Krita 3.0 turns into a 2D animation tool

Setting Up Keyboard Shortcuts

Krita comes without any keyboard shortcuts in the default configuration. As described at the beginning, the user should set up shortcuts at least for navigation between individual frames and for animation playback and pausing. The shortcuts are created via Settings | Set up Krita … | Keyboard Shortcuts and then Krita | Animation .

The user opens the desired action in the corresponding dialog (Figure 7) and taps on the button None . Afterwards, Krita waits for the user to enter a key combination. The assignment can be deleted with the adjoining button. In case the user selects a key combination that is already in use, Krita will indicate that there is a conflict. Then the user can either choose a new combination or delete the current assignment and activate the new one.

Figure 7: Setting up shortcuts in Krita, which cover the most important actions, makes for speedy work on animations.

Animation filmmakers have found a number of shortcuts to be very helpful. Ctrl+Plus lets the user add a new frame. Similarly, the user can create a new drawing layer with Plus. The arrow keys are used in Krita to move an element on the drawing layer to the left and the right, as well as up and down. In order to switch from one frame to another, the user can utilize Ctrl+Left Arrow and Ctrl+Right Arrow. The shortcut Ctrl+A is available for playback and pause in the default configuration. Blender users use the same key combination for this action. Alternatively, the user can select the Space key for this.

Conclusion

The biggest advantage to the Krita animation tools is that they are harmonized with functions already existing in the program. Vector graphics are an exception here. Therefore, users can continue to use their favorite brush, select each element, use transformations, and apply masks. Functions that have been expanded, such as the Multibrush tool and the Wraparound tool [8] introduced in Krita 2.8, also work smoothly. Krita even lets the user directly create a group of filter layers with pass-through blending and compositing effects.

The Krita animation tools will remind veteran illustrators of Clip Studio Paint [9] (also known as Manga Studio) and TVPaint [10]. Krita combines classic frame-by-frame animation with a complete set of digital paint tools. The brush has a natural feel, and textures appear to be hand painted. The developers have packed all of these features into an ambitious open source program that enjoys a fast growing community.