TVPaint Publishing Pipeline

[tokejepsen]

Hey,

Wanted to share the pipeline we used at Cloth Cat Animation, developed by me using George(http://wiki.tvpaint.com/index.php?title=George), Python(https://www.python.org/), Ftrack(https://www.ftrack.com/) and Pyblish(http://pyblish.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;). Hope you like it:)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGHTQH5mgL4" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;



I'm working on simplifying the pipeline, so anyone can use it in their pipeline.

[Fabrice]

Thanks for sharing.

As there is no sound on the video, can you explain a little bit the steps of your pipeline in the forum ?
Many people might be interested.

[tokejepsen]

Ahh, yes, good point

I've updated the video with subtitles about the specifics about what is happening.

Outside what is shown in the video, the publishing will also update Ftrack with the rendered frames and notify the user that the render was complete. The pipeline was used extensively on the painting process on "Ethel and Ernest"; https://ethelandernestmovie.wordpress.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

If anyone are interested in this, I'm open to share and answer any questions. I am also available for work

[Elodie]

Last time I've been to Lupus Fim and Cloth Cat, I've been shown how Ftrack works and I must say it's probably one of the best "pipeline software" I have ever seen.

Anyway, I have a question : I know that Ethel and Ernest's production used Hobsoft too. What is precisely the difference between both ?

[tokejepsen]

I know that Ethel and Ernest's production used Hobsoft too. What is precisely the difference between both ?

Short answer is preference:)

Ftrack was used internally at Cloth Cat Animation, where the painting, compositing and CG was done. Hobsoft was used at Lupus and external vendors. We got the tv paint projects via hobsoft, and ingested it into Ftrack. I think any compositing footage was also viewed through Ftrack's client review, but I'm not entirely sure how much.

In essence there aren't a lot of different between the Ftrack and Hobsoft, and I personally didn't deal with Hobsoft on a daily basis so I can't speak about it's user friendliness. Ftrack on the other hand I know very well:)
I dealt with other project managers, like Shotgun, and Ftrack always wins on user friendliness. In the world of 2D software like TV Paint, no project management software has catered for these (Hobsoft being an exception, catering exclusively to 2D software), as they are all focused on CG and VFX. Ftrack is very easy to extend (granted with a bit of scripting/programming knowledge), as you can see.

[Elodie]

Thank you for your feedback =)

[Fabrice]

I'm maybe asking too much, but would you mind sharing your scripts with the community ?
That might be very useful for other productions.

[tokejepsen]

I'm maybe asking too much, but would you mind sharing your scripts with the community ?

The pipeline is currently very tied to Ftrack, so a directly usage on other projects using other tools, wouldn't work. I'm going to work on separating the two into a Pyblish extension so everyone can pick it up and use it, but it is currently not a top priority for me. I'm happy to guide and advise anyone that is looking to do this.

The launching is the important part, which is currently handled with an Ftrack action; https://github.com/tokejepsen/ftrack-ho ... tvpaint.py" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. This action uses a George script and an extension to setup TV Paint with a custom Pyblish panel; https://github.com/tokejepsen/ftrack-ho ... vpaint.grg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and https://github.com/tokejepsen/ftrack-ho ... paint.tvpx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

Then it comes to the Pyblish plugins which could also do with a rewrite to be more generic; https://github.com/Bumpybox/pyblish-bum ... ns/tvpaint" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Fabrice]

Thanks, that's very interesting.