New feature request

Ideas
#1

Hello, I have a request to add some feaures. I’m not saying that everything must be in the program but it would we nice. I have read comments of people and summed the important requested up. Here is the list of what I or mayebe other people too would like to have in this program:

  1. A better selecting item Now we have to first select an item with the select tool and then go to the move tool to make it smaller or bigger or move it. Because it is a little bit anoying if we have to move much things. I know you can first klick V and then M but we can’t do that all the time.
  2. symbols I make stickman animation and I have to draw the head all the time frame by frame. You can copy and paste it but sometimes I get stressed to do that all over again. Thats why my second request is to make a feature that can me symbols like in adobe flash. So we don’t have to draw things all the time.
  3. outlining
  4. bone tool This is not asked so much but beginners need this

Well that were the main things i have read on the internet what people want most I think. Im not saying to make everything, I know it looks easy to make but is very difficult. This is my request. Thanks for reading

#2

@animator I’ll be brief. First thank you for taking the time to write about this.

#1 is definitely on the roadmap already.

#2 is something i’m pushing because I come from a flash / harmony background, but there still needs to be discussion as to how this would work WELL within the app. We are not going to copy flash or toonboom harmony.

#3 what is this? can you elaborate?

#4 unfortunately this won’t happen. The vision for Pencil2D is to be a “tradigital” tool for hand drawn animation.

Bones, and otherwise any kind of 2D rigging has never been part of the software goals.

At most we will hopefully get motion tweening for layers and free transformation pivots along with symbols after a 1.0 version.

If you require 2D rigging with free tools please consider pairing Pencil2D with other apps like:

  1. OpenToonz
  2. Synfig (development versions only, the allegedly stable download on their website is almost 4 years old but they are VERY active with the dev version)
  3. Blender w/ Grease Pencil and 3D rigging on orthographic views.

The order is intentional, as the most suited for 2D cut out animation is opentoonz since it has similar tools to toonboom harmony for drawing substitutions and (some) deformation tools. Synfig is very comprehensive, and even though they are still working on a robust skeleton tool it seems to work quite well. Blender is the definition of open source animation “suite” it can do everything and anything, if you have the time to learn it and put up with its idiosyncrasies.

#3

If we draw a line now we can’t outline. With I mean this:image And now we have kinda this: image

#4

@animator I’m not quite sure If I understood you but if I did, you can do that with the vector layer. That is having shapes with and without lines.

You can’t do this in bitmap layers however because pixel based images work fundamentally different than vector based images.

Additionally right now the bitmap drawing engine is nearing to be replaced and once that is done the vector engine will become the next big target to be improved or even remade to better fit the requirements of general 2D animation production (or that’s what I hope at least)

#5

Ohh I see. But in vector later it glitches when I erase lines

#6

@animator That’s why I explained that the vector engine will be replaced after the bitmap engine. Right now the vector system is, quite frankly, broken. It’s a work in progress and we do not recommend it yet for production.

#7

okay I understand everything. really really thanks for your help

#8

@animator Thank you for your patience as well. We hope to continue improving the program as much as possible.

#9

hahaha. At first I did not have any patience until I downloaded pencil2d. It takes time to make animation:)

#10

When does this feature be done? If I know I can plan my work.

And about this too, when does this come so I can plan my work

#11

no rush but im just curious

#12

@animator I’ll be honest, improved selection tools have been on the roadmap for more than 6 years IIRC and they don’t seem to be coming anytime soon.

I had previously written a long ass eassay about why this was, but suffice to say, we’re volunteers and devs work in whatever they want, when they can in their spare time.

For example the current bitmap drawing system replacement has taken about 4 years, 2.5 from an original contribution that had to be scrapped and another 1 and a half years or so, to get to it’s current state.

Making symbols could easily take 2 years or more of work because of all the prep work it requires (interactive groups, separate timeline visualization, library, symbol external visualization behavior, etc), which isn’t a happy thought.

We try to be transparent, but I know this doesn’t really gives hope, so if you really need those features, consider using the other apps I mentioned or even take a look at WickEditor which works online as is very reminiscent of flash.

We also have an alternative list of animation apps that can help complement or even replace Pencl2D https://pencil2d-software.tumblr.com/post/184584013311/alternative-desktop-animation-software-pencil2d

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