Grease Pencil Storyboard Functionality
This isn't going to be a whole idea fleshed out. This is just a declaration of war. And I'm pointing directly at ToonBoom Storyboard Pro.
I'm a professional storyboard artist and I've worked in movies, tv, and games for about 20 years. The only software my industry uses professionally is ToonBoom Storyboard Pro and the new Grease Pencil Blender 2.8 does ALMOST EVERYTHING that ToonBoom SB pro does.
Now look at how much it costs...
Blender 2.8 does almost everything ToonBoom SB pro (TBSBp) can do as a storyboarding program.
Except Blender 2.8 can do SO MUCH MORE!!! It is a fully-functional 3d package of astounding quality.
Come ride with me on a journey of imagination for a bit and explore what would happen if that small missing piece of storyboarding functionality were to be inserted into Blender...
You'd have storyboard artists create the storyboards and animatics inside of the same program the modellers and animators (and everyone else in the team) would use to bring the project to fruition.
ALL team members working within the same program. That's powerful stuff.
So, what's the missing piece?
What will bring it all together so that every artist is under the same Blender tent?
This list of simple tasks:
- The ability to import a script (essentially a .txt doc) into a scene.
- The ability to display frames individually into a storyboard format with notes (includes numbers, action & dialog) just like you see on a storyboard page.
- The ability to export these complete storyboard pages as a .pdf file.
That's it.
I'm just gonna say that again...
That's it!
That's all that there is to incorporate. Holy sh!t. That is the sum total of what's needed to bridge the gap between storyboard artists and the rest of the 3d team. Oh. My. God. There are so many ridiculously clever people contributing to Blender that this type of basic information collation seems like a doddle!
Blender 2.8 is already a game changer, but with a small amount of focussed effort Blender could SO EASILY pull the rug out from under the ToonBoom monopoly and rescue many people (like myself) who have to pay ToonBoom's extortionate prices. US$999!!! Just take a look on the TB site and see the video of what their program can do! Now you tell me if Blender can also do all of that already?
toonboom.com/products/storyboardpro
This is a call to arms for the Grease Pencil gladiators out there. Rescue an industry you might not have even known needed rescuing. Save us, the storyboard artists, and we will be forever grateful. Let us join your ranks, and fight under the same banner.
Let us use Blender together.
35 Comments
What is the format of the script? In order to be importable it must follow a defined structure. If it does, this is the place for an addon. It could become an official addon if it is working well and many people are using it.
I can imagine the second requirement of your proposal being a workspace in Blender. For those of us who don't write storyboards, what does a 'storyboard format with notes' look like?
Exporting to PDF isn't really something suited to Blender, but again, could be an addon. It would probably be the same addon which does the first part, so that you can rely on the data you need being there when going to export.
The only thing I can see being a challenge here is having the story board frames fit to the timeline, and be able to shift their start and end times on the timeline since I'm guessing this is a bit of a key feature.
Here's my interpretation of how the workspace could look: ibb.co/bZSnJe
@christopher.cook Christopher Cook, you are wonderful. That image is very exciting to me. So much so, that I want to see it again, right here, right now.
That is a thing of beauty.
Why I like this so much is because it starts to inform us about what the Storyboard workflow would be like in Blender.
Essentially there would be some dedicated menus, some dedicated HUD, and most likely, a default storyboard workspace.
The dedicated menus might likely be an extension of the timeline. See below pic.
The three text fields on the side would be crucial, and what's in these fields would likely be linked/tagged to their associated GP keyframes.
And the dedicated HUD would simply be the storyboard-specific SC/SH/PNL numbers.
@matbrady1: I like your suggestion.Mainly the timeline.I think this is what I was talking about.Visualization of pannels and their time.As well as the ability to drag those panels(keys) and place them elsewhere on the timeline(reordering panels). I guess there is also the automated tasks that will follow from this.Like if you move a panel somewhere,the other panels reorder themselves on the timeline based on that change.
@okuma_10:
Exactly. I think getting basic functionality in there, even if it didn't have all the bells & whistles, would still be a massive coup for Blender against ToonBoom. The functionality, like you mentioned, of having the panels change panel or shot numbers according to where they fall in the timeline is the goal to aim for. If that can be accomplished, then that's a very large chunk of your storyboarding functionality right there.
This Blender storyboard add-on will let you import scripts in .fountain format, automatic time it into the timeline with written dialog & actions as subtitles in the preview, draw your boards and much more: blenderartists.org/t/fountain-script-to-help-storyboarding/1123522
If you're a professional storyboard artist, maybe you could help the coder out with making a more illustrative storybord for his demo .blend?
You had me at "declaration of war" ;) :D Seriously, though: If that's all that is missing from the same functionality as TB has then this sounds really achievable, doesn't it?
(edit) wrong 'reply' button. Sorry - should have been top level. ^^
@Alex-D
Your enthusiasm has been noted. :D
I wrote this idea with the understanding that it will probably be an inevitability, but it's good to generate some excitement and awareness around it. The sooner our dependence on ToonBoom dies the better.
@tintwotin
I watched the video. It's clever stuff, and it's liiiiiike a storyboard, but it's also not as well. The functionality storyboard artist are after is a little more like a video sequencer, but with notes. The coder treats them more like subtitles. It's still very clever though, and I think the coder of this add-on would be an real asset to making Blender's storyboard functionality work.
Incidentally, the format of text to be imported would mostly be Final Draft.
Thanks for the link, tintwotin! :)
How about if you export the frames in a list (1,20,35,120,145 etc) to separate images and use an external tool to compile them into a PDF. Would that work?
@ammusionist That is a terrific first step in thinking about how to make a storyboard function plug-in.
With this approach it would treat each GP keyframe as a storyboard frame.*
There would need to be a way in which the storyboard artist can then tell Blender what is shot 01, and what is shot 02. (Essentially, when a camera shot (or scene) ends, and when a new one begins.
For instance, the opening shot is Scene 01, Shot 01, Panel 01.
It might take three panels to establish the environment before we cut to a new shot which introduces our main character.
This means that we have three panels to explain Shot 01, and the fourth panel becomes Shot 02.
The artist need to tell Blender what panels are in the same shot.
That's where the extra functionality will need to be created. (Tagging a shot with storyboard info, SCxxSHxxPLxx). Some new UI created. (The ability to add that info). And then from there it's relatively easy to collate that info into pages to be viewed or exported. (And have script info added/imported).
Ideally, the compiling and exporting of the PDF should be done in Blender in order to kill the ToonBoom demon.
Thanks, ammusionist! :)
*At the start of the life of this SB plug-in this is a good approach. There may need to be a time in the future where a 2D animation can be turned into a storyboard, and therefore the artist manually chooses the keyframes for Blender to see as storyboard panels, and ignores the keyframes inbetween. But that's a problem for later.
Lordy Lord this is what I have been wanting since the new grease pencil functionality was announced!
Someone save us. This must happen.
The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Voting up.
@3dcinetv Yarr!
let makes this happen and have also a storyboard workspace in the 2d animation template.. can you make a mock up for what exactly we should have?
@zinogg
In the coming weeks I'll attempt a proper mock-up of what a Blender Storyboard workspace might look like. Watch this space...
I totally agree with you on this.Toon boom is totally overpriced for a software that provides basic drawing ability,few layers,panel organizing feature,and few automated tasks,like PDF export. There is all ready a free storyboard tool called storyboarder. It's a nice tool and has some neat features.I used it for few months and it's really nice.However I do find it annoying that they have tied it's development with some social and political ideologies.Wether I agree with those views or not,does not matter.I don't want to have constant popups about some political or cultural statements while working,even if they agree with my own views.And this is what I like about blender, no one cares about political views. That being said when I saw grease pencil in 2.8 I was like "This will make a great storyboard tool" .And Paulo on blender today said that it was used as a storyboard tool for some time now.I'm not that seasoned storyboarder as you,but there are few features that I want to see in a storyboard tool,that have nothing to do with scripts and those are:
In the end I don't see blender developers developing this feature.I think it will be more in the hands of an addon developer.
@okuma_10: Sequence Editor has functionality to add Text Strips that can generate subtitles - so that could be reused here.
When I suggested separate images, I envisaged everything except the actual PDF conversion in Blender (Although PDF is an open format AFAIK, a specific exporter for a non-blender format is more the realm of an Add-In than a core function).
I'm loving the idea of this functionality and having a storyboard overlay for animators to follow for timing etc, is brilliant.
Also: Wondering if the "Annotation" mode of grease pencil might be better for a storyboard as it would not change with camera movements. (Sorry if I am stating the obvious there)
@okuma_10
I think you're right. I think it would begin its life as an add-on, but with further development it would likely be incorporated into Blender officially (but that's a long way off).
What's amazing is that the existing functionality of Blender has all the elements of ToonBoom Storyboard Pro right there already. It just needs a bit of work to connect those dots. Very exciting! :D
@matbrady1: I started learning python for a month now....I was thinking of making a script or two for animation (since I animate in my work).And I was thinking that developing a storyboard addon would not be that hard,just time consuming,because all the functionality is in blender already. Someone just needs to connect the dots as you said.The biggest issue for me however ,as a new to Python and Blender, is the bloody Python API Documentation . Very few explanations, and hard to understand,unless you are blender python developer for ages.
I'm very excited by the idea the prospect of you connecting the dots to give Blender storyboard functionality. That's very exciting. No doubt it's a challenge, especially if you do it on your own, however... reach out to some of the developers and find out if they have already started doing this. You may be able to join a team and help people who have forged a path ahead of you. Having new blood on a project, especially with as much enthusiasm as you have, would be a great benefit. I don't know who to call upon right now, but if you get in touch with some of the Grease Pencil team they'd be able to point you in the right direction. And come back to tell us how you got on! Everyone on this thread would love to hear! Good luck. :)
The thing is that all my experience with blender developers were pretty much negative(meaning they weren't helpful at all). Except Jacque Luke(I think that was his name...the guy that made EVEE). So I doubt that contacting anyone will be of use. I think blender developers are more interested in people who can go inside blender's code and code things on C level rather than Python addon. Also they want you to commit to supporting the feature forever.
I'm still of the opinion that it shouldn't be hard to make one such addon, but it will take time, but it shouldn't take years. The keyframe manipulation is pretty straight forward. I actually did something similar in my addon. Where you can set the time between selected key and the next keyframe...or selected keysframes in frames or in seconds and have the other keyframes update their position so it reflects the new timing. The tricky part is the visual one.
A. Because Blender does not give you the coordinates for the keyframes, thus this will have to involve some magical number calculations to "guess" where to place the panels.
B. Because it will require some coding for dynamic vertex buffer updates, so when you resize the rectangle representing a shot, thus changing it's length(in reality you will be moving the keyframe) the rectangle gets updated. Also size is an issue. You have to be able to change the visual size of the channels/layers via the API if you want something similar to what storyboard Pro has. Right now channels/layers height is large enough to encompass the keyframe object. If there is no Python API way to change this...an addon can't do this.
In the end as I said, this shouldn't be hard but time consuming. But shouldn't be 2-3 years (as it is now). The biggest problem is finding someone who has basic to medium knowledge of blender's API, OpenGL or any other graphics API, and who is willing to do it.
I'm with you on this
As an aspiring storyboard artist, I would love for this to become a reality!
There's great potential in Blender 2.8 already, especially with the functionality of the new Grease Pencil, but considering implementing the previously mentioned features, would bring it to another level.
Hello. Over the past year, I have been working on a 2D animation production, developing tools and production pipelines with Blender and Grease Pencil.
I work with Pepe Sanchez, a well-known Spanish artist, who proposed an idea to me similar to some already made, to create a storyboarding tool in Blender.
As he is used to working on storyboards in StoryBoard Pro, many of his requirements are essentially replicating its functionalities in Blender.
As of today, I am working on it. I have outlined how to replicate the interface, somewhat as suggested in this post, that is, to mimic the representation of Actions, scenes, and panels on the timeline (either as a dope sheet thumbnail view or in the video editor as an animatic manager where you can add audios, texts, etc).
My plan is to generate this interface on the timeline using the same visual representations and boxes along with real-time thumbnails directly on the timeline itself. And that these representations can be managed like handles to easily edit durations or positions directly on the timeline in a fluid manner.
The rest would be to replicate certain functionalities from tools that StoryBoard Pro has but in Blender, like creating a project, layers, and many other things, such as adding a layer manager, which Blender currently lacks.
Lastly, it would also be interesting to be able to generate a PDF with all the corresponding panel data, of which I also roughly have the general layout.
Have you seen or tried my Storyboard & Animatic add-on for Blender? youtube.com/channel/UCifRw0d5qRBv1sRSHqNravA
The add-on is a work in progress. Partial documentation is available here: edwardswhite.gitbook.io/storyboard-animatic/
Download it for free on Gumroad. esw3d.gumroad.com/l/StoryboardAnimatic
by the way...I've been banging my head around this issue. For some time. I have some ideas on how it will work. Basically the big deal will be to render and control those panels in the timeline. Other than that I already made a "hold for" script for grease pencil. Which is basically equivalent to the panel duration feature.
* @okuma_10 * Sorry for my late reply. I'm catching up on all the news with this now. My next step (for me, who doesn't code) is to propose to the developers to create a core team of people who others can contribute to help, like you (who can code). This way there is a place we can all go to in order to see the progress and, if you're smart enough, to help with that process. Sound good? Now I just need to find out who to speak to, haha! Thanks for your comments! :D
Hey, are there any updates to this? Grease Pencil is the most powerful tool that Blender has to offer. So why are they focused so much on their eeeve renderer instead of making gpencil actually usable and accessible by adding this one crucial yet still missing feature?
* @aspieBlenderUser * Sorry for the late reply. As far as I understand it's being developed by a team in Italy who aren't part of the Blender Institute. They do it off their own money and enthusiasm. They ARE developing a storyboarding component though. It's in their plans to do so.
* @matbrady1 * (I had no idea how to make a comment without replaying to something so I chose this one : ) ) Has anyone seen this addon preview? Its made by EdWhite3d, its not quite out yet but could provide some of the functionality us board artists want. I'll be previewing it on my SpitfireStoryboards channel once he has it on release.
youtube.com/watch
* @coulthard1982 * That's very impressive! I think this is a good mechanical base for what might be the start of a Storyboarding Feature in Blender. That's exciting. There's a team of people in Spain (I think) that is working on Blender's Storyboarding implementation, and I'd like to pass on your link to them. Thank you for sharing!
@matbradyl I have released the Storyboard & Animatic add-on on Gumroad. esw3d.gumroad.com/l/StoryboardAnimatic
I hope that this add-on could be included or merged with Blender someday.
I'm so excited for this branch of Grease Pencil!