Maestral wrote: ↑Tue Nov 19, 2019 8:28 pm
To me, tvpaint is among the superior 2d animation tools but with more and more features added to GP tools that 1st place does not seem so secure
As a TVP user who has been trying to use the latest Grease Pencil, I can say with confidence that there is still a long way to go before Blender gets to 1st place. Working in a 3D space is nice (nicer than Toon Boom) but as a drawing experience it's not there yet if you really know how to draw. The upcoming version of PAP is way more interesting to me as a cheap alternative to TVP.
Effects are improved, a new mask system, anti-aliasing issues are resolved, infinite colours with a small list of materials, palette improvements, much smoother drawing of fast strokes and imrpoved stroke quality, and performance improvements across the board which result in scenes playing twice as in the viewport.
Check out the parrot/pirate animation at the top of the page.
Exciting times! 2.83 will be out in a month or three.
Thanks for the update. I was about to do the same since I'm following what's going on with Grease Pencil.
From what I could learn, GP was brought to the attention of some of the core developers and they have had already made their contribution to these latest improvements.
GP still lacks the admirable arsenal of tools and features available in TVP but just as much as TVP brings the feel of the classical, GP brings the new surrounding which is not exactly 2.5 nor it's just 3d either but the classical approach is more than welcomed. And to be clear, I'm not even remotely fascinated with the VR approach nor with drawing in such an environment /as it is now.
Aside from my impressions and fascinations, I keep hearing R.Bakshi's response to a question about the current animation production and about the future of 2d (paraphrasing):
You have an entire studio at your desk. Why are you not producing more?
IMO, it all boils down to the one holding the pen hence my rooting for this kind of approach. I have firm faith in the new generation of 2d animators and hope for this approach to spark their imagination as well. I'm expecting some fresh interpretation of animation in the time ahead.
Maestral wrote: ↑Mon Feb 24, 2020 2:17 am
R.Bakshi's response to a question about the current animation production and about the future of 2d (paraphrasing):
You have an entire studio at your desk. Why are you not producing more?
Speaking for myself of course but my employers would just love that. Sadly, I need to eat and sleep sometimes. (Just kidding. I understand and agree with the intended context.)
I am intrigued by of the 2D work I see being done with Blender. I wish I had time to explore it myself.
JaMike wrote: ↑Thu Dec 26, 2019 8:43 pm
The upcoming version of PAP is way more interesting to me as a cheap alternative to TVP.
I'm glad to see some actual movement there, at least with their blog announcement. I looked into Animation Paper a few years ago and wondered if it was ever going to come out. Will put an eye on this again.
Greenlaw wrote: ↑Mon Feb 24, 2020 6:28 pm
I am intrigued by of the 2D work I see being done with Blender. I wish I had time to explore it myself.
Version 2.83 is going to be a major update for 2D animation in Blender. The current version still has some issues with anti-aliasing, for example, and these are resolved in the refactor of Grease Pencil. And Grease Pencil objects will then be fully integrated with lights in the 3d environment.
The drawing feel in the current version is already really, really good. And it is so easy to "sculpt" your lines into new shapes, rather than redrawing an entire frame, so it speeds up the frame-by-frame process as well. And having the full IK tools available to rig these as well - very nice.
Interesting. I posted a response on the Toonboom forum mentioning Grease Pencil and Blender's 2d animation capabilities, and they immediately removed the entire thread. I know a number of animation studios have been adopting Blender for 2d animation work, so it makes sense.