolically.

I guess it's true Futurama, Anastasia and The Maxx also used it though.

[RichChap]

how is it rtil

[zwimmy]

how is it rtil

[rtil]

Oh yes, I'm sorry, I meant like symbolically.

I guess it's true Futurama, Anastasia and The Maxx also used it though.

ghibli is probably done as far as feature films go, but i think they'll start dabbling more into TV and shorts. they already kinda have.

how is it rtil

hard to say. because it is public for the first time ever there are zero tutorials and guides on how to use it right now. the only thing that exists are PDF manuals for previous versions before it went open source. the version they released is basically the same in terms of functionality but it does have some strange quirks.

the first thing i noticed is that it is extremely user unfriendly in that it is designed with the assumption that you've already been trained on how to use it by a professional. in studios, Toonz would be deployed and then the company would make money on sending in a developer to teach the animation staff how to use it. it is also especially tailored to how Ghibli used it, which is why it starts off in the 'cleanup' window where you would normally be using scanned cels. i don't think many digital animators will be using this part of the program. it even has features called things like 'pegboard' because it's designed to seamlessly transition the traditional and digital process.

that being said you can make an animation from scratch with the digital tools available. while there is a timeline (albeit with the horizontal and vertical axis flipped aka the frames are on the left going from top to bottom instead of left to right), the workflow is so insanely different from flash it feels unintuitive to me at the moment.

also besides cut/copy/paste/save, there are NO hotkeys mapped by default. so you have to map things like the brush tool, eraser, etc on your own.

long story short, it's not for the feint of heart, and is extremely intimidating going in.

if i can learn it quickly enough i think i might try to corner the Toonz tutorial market and teach people how to use it. but i imagine that someone who's already used it in-house will beat me to it.