Temporary Fade

[djsolomon]

Hi there,
I was wondering if there's anyway I can do a fade in/fade out that isn't permanent.

I am aware there is a fade effect in the effects panel that I can 'undo' after applying it to my layer. However I do not want it to add any effect that alters my actual layer and I do not want to depend on the undo option as I plan on working further on my file until I finalize it.

Thank you!

[Paul Fierlinger]

What I do in such cases is to first make a copy of the layer in question and then turn off the original, and create the fade on the copy. This way I get to keep both to decide later which I prefer to keep.

[djsolomon]

Hi Paul,

Thank you for your suggestion. Unfortunately though, I was hoping there could be a way I wouldn't need to duplicate any layers as my file is already very big. If TVPaint could look into developing non-permanent effects that'd be so helpful, don't you think?

[slowtiger]

If it's just a fade to/from black, do it on a separate layer. Simplest way to create: have a black and an empty frame, stretch them to the desired fade length with interpolation on.

I don't think fades are part of animation, I see them as parts of editing.

[Paul Fierlinger]

So simple and I never thought of doing it that way. It shows how my mind is still locked into the old film editing frame. But I disagree that you need not edit within TVP -- it can often be simpler than traveling between two software (although I just realized how much you like doing that). If I want to try and fade out temporarily just the end of one layer before I am done with the clip, why not simply do it on the spot? What's wrong with that?

[djsolomon]

Hi again,

I am trying to fade an image in from 100% transparency --> 0% transparency temporarily while I keep working on my file. That being said, I can't use the effects stack here as I would'nt be able to undo the effects afterwards having done too much work after it. I also do not want to add another layer to my file as the file has gotten very big with too many layers to work with. This causes TVPaint to crash while loading and saving occasionally.

And although I don't agree completely on fades not being part of the animation, I don't see why it'd be a bad idea for TVPaint to develop non-permanent effects like Flash and Toonboom have as it would make editing within the program much easier.

[Paul Fierlinger]

I see what you are talking about now; Vegas has an envelope that you draw for the length of the fade which is nondestructive; it's virtual, because you can cancel the envelope at any time. That indeed would be nice to have one of these days. Right now, the closest thing to that would be the way slowtiger suggested.

[djsolomon]

Hi Paul,

Yes, I think right now my closest alternative is to duplicate the image I want to fade in on a separate layer and add the effect to it, much like slowtiger suggested. At least it would be a smaller addition than duplicating a full layer!

If you could pass on the non-destructive temporary effects idea to Fabrice to look into perhaps for future development I'd really appreciate it!

Thanks again guys!

[Paul Fierlinger]

Even better, I suggest you post it in the request thread so that it gets added to the list.

[Peter Wassink]

actually you can do a cross-fade by using the blendmodes, its slightly counterintuitive and you do need an extra layer
but its not destructive (other then having to reset the blendmodes of the layers involved.)

this is how:
the behind mode puts the top layer virtually under the bottom layer where its revealled because the bottomlayer is increasingly being erased by the fade layer.

[Paul Fierlinger]

Peter, this is so cool! I have up to now never found any use for blend modes in my pipeline so I would have never thought of doing this. What a neat trick and thanks for posting the screen grab too.

[Lukas]

actually you can do a cross-fade by using the blendmodes, its slightly counterintuitive and you do need an extra layer
but its not destructive (other then having to reset the blendmodes of the layers involved.)

this is how:
the behind mode puts the top layer virtually under the bottom layer where its revealled because the bottomlayer is increasingly being erased by the fade layer.

crossfade.jpg

Smart solution!

[D.T. Nethery]

I am trying to fade an image in from 100% transparency --> 0% transparency temporarily while I keep working on my file. That being said, I can't use the effects stack here as I would'nt be able to undo the effects afterwards having done too much work after it. I also do not want to add another layer to my file as the file has gotten very big with too many layers to work with. This causes TVPaint to crash while loading and saving occasionally.

Yes, I think right now my closest alternative is to duplicate the image I want to fade in on a separate layer and add the effect to it, much like slowtiger suggested. At least it would be a smaller addition than duplicating a full layer!

The method suggested by Slowtiger is the best way , but I would suggest that you don't have to duplicate the image or layer on a separate layer and apply the Fade effect to the duplicated image layer . Instead I would suggest you create a NEW LAYER , the new layer has a single frame -- fill it with solid BLACK using the paintbucket Flood Fill tool, then stretch it out to the desired length of the Fade (fade-in or fade-out) , in this example let's say the fade is 30 frames , although it can be any length you desire . Now apply the Fade FX to the new layer in either direction , depending on whether you want a Fade-in or a Fade-out ( from 0% - to - 100% for a Fade-in / from 100% - to - 0% for a Fade-out) .

This creates a Fade effect over top of your original layer which does not add a lot of extra data to your scene file (because you mentioned: "I also do not want to add another layer to my file as the file has gotten very big with too many layers to work with." ) and it is Non-Destructive to the original layer underneath . You can change the length of the Fade effect if needed by simply re-doing it on the separate layer or remove it entirely if desired . The original layer remains unaltered.

Fade_effect_on_new_layer.jpg (82.56 KiB) Viewed 27497 times

I have a set of pre-made Fades of varying lengths (8 frames, 12 frames , 24 frames, 32 frames , 48 frames , 60 frames, 72 frames ) saved as TVPaint Project files (.tvpp) , which can be opened up as needed and the Fade effect frames Copied & Pasted into my working project file on a new layer when I need to add a fade effect. Selecting the Fade level and then Right-Click >>> Reverse Selected Images can change it from a Fade-in to a Fade-out . If for some reason I wanted a fade longer than my "long fade" of 72 frames a simple trick is to drag out the Fade layer and select Stretch-Interpolate to lengthen the fade .


For a Cross-Dissolve effect the method that Peter Wassink suggests in his post above is the way to go:

Do a cross-fade by using the Blend modes, its slightly counterintuitive and you do need an extra layer
but it is non-destructive (other then having to reset the blend modes of the layers involved.)
The Behind mode puts the top layer virtually under the bottom layer where it is revealed because the bottom layer is increasingly being erased by the Fade layer.

.

[Peter Wassink]

Quick&Clean tip for creating the fade layer mentioned above WITHOUT having to use the fxstack.

create a 2 frame layer with 1 black frame and 1 transparent frame.
drag the layerhandle out to the desired fade length, in the "Increased Layer Length" Pop-up choose Strectch+Interpolate.

And voila there is your fade layer

[Lukas]

Peter, your trick gave me an idea on how to create actual stencil masking in TVPaint:
http://forum.tvpaint.com/viewtopic.php? ... 025#p63025" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;