Plastic Animation Paper - Frequently Asked Questions

General, Fees, Licenses, OS:

Q: What is PAP?

A: PAP is short for Plastic Animation Paper. It is a fine piece of software designed for professional 2D animators. It is used together with a digitizer board and pen (an electronic drawing tablet connected to the computer) like the Wacom tablets to make high quality "traditional" animation without the use of paper.

Q: Can PAP help me animate?

A: In a way, but not really. :) The animator is the artist. PAP is the tool - like a digital version of the traditional pencil and paper. It gives you advanced light table possibilities (sometimes called onion skin), a very fast work flow, help with many trivial tasks, and the cutout functions with for instance, Squash & Stretch can do a lot for you. However, the timing and drawing skills are for you to have! Traditional animators making the switch to PAP experience vast improvements in the quality of their character animation - simply because the flow is so much better!

Q: Who use PAP? Which editions do you offer? - and how much for a license?

A: We offer three editions: PAP:Pro, PAP:Home and PAP:Free. The smallest one, PAP:Free, is absolutely free, even for commercial use! The top edition PAP:Pro is first of all for professional animators and studios. But also for animation students and schools as well as story-boarders, artists in the web industry, game graphic artist, visual effects artists and many many more. PAP will fit into any production pipeline. 3D animators (CG, stop motion or other) also find PAP highly useful as a sketching tool for planning their animation before doing their final native medium animation. PAP:Pro is 695 euro.
PAP:Home is for professionals on a very tight budget or hobby animators wanting professional tools. It is very affordable at only 99 euro.
(VAT is added to prices for private citizens of the European Union).
Keep in mind that all editions can be downloaded, installed and tried for free for as long as you want.

Q: What is the difference between the three editions of PAP?

A: Please go and check out our Edition Comparison Chart which outlines the feature differences of PAP:Pro, PAP:Home and PAP:Free.

Q: How much for upgrades / point-releases?

A: Point releases are free. If you purchased version 4.0, you are allowed free upgrades to version 4.1, 4.2... etc. For upgrading to major releases, such as going from 3.x to 4.0, you will only have to pay an upgrade fee of 200 euro, since you are already a PAP license holder. You will then get PAP:Pro 4.0.

Q: What happened to the old editions called PAP:Shareware, PAP:Broadcast and PAP:Film?

A: Those names are now outdated. By the release of 4.0, we have changed the edition names to better reflect what is in the new current version of PAP. In some respect you can compare the new PAP:Free to the old PAP:Shareware - although PAP:Free is, like the name says, absolutely free. The new PAP:Home is compareable to PAP:Broadcast 3.1, although it is now only a fifth of the price at 99 euro. The new PAP:Pro handles much larger resolutions and is in any way much better than any old version, including the old top edition, PAP:Film, and is even much cheaper too.

Q: Can I upgrade my old PAP:Broadcast or PAP:Film to PAP:Pro?

A: Yes. This is the same as upgrading from 3.x to 4.0. Upgrade for 200 euros and get PAP:Pro 4.0.

Q: Can I upgrade my PAP:Home to a PAP:Pro?

A: Yes. Customers who already own a PAP:Home license can upgrade it to a PAP:Pro license by paying the difference (which is 596 euro).

Q: Do you sell your software in the United States?

A: We do indeed. PAP is for everybody around the world. Also PAP support both PAL, NTSC or HD TV resolutions and any frame rate up to 60FPS. We sell PAP worldwide through our website, www.plasticanimationpaper.dk.

Q: What would the price of PAP be in US dollars (or my local currency)?

A: The Euro and the US Dollar are about the same. But of course exchange rates vary from day to day. You can calculate prices in you local currency at online sites like this one.

Q: Do you offer school discounts?

A: Yes. Schools wanting PAP as a class set will get a 35% to 50% discount depending on how many licenses they need. Please get in contact with our sales department for a quote.

Q: As a student, only needing 1 license, can I get a discount?

A: Yes. Usually we will give you a 25% discount if you email us a scanned proof of enrollment. Some relevant educational institutions have negotiated a higher discount with us, so talk to your local student adviser about this.

Q: My country isn't supported by PayPal - do you offer alternatives to PayPal?

A: The way we normally accept payments, is through the online payment service PayPal. Unfortunately we have learned that not every country of the world are supported through this system, so we suggest and offer alternatives. Please email us about alternative ways of paying for your PAP license.

Q: For how long can I use the downloaded PAP:Free edition until I need to buy it?

A: There's no limit at all. You are free to use it for as long as you want. Even for commercial use. PAP:Pro and PAP:Home are included in the download package, you are also free to use them, however you will not be able to save in those before you purchase one of them. To make it absolutely clear: The freely downloadable PAP:Free is free and will let you save!

Q: Do you have a trial version?

A: Yes, download PAP and it acts as an unlimited trial version for as long as you like.
If you decide to purchase PAP:Home or PAP:Pro, simply click the big red 'buy now' button, when you launch PAP. When PAP:Home or PAP:Pro, run in the free demo/trial mode you will not be able to save.
If your studio wants to try PAP:Pro working in their studio pipeline, you can request a fully save enabled version for a limited time. Please email Sales about it.

Q: On which operating systems does PAP run? Windows? Mac? Linux?

A: At the moment PAP runs on Windows (2000/XP) and Linux. A Mac OSX version is in the making and soon to be released.

Functionality, Technical:

Q: Can I use PAP as a line tester - scanning in animation from paper?

A: PAP is supposed to be for animating directly-to-the-screen (paperless). However! It is very relevant and easy to use PAP as a more traditional, but very advanced, line tester.
Most scanners or digital cameras come with software that can automatically number each drawing (file) sequentially. Then it's simply a matter of clicking Load inside PAP! In PAP you can then edit all you want - alter the timing very easily with the X-Strip, try out different ideas, move parts of the animation in time or position, do minor adjustments to the animation or choose to alter it completely!
Even though your studio are most comfortable using real paper and pencils, this method allows the lead animator or director to draw suggestions, better poses, comments, etc. on top of the animation and send it back to the animator. (The way you load in scanned frames is like with any other frame sequence - see the answer below.)

Q: Is it possible to load an image sequence for rotoscoping - which PAP edition?

A: Yes, in PAP:Home and PAP:Pro you can easily load in a frame sequence. PAP will automatically recognize any numbered sequence and treat it as an animation. You would load a sequence for a number of reasons, such as rotoscoping - drawing masks, doing interacting animation on top of video, tracing movements, comparing layers etc.
The source could be video/film, other animation, 3D, moving backgrounds, references, scanned traditional animation etc. As long as you stick to standard image formats, such as TARGA, TIFF, JPEG, BMP, PSD, EPS, PNG, GIF, etc.
In PAP:Pro you are able to have several completely independent layers of reference material and animation loaded and then draw on top for rotoscoping, effects work or anything else.

Q: I have difficulties placing cutouts precisely.

A: If you need to punch down a Cutout at a very precise point, it is possible to move it on a pixel by pixel basis. After you cut it out, place it roughly in the right area using the pen. Now take the pen away from the board. While holding down the [Ctrl] key, use the cursor (arrow) keys to position the Cutout. Then hit [Return] for every frame you want to paste it in to.

Q: Did you use the old, but still memorable, Deluxe Paint for Amiga as a basic reference for the key mapping in PAP? :D

A: Yes, it was a great inspiration. We started developing PAP in 1996-1997 and back then lots of graphics people were still using Amigas and DPaint. The key mappings were proven over and over to work (and we were fans ourselves), so we adopted some of them. Later, we added Ctrl-Z, Ctrl-S, etc. because lots of modern computer users couldn't figure out the 'u' for undo business. ;)

Q: How do I copy a series of full frames to another point in time, without having to use Cutouts?

A: Set the range to mark the series of frames you want to copy. Now go to the frame where you want to insert it, and click the InsertRange function. (More about InsertRange in the Function List.)

Q: I pressed something and now nothing works. I can't activate any functions in PAP.

A: Look for a blinking cursor, perhaps at the bottom of the PAP window or at the top. PAP is probably waiting for input. Press ESC to cancel this input.

Q: Is it possible to share the same default project-directory from several workstations?

A: Yes. Of course you can always access directories on a server or other places within your network. Just remember to assign a drive letter in Windows. But if you want to change the default project-directory, which was set when installing PAP (Usually: C:/PAP_Projects) - do this:
In the folder, where you installed PAP, there is a file called "projects_path.cfg". Open that file with a text editor, e.g. NotePad. Change the path of the project folder to the location on your network. You must have a drive letter assigned to the network location. For instance, if your shared project-directory is on "\\server\pap_share\pap_projects" you can assign the drive letter "P" to "\\server\pap_share" and write "P:\pap_projects". Next time you start PAP, it will use that projects directory. Note that this directory must exist.

Animation Technique, User/Artistic Issues:

Q: Where can I find documentation on how to use PAP?

A: All our documentation is online. The best way to learn about PAP is to go through the Tutorials. But if you just want to read about a specific function you can find it in the Function List. Also a great source for tips using PAP is our online Forum. Also please notice, that when you're inside PAP you can always glance up at the top bar, while your pointer is over any function-icon. The top bar will tell what the funtion is called, what keyboard shortcut to use and a one-line description of what it actually does.

Q: Any tips on coloring? - Photoshop? How do I fill color and avoid getting white pixels along the black line?

A: The best way to do the coloring (in a program such as Photoshop or Gimp), is to fill with the fill-tool set to "eat" some of the line (tolerance). But then put a copy of the original line on top afterwords - as another Photoshop Layer or as a layer in your compositing program. (Technically, the line should be treated as an alpha channel - overlaying a completely black frame over the color, using the line as a mask). In Photoshop you can do the same or just set the layer containing the PAP-line (black line on a white background) to "multiply" mode instead of "normal".
You could also take a look at the Popstar Coloring Action, which is a step by step guide to creating your own action for Photoshop. This action handles some nice tricks with regards to coloring, shadows, highlights etc. But be warned - you will have to get a little technical to go through the above link.

Q: I have drawn my extreme poses and timed everything to the soundtrack using clones. Now, if I alter the timing in the first part of my animation, the last part is easily out of sync. Any suggestions?

A: Yes! There's a not very known function in PAP, which sort of locks the position of the original drawings in the X-Strip. It's the Toggle X-Strip Mode. Instead of dragging clones, increasing or decreasing the number of clones, you can switch mode and drag the originals! This way you can very easily move a certain key drawing back and forth in time, without touching the timing of other parts of your animation.

Q: How do you achieve the clean lines as in your examples?

A: A big part of it is a matter of getting used to the digitizer board. Some people like to tape a sheet of paper to their digitizer to make the resistance between the plastic of the surface and the plastic of the pen go up. This trick can for some people feel more like normal pencil on paper - giving the artist more control over his/hers movements.
Also a very important thing to mention - and a good way of working with digital drawings, in PAP or elsewhere, - is to work big. It is often easier to utilize most of the screen/drawing area, making room for details and making it easier to get clean smooth lines. After drawing big you simply scale the part of the animation (or drawing) down to fit the rest of the scene.
Some of our examples are done this way. Make sure to check out the Tutorials, which show this technique in practice.

Q: Can you move/copy frames into other positions?

A: Yes, in more ways than one. Many people like to use the Cutout features of PAP (not available in PAP:Free). Cutouts enable you to cut out an area of the frame, or a range of frames, perform operations on it, and place it somewhere else, perhaps on a different frame. Another way to move complete frames, is to copy one, or a number of, frames, with the InsertRange function. Please read more about this in the Function List or the Tutorials.
(Note: People have asked if there's a workaround for this, using the PAP:Free edition. Well, here's our suggestion: Trace your drawing to the Layout and then back again onto a new blank frame later in the sequence. Use [Shift L] to go to (and from) the Layout sheet, toggle light table on/off with [Space] and Layout on/off with [L] while you're at your animation frames. Remember, you can always try the InsertRange and Cutout features in PAP:Home or PAP:Pro for free.)

Q: Is it possible to import video-frames (or rendered 3D graphics) for reference?

A: Yes. Simply click the Load function to go to the file requester. PAP will automatically recognize a sequence of numbered frames as a clip. We support all the most popular formats, such as TGA, PNG, GIF, JPEG, TIFF, BMP and more. PAP understands most numbering schemes. The files could be named like this: name0001.ext, name0002.ext... or simply 1.ext, 2.ext... The imported frames will be placed in the blue layer and therefore colored monochrome blue. Importing frames is useful for rotoscoping tasks, combining 2D and 3D animation, and doing animation on top of live action video.

Q: Any suggestions for small children?

A: It's interesting how children, even very young ones, enjoy playing around with PAP. Here's a little fun thing to try: Making "Snakes" in PAP...
Try making some frames, say 30, by typing in 30 in the bottom left corner of the PAP screen. Then just draw a long fat continuous line, while holding down 2 (or the arrow right key). PAP will flip to the next frame for every little bit of line - making fun and very easy animation for a little child. Press 4 to play looping and esc to stop again. It is a good idea to run PAP with the fullscreen option, so the kid don't start pressing icons outside the PAP Window. Enjoy!