Expert Editing Tips: Copy, Crop, Erase, Layer

Become a storyboarding expert by mastering these important editing features: Copy, Crop, Erase and Layer. They are all easily found on your right-hand menu.

These tools can help you turn a simple storyboard into a masterpiece! See if you can spot all the instances of copy, crop, erase and layer in the storyboard below!

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Copy This Storyboard

How to Copy

Copying is very important because it will greatly help to speed up your creation time!

You can copy any art as much as you want: characters, scenes, items, etc. and then move them into the next cell to be repositioned and recolored.

If you are using the same character throughout the story, this tool is a must! Then you won't have to look for the same character over and over again!

The copy button is on the right hand menu and looks like two pages on top of each other.

How to Crop

Cropping is a great way to elevate your storyboards and give them the appearance of having multiple layers and thus look 3-D! In the first cell you can see that the red-haired girl is uncropped. To lend more depth and perspective to the scene, the second cell enlarges the girl and crops her in half to give the illusion that she is closer to the viewer and walking into the scene.

To crop simply click on the art and select the crop button from the right-hand menu. There you will have the ability to choose from a standard, circle or advanced crop. Standard keeps the crop box square, circle makes it a circle and advanced crop allows you to pull the point in any direction you want! The handy preview lets you know what your crop will look like. The transparent red box indicates the part that will be cropped. You can pull the points and drag the red box to where you want it to be. When you are happy with the preview simply click "Okay!"

Below demonstrates the usage of Advanced Crop to make the girl look like she is riding the horse with one leg on each side!

How to Erase

Erase allows you to remove a part of the scene, object or character from the middle rather than just the edges like crop. There are also many instances of Erase in the storyboard above. Can you spot them all? This can be especially helpful if you are trying to place a character behind something in a scene as with the girl on the pull up bar. It is also helpful for showing a character holding something like a book or a stuffed animal.

To use this feature, click on the art and then click on the eraser in your right hand menu. In the erase modal you will be given the option of a standard, circular or advanced erase. Standard keeps the erase box square, circle makes it a circle and advanced erase allows you to pull the point in any direction you want! The transparent red box indicates the part that will be erased. You can pull the points and drag the red box to where you want it to be. When you are happy with your preview, click "Okay!"

How to Layer

Layering can help to arrange your storyboard in a more realistic manner by placing objects and people behind one another or even placing a scene behind an open door or window. In the example below, one child is layered behind the flowers while another is layered behind the bucket and sand. The sand is layers in front of the bucket. All of these details give important depth to the scene making it look more three dimensional.

To use the layer feature, click on the item you would like to move to the foreground or background and then click on the appropriate layer button in your right hand menu.

Icon	Name	Function
	Bring Forward	Brings image forward by one layer
	Bring Front	Makes image the top-most image
	Send Backwards	Sends image back one layer
	Send to Back	Sends image all the way to the back layer

Now that you have learned about all of these incredible features that are available in the creator, go forth, Expert Editor, and create your storyboard masterpiece!

Frequently Asked Questions about Expert Editing Tips: Copy, Crop, Erase, Layer

How do I copy art in my storyboard?

To copy art in your storyboard, click on the copy button on the right-hand menu. It looks like two pages on top of each other. You can then move the copied art into the next cell to be repositioned and recolored.

How do I crop art in my storyboard?

To crop art in your storyboard, click on the art and select the crop button from the right-hand menu. You can choose from a standard, circle, or advanced crop. The transparent red box indicates the part that will be cropped, and you can drag the points to adjust it. Once you're happy with the preview, click "Okay!"

How do I erase art in my storyboard?

To erase art in your storyboard, click on the art and then click on the eraser in your right-hand menu. You can choose from a standard, circle, or advanced erase. The transparent red box indicates the part that will be erased, and you can drag the points to adjust it. Once you're happy with the preview, click "Okay!"

How do I layer art in my storyboard?

To layer art in your storyboard, click on the item you want to move to the foreground or background, and then click on the appropriate layer button in your right-hand menu. This can help arrange objects and people behind one another or place a scene behind an open door or window.