ToonBoom Harmony Animation Tutorials - Steve Lall

Toonboom Harmony tutorials at our Vimeo Channel

We've uploaded a new series of animation tutorials in Toonboom Harmony for our Vimeo Tutorial Channel with veteran animator and Escape Studios' tutor Steven Lall.  

The Escape Studios Vimeo Tutorial Channel is our main hub for our animation and VFX video tutorials, supporting our in-class tuition.  Our tutorials cover Animation, VFX, Compositing, Rigging, Motion Graphics, Storyboarding & Character Design, Unreal Engine and Cinematography.

Toon Boom Harmony Basics 

Toonboom Harmony Basics - Start Here

Start here if you have never used Toonboom Harmony before.  There are five short videos, showing how to do some "dot animation", how to use the User Interface (UI), how to draw in Harmony, Animation Basics, and how to save your work. 

https://vimeo.com/showcase/10689795
01 - Quick Start - Dots animation
02 - Intro to the UI
03 - Drawing Basics
04 - Animation Basics
05 - Saving & folder structure explained

2D Ball Bounce Animation in Toon Boom Harmony 

Ball Bounce Tutorial with Toonboom Harmony

This tutorial shows how to animate the classic ball bounce in Toonboom Harmony. There are three videos to watch.

https://vimeo.com/showcase/10690069

01 - Ball Bounce intro

02 - Understanding Animation Curves

03 - Ball Bounce exercise

2D Lamp Hop Animation in Toon Boom Harmony

Animate a lamp hopping in Toonboom Harmony.

https://vimeo.com/showcase/10690208

01 - Lamp Hop Animation

02 - Baking out the Animation on two's

2D Overlap Animation in Toon Boom Harmony 

Overlapping Action Tutorial

https://vimeo.com/showcase/10690220

01 - Overlapping Action Demo

02 - Box Slide Animation

Rigging a Simple 2D Arm in Toon Boom Harmony 

https://vimeo.com/showcase/10690245

01 - Rigging a simple arm

02 - Fist Slam Animation

03 - Arm Swing Animation

2D Animation Pathway at Escape Studios

When we first launched our new 2D Animation Pathway at Escape Studios, we curated a list of helpful tutorials in Toonboom Harmony, to support our new 2D animation students in their classroom studies.  

Toonboom Harmony Playlist

Veteran animator and Escape Studios tutor Steve Lall curated a playlist of resources to help get our students up and running with Harmony. 

Today, Harmony animators are much in demand, as 2D animation experiences a significant revival.

Harmony Walkthrough

This "Walkthrough" tutorial was recorded by Harry Ravelomanantsoa, and is intended as an introduction to the art and craft of 2D animation in Toonboom Harmony.

Toonboom Harmony Resources

1. Harmony Essentials

This 2 part tutorial from animator Jesse J. Jones covers the essentials to hit the ground running with 2D Animation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MI65MRdKfIY&list=PLYRPVtOhCRnlJvgadv6GMHhqZeNtSb6_C

2. Official Toonboom Resources
Also from Jesse J. Jones, these were officially made for Toomboom, and give a very broad overview of Harmony's features: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYRPVtOhCRnmvVriOTcS5LfRjBtzI4Jcy

3. Toon Boom Official Resources
Toon Boom's Official Site and YouTube channel are vast resources for learning Harmony as well as downloading assets. Here are a few selects for beginners:

Setting up a Project 

(trickier than you might think): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLK9S2UOwD12o-KyX62BuFsXUZ26H6kxYZ

Setting Keyframes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AD-O-0roONc&list=PLK9S2UOwD12o6XAwW6LkRmQDRDTHtPhFy&index=4

Bouncing Ball Exercise

Start with the bouncing ball

The classic bouncing ball exercise: https://learn.toonboom.com/modules/squash-and-ease-keyframing1

Frame by Frame Animation & Adding Colour
Animating frame by frame and how to add colour: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLK9S2UOwD12pAVlbVYGfq5rydIx-Abnyp

4. Rigging with Harmony
Stylus Rumble's Channel has a great introduction into Rigging characters, once you're more comfortable with Harmony: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3Kt6FJ8x_Y&list=PLuCKogNDDT3oJcsv6Vo0LFNZj5YJpE39z

2D Harmony Rigs

Start with the free bouncing ball rig at Gumroad

Looking for a free 2D rig to learn cut-out animation? Gumroad is the place you'll find them. Start with this bouncing ball:
https://fabgioffre.gumroad.com/l/ksYdq?layout=discover&recommended_by=search&_gl=1*byymde*_ga*MTE1NTI0MzM0Ny4xNjM1NTkzOTAw*_ga_6LJN6D94N6*MTY3NDA4NTYxNS4yMi4xLjE2NzQwODYwMjEuMC4wLjA.

Simple Biped Character
Here's a simple biped character from Tracy Strong aka Stylus Rumble: https://stylusrumble.gumroad.com/l/iclDs?layout=profile

More Biped Rigs

Blue from Tracy Strong

After that, if you're feeling ready you can begin looking at an entire biped rig like Blu - also from Tracy Strong: https://stylusrumble.gumroad.com/l/ZCTsA?layout=profile

Official Toonboom Learning Resources

https://learn.toonboom.com  

Here there are tutorials and you can download resources to try..such as rigs etc.

Ze Birdbrain

Official ToonBoom trainers "Ze Birdbrain " YouTube channel. 

https://www.youtube.com/@ZeBirdBrain

Official Discord Channel

And then the official discord channel is a great resource, and monitored by Toon Boom  https://discord.gg/toonboom

The Escape Studios Animation Blog offers a personal view on the art of animation and visual effects. To apply for our new BA/MArt starting in September 2024, follow this link. We train all our students with practical real-world skills, to give them the best possible chance of a career in industry. To see some of our animation success stories, follow this link.