Skip to main content

Three Image Overlay Apps. Do More with Your Reference Images While You Work

PureRef's image overlay in action with Cartoon Animator 4.
PureRef's image overlay in action
with Cartoon Animator 4.
One thing Cartoon Animator 4 still does not have in stage mode is the ability to onion skin previous and next frames. 

For those complete animation newbies among you, onion skinning is the ability to see through the current frame to your previous and/or next keyframes so you can see the progression of your character or object's movement as you create and adjust each keyframe. Usually the previous and next frames appear lighter so your current frame remains the key focus.

This prompted me to look for a tool that could overlay an image over my work to use as a reference while still allowing me to work on the app underneath the overlay. I had seen, and even used such apps in the past but it had been some time so I decided to see what was out there, preferably free and/or open source, with versions for Mac and Windows.

Overlay 2

There are actually a number of apps that do nothing more than overlay an image but the only one I could find that has both Windows and Mac versions is Overlay 2.

You can trial Overlay 2 for free but it will constantly display a nag screen every 3-5 minutes asking you to enter or obtain an activation serial number. To purchase a license it'll set you back US$25.00 - worth it? Let's see.

Overlay 2 with Cartoon Animator 4.
Overlay 2 with Cartoon Animator 4.

Overlay 2 does exactly what you expect. It allows you to overlay an image on your screen, at any percentage opacity you require. You can then set the image to 'float' which means you can work on any app underneath as if the overlay image wasn't there.

Additional controls allow you to scale, rotate, or move the image vertically and horizontally, as well as turn the overlay on or off.

I can't really fault the app. It does exactly what it says it does and works well. I just don't feel it's enough to justify $25.00 for a license.

One feature it could use is the ability to switch through a sequence of images stored in the same folder at the push of a button the way most photo viewer apps do. This would allow you to easily change to a different reference image without having to manually load in each image every time.

If all you need is the ability to overlay one image, that you can work through as if it wasn't there, on any app, not just Cartoon Animator 4, this will do the job.

Kuadro

Kuadro is completely free, with Mac and Windows versions, is more than just a reference image overlay tool. It's also something of a visualization board for your monitor allowing multiple images on screen, all in their own windows. You can save the layout of those images to reload later. You can also automatically add images saved to the clipboard (which means I can screenshot my previous keyframes to the clipboard and use it immediately as an overlay reference for my next keyframe).

Kuadro allows you to zoom and pan around images within their windows, set their opacity, and whether they always remain on top or not when you switch back to your other apps. Locking images so they can be worked through as an overlay can only be done for all images at once. So once locked you can't move any images around until you unlock them.

Kuadro with Cartoon Animator 4.
Kuadro with Cartoon Animator 4.


Kuadro does allow you to flick through a sequence of images in the same folder just by pressing the left and right arrow keys when an image is active (though I did encounter a bug where my images got progressively smaller each time I flicked through them). 

If you're considering this app, it definitely fits better into your workflow if you take the time to learn the keyboard shortcuts. Otherwise you'll constantly be selecting things through the app's menus. Adjusting opacity is definitely easier using the short cuts as there is no slider or numeric setting within the menus to fine tune how opaque you want to go.

One important thing to note is that Kuadro doesn't actually install to your system (on a Windows system it won't make a shortcut in the start menu or on the desktop). You'll have to make your own shortcut to wherever you downloaded the Kuadro executable file.

PureRef

PureRef - is like Kuadro but with even more features. Again it's totally free and available for Windows, Mac, and Linux.

It can do pretty much everything Kuadro does, though you can't flick through images in a folder. Work spaces are organised into canvases in which you can store multiple images on a single canvas (which is basically a window). A canvas can be overlayed and/or locked.

A nice feature is the ability to attach text notes to images.

PureRef with Cartoon Animator 4
PureRef with Cartoon Animator 4.

As near as I can tell PureRef has a few extra features over Kuadro and is, perhaps, a little more finished and professional. I certainly didn't encounter any bugs. Some how Kuadro managed to feel a little more light weight and less intrusive on my screen though.

Both do the job of organising visual references on your screen while you work in another app really well. Since both apps are free it really comes down to which you prefer and whether attaching notes to your reference images is something you really need.

Either makes the US$25.00 license for Overlay 2 redundant since both surpass that app in features for no cost at all.

---o ---o--- o---

For my purposes of just overlaying reference images I think Kuadro is more than enough. If they fixed the issue I had with flicking through a folder of images it would be perfect. Since both apps work better if you familiarize yourself with their shortcut keys, Kuadro has fewer of these to learn.

Overall I think PureRef is the better app feature for feature with the concept of canvases giving the edge in terms of feeling more organised but you really can't go wrong with either. Give Overlay 2 a miss unless it becomes freeware or someone decides Kuadro and PureRef should be paid apps.


Popular posts from this blog

Using Avatar Maker with Cartoon Animator - Free Vector Cartoon Avatar Creator with Four Art Styles

I'm always on the lookout for cartoon avatar makers of any kind, whether it be ones that 'cartoonify' your photo, or ones that let you build a cartoon likeness from a library of individual features.  Free Avatar Maker  falls into the latter category and can be used for making head and shoulder cartoon avatars. While it doesn't have an extensive library of character features (you may struggle to get a good likeness), uniquely it will make your avatar in four different art styles concurrently, allowing you to save the one you like most, or even all four.  I wasn't overly impressed how my TET avatar looked in the first two styles, but style three is quite possibly the coolest looking version of my avatar I've ever seen in a third party avatar creator. It's a very contemporary style. Style four, line art, is also not too bad. Avatar Maker's User Interface. Switch between the four different art styles shown across the top at any time. I particularly like the

Make Disney/Pixar Style Characters with Reallusion's Character Creator and Toon Figure Bases

The Extraordinary Tourist Classic Coat outfit created using Reallusion's Toon Designer for CC3. I've talked before how I've wanted to get into 3D Disney/Pixar style character animation since I first saw the animated cutscenes for the very first Tomb Raider game back in 1996. It's why I initially bought Reallusion's iClone 3D studio app as soon as I could afford a computer that would run it. But then Reallusion released their 3D Character Creator (CC) for iClone and I wanted to create my characters with that (and I did try with Bat Storm ). But the focus of CC was realism, even with ToKoMotion's stylised body morphs . Now with Reallusion's Cartoon Designer bundle for CC3 which features two packs, Toon Figures , and Toon Hair , designing Disney/Pixar style 3D characters just got a whole lot quicker. The two packs are the bare essentials for creating Toon style characters. Five body morphs (2 male, 2 female, and one adolescent body morph that w

Can You Learn Reallusion's Cartoon Animator 5 for Free Using Their 137 Official YouTube Video Tutorials Sorted Into a Logical Learning Order?

Or you could just buy The Lazy Animator Beginner's Guide to Cartoon Animator . While Reallusion's Cartoon Animator is one of the easiest 2D animation studios to get up and running with quickly, learning it from all of the official, free, video tutorials can be more overwhelming than helpful. With more than 137 videos totaling more than 28 and a half hours of tutorials, spread across three generations of the software (Cartoon Animator 3 through 5) it's hard to know if what you're learning is a current or legacy feature that you either need to know or can be skipped. Many of the official tutorials only teach specific features of the software and don't relate at all to previous or later tutorials. As a result there are many features either not mentioned or are hard to find. To make your learning easier, on this page, I've collected together all of the essential, official, free video tutorials and sorted them into a learning order that makes sense. Simply start at

Inochi2D - Free Open Source 2D VTuber Avatar Rigging and Puppeteering Software (Part 1)

Inochi2D Creator - Free Open Source VTuber Software. If you've been looking for a way to live perform as a 2D cartoon avatar on camera, whether it be for a live stream or for pre-recorded content like educational videos, then VTuber software is a low cost (or even no cost) option worth looking into. In my previous post, How to Become a VTuber - 2D and 3D Software for Creating and Controlling Your Avatar , I took a brief look at the relatively new but completely free and open source Inochi2D  which I thought showed great potential for my own needs of creating a live performance character rig for my own TET Avatar that I use for all my promotional materials. While it is possible to live perform my character using Cartoon Animator itself, Reallusion's MotionLive2D capture system isn't great - with lip sync in particular. More importantly though, I can't exactly teach people how to use Cartoon Animator if I'm using Cartoon Animator to control my Avatar. What is Inochi2D

Moho 14 Released - Still the Best 2D Animation Software for Indy Animators on a Budget

Moho 14 Released. Regular readers know I am a Reallusion, Cartoon Animator advocate through and through. Hands down I would recommend Cartoon Animator 5 first over Lost Marble's Moho 14 to anyone who is just starting in 2D animation, is a team of one, or just needs to animate as quickly as possible. However, feature for feature, Moho is, arguably, the best 2D animation software for the rest of us who can't justify a Toon Boom Harmony , or Adobe Creative Cloud subscription (and even with their applications Moho is very competitive on features). You can get started with Moho Debut for just USD$59.99 which is a cut down version of Moho Pro but it still has the most essential features needed for 2D animation. While Moho Pro is a whopping USD$399.99 (Cartoon Animator, which only has one version, is just USD$149.00) upgrades to new version numbers come down to a quarter of the price at USD$99.00. Even though Reallusion just released features like Motion Pilot Puppet Animation and

Artbreeder - Using AI created Character and Background Content in your Animations

A selection of User/AI generated images from Artbreeder. If you're looking for an endless supply of 2D character and background images for your animations then Artbreeder , an online Artificial Intelligence (AI) that generates image mash-ups you can tweak as much as you like, could be the ultimate content library. What is Artbreeder? Artbreeder is free to use though there are various paid plans, that give you additional features, such as higher resolution download images or more settings to play with. All images created on the site are Public Domain (CC0 License) and can be used in commercial projects. Using Artbreeder's online app you can generate head shot portraits, full body characters, landscapes, and other scenes simply by choosing two or more existing images to mash together then, using a series of sliders, to select which traits from each image you wish to lean toward in the final image. Photo Comparison - Top is my original uploaded photo. Bottom is Artbreeder's ap

Reallusion Releases Cartoon Animator 5 - One Version, More Features, Lower Price!

If you're serious about producing 2D animation as quickly as possible, while still achieving professional results, Reallusion's Cartoon Animator 5 makes the most compelling case yet as your animation studio/tool of choice. Cartoon Animator's point of difference has always been its ease of use and accelerated workflow. Creating fast, 2D animation using puppet, bone rigged based characters and props, on a stage with 3D depth for easy scene parallax effects. As it has developed Reallusion has incorporated more advanced features like motion capture for both face and body as well as being able to export scenes to post production tools like After Effects with the addition of plugins. After moving away from Flash based vector image support for a few years, Reallusion is back with full .SVG (scalable vector graphics) support for resolution independent graphics. They've also added Spring Dynamic physics and Full Form Deformation tools, both of which make it ridiculously easy t