Welcome to ToonKit!
TOONKIT CARTOON BUILDER HELP
ToonKitsm Cartoon Builder v. 1.0
This page created: 8th September 1999
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Quick Guide To Using ToonKit Cartoon Builder

Introduction

ToonKit Cartoon Builder is an application which allows you quickly and expertly create cartoon caricatures, complete with their own individual expressions. Using ToonKit Cartoon Builder is intuitive; the best way to learn about it's functions is to experiment with the application and see what it can do. You will find that with a little practice you will soon become quick and skillfull at creating a wide variety of faces of your own design.
But the best thing about the ToonKit Cartoon Builder is that you can download the software for free and put it on your own website or Home Page.


Dragging and Dropping

Click anywhere within the ToonKit Cartoon Builder application area to activate it. A default face appears (this can be customised to your own design if you have installed ToonKit Cartoon Builder on your own website or Homepage). An arrow icon also appears in the top left-hand corner. Clicking on the arrow icon displays the ToonKit Cartoon Builder Main Menu. The Main Menu is covered later on in this document.
The ToonKit Cartoon Builder face is made of facial elements which are completely independent of one another. The head is, in effect your canvas, upon which you drag and drop the caricature's features. To move any of the facial elements, for example the mouth, click on it and with the button still depressed move it to the desired position. To drop the feature, release the button. Features can be picked and dropped as many time as you want, in any order. If a feature is dropped outside of the working area it will 'bounce-back' to it's original position - that is, the position from which it was last picked up.
In cases where the feature comes as a pair - such as with the ears - the individual element can be moved seperately. The only exception is the eyes; these are moved as a pair. The reason for this is that the eyes are themselves composed of elements, such as eyeballs, pupils, eyelids, and eyebrows. Because of their small size and close proximity to one another it is easier to manipulate these via the appropiate control panel in the Features Menu. The Features Menu is covered later on in this document.


The Main Menu

Clicking on the arrow icon displays the ToonKit Main Menu. Clicking on the arrow again at any stage when the main menu is open closes the Main Menu. Sub menus can be toggled open and closed in the same way. The Main Menu contains a number of functions and their purpose is breifly described in text when the respective icon is highlighted. The functions are as follows, in successive order:


Features Menu

Selecting this displays a sub-menu which runs down the side of the application and contains the following facial features: eyes (includes lids), eyebrows, ears, noses, mouths, and heads (includes hair). Selecting any of the features allows you to change its properties. For example, selecting the 'eyes' icon from the Features Menu presents you with a control panel relating to that feature. The control panel enables you to change the shape of the eyeball, it's size, it's colour, the pupil size and its shape - you can even adjust the degree of the eyelids coverage, ranging from fully opened to fully closed. All this is done via the use of different control arrows, the purpose of each is briefly outlined when highlighted with the cursor and in some cases there is a simple animation to help indicate its functionality. The selected feature is displayed along with the control panel and changes can be seen in real time. A 'cross' icon allows you to reject any changes you make, whereas the 'tick' icon saves the changes and returns you to the current face, complete with the newly adjusted feature.

In case of facial features which come as pairs (such as eyes, ears, etc) there is a toggle switch which is used to select and de-select which side (i.e. left or right) of the feature the changes apply to. This allows the elements of the feature to be adjusted together as a pair or individually. When the Toggle Apply switch is a 'tick' it means that the corresponding side has been selected and that changes made by the control arrows will apply. When the Toggle Apply switch is a 'cross' it means that the corresponding side has been de-selected and feature adjustments will only be carried on the selected side. The default is where both Toggle Apply switches are selected.

Please see List of ToonKit Control Actions for a complete list of ToonKit Cartoon Builder features.


ToonKit Cartoon Builder Information

Selecting this displays which version of the ToonKit Cartoon Builder application you are using. The latest version of ToonKit Cartoon Builder is currently Version 1.0.


ToonKit Cartoon Builder Help

Selecting this calls up the help file (this one) in a separate window. Further help and tips on using the ToonKit Cartoon Builder application can be obtained from visiting the ToonKit website


New Window

Selecting this loads the ToonKit Cartoon Builder application into a new window. This allows you to leave the ToonKit Cartoon Builder application running on your PC's desktop while the main browser window is minimised or closed. It also enables copies to be made of the image using the screen capture function of most popular graphics packages, e.g. Paint Shop Pro and Adobe Photoshop. While setting up the screen capture function, chose the mode which captures the contents of a selected window. Highlight the ToonKit Cartoon Builder window (by clicking on its title bar) and press the designated hotkey. The present ToonKit Cartoon Builder image will be automatically copied into the graphic application you are using. Refer to your software's help file for more detailed information.


Send a ToonKard

This is covered in Guide To Using ToonKard Card Creator


Receive a ToonKard

This is covered in Guide To Using ToonKard Card Creator


To see step-by-step examples of ToonKit being used, please see the ToonKit Step-By-Step Guide


List of ToonKit Control Actions

This lists the different ToonKit Cartoon Builder Control actions which can be carried out on specific features.

EYES
  • Toggle select left eye
  • Toggle select right eye
  • Move pupil left
  • Move pupil right
  • Move pupil up
  • Move pupil down
  • Increase pupil size
  • Decrease pupil size
  • Change pupil shape
  • Move eyeball closer to center
  • Move eyeball further from center
  • Move eyeball up
  • Move eyeball down
  • Increase eyeball size
  • Decrease eyeball size
  • Change eyeball shape
  • Change eyeball colour
  • Increase upper eyelid size
  • Decrease upper eyelid size
  • Increase lower eyelid size
  • Decrease lower eyelid size
  • Left eye overlaps right eye
  • Right eye overlaps left eye
  • Reset eyes to default size and position
EYEBROWS
  • Toggle select left eyebrow
  • Toggle select right eyebrow
  • Increase eyebrow size
  • Decrease eyebrow size
  • Change eyebrow shape
  • Move eyebrow left
  • Move eyebrow right
  • Move eyebrow up
  • Move eyebrow down
EARS
  • Toggle select left ear
  • Toggle select right ear
  • Change ear shape
  • Change ear size
  • Ear overlaps head
  • Head overlaps ear
NOSE
  • Change nose shape
  • Change orientation to left
  • Change orientation to right
  • Nose between eyes
  • Eyes overlap nose
MOUTH
  • Change mouth shape
  • Change mouth size
HEAD
  • Change head shape
  • Change head size
  • Change hair type
  • More hair!
  • Less hair!




Copyright © 1999, John G. Keating & Gerard O'Grady First time visitors, please read the Legal document.