ToonIt! Provides Fancy and Expensive Way to Posterize Footage

by Michael Perlman

Published on Jun 19, 2007 10:56 AM
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June 19, 2007- Digital Anarchy, creator of digital imaging filters, announced today the release of ToonIt!, a software pack comprised of filters that adds a cartoon look to digital video. Similar, high-end versions of the special effects have been popularized by movies like “Waking Life” and “A Scanner Darkly.” Now users can create cartoon-like videos at home via automatic filters that are compatible with most major NLEs. The $299 price tag, however, should prove to be an obstacle for Digital Anarchy, considering that most consumer camcorders offer similar effects pre-installed.
“Until now there hasn't been a high-quality way to create these effects that isn't very labor intensive,” said Stan Schwartz, co-founder and President of Toonamation. “We're delighted to bring that capability to you, here, first, through the ToonIt! plugin and our partnership with Digital Anarchy."
ToonIt! is composed of four filters: Roto Toon, Outlines Only, Goth Toon, and Blacklight Edges. Roto Toon flattens color shades and provides control over outlines, shading, and halftone effects. Outlines Only creates a black and white comic book effect by detecting outlines and removing color entirely. Goth Toon dabbles with high contrast imaging by utilizing an internal color rotoscoping, and Blacklight Edges locates pronounced edges and adds a neon glow to them. A number of styles can be applied to footage, such as Flat Cartoon, Graphic Novel, Line Art, Stipple and Pen & Ink. Digital Anarchy also claims that ToonIt! reduces temporal artifacts commonly found in other cartooning software.
Based on the examples provided by www.digitalanacrchy.com, it appears that any camcorder with an "art," "posterize," or "pastel" picture effect will yield the similar effects to at least some of ToonIt's tools. Most Canons and Sonys will provide you with in-camera filters that produce a nearly identical result to the sample images below. In addition, all of ToonIt's supported NLEs offer their own filters that achieve the same effect. Digital Anarchy is going to have to offer some pretty compelling sample videos and stills in order to justify its hefty price tag.
ToonIt! 1.0 will be available in late June for $249 through July 4th only. The software is regularly priced at $299. ToonIt! is compatible with the following NLEs: After Effects 5.5 and higher, Final Cut Pro 4.5 and higher, Motion 2.1 and higher, and Premiere Pro 2.0 (Windows only) and higher.
From Top to Bottom: "Normal," "Line Art," and "Cartoon."



Before and After Pictures of the Cartoon Filter