Project Boreas
Shading Tool for Animation
(still in development)
Project Boreas is a shading tool add-on for Unity. The tool was made to improve the visual appeal of 2D animations in an efficient way. This tool does not automate the shading process but instead gives the artist the tools to create the lighting of the scene quickly without having to sacrifice artistic freedom.
How it works
The tool creates vector shapes based on vertices and curves. Both the base and the feathering are controlled through their own set of vertices. The vector shapes target specific colors in order to avoid any bleeding that may occur.
Photoshop-like Filters
The shader add-on made by (insert name here) allows for Photoshop filters to be applied to each shading shape. I made changes to the shader to read the pixels of the cell and only painted on the color it is assigned to. This allows for precise shading without worrying about painting outside the lines and saves time for in-between artists who would need to create masks for every shape.
Combining With Other Programs
Using tools from other programs has helped with increasing efficiency with creating small animations. Open Toonz has an in-between tool for vector lines that helps with increasing frames for Kari Near Lake without sacrificing much time. However this system does not work well with full character animations as the increase in lines and requiring consistent line order and direction can be the cause of a lot of human error.
Once done with the animation, simply export each frame color cells as is and import them to the shading tool.
Future Improvements for the Tool
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Multi color painting for clothing to help speed up production.
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Linework overlay for final render so that the linework does not mess up the shading but is still added at the end.
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(Need Help Here) An algorithm for tracking pixels that is both precise and not time consuming.