Expert Tips For Rotoscoping in DaVinci Resolve Fusion

Learn how to approach rotoscoping like a professional VFX artist

Rotoscoping is the fundamental method for creating pixel-accurate masks that animate over time. Rotoscoping can be time-consuming and tedious, but it gives you a robust solution when other techniques fail. 3D Keyer, Magic Mask, and HSL keys can help us avoid rotoscoping, but sometimes they are not accurate enough or need so much tweaking that the manual route is faster.

When you have to do manual rotoscoping, what are the biggest tips for rotoscoping quickly?

That’s what this Insight is about. Learn to use Fusion’s toolset to draw and manipulate your masks quickly. Plus, you get some tips on dissecting an image and efficiently placing keyframes.

Key takeaways from this Insight

By the end of this Insight, you should understand how to:

• Efficiently use roto shapes in Fusion
• Use bounding boxes and keyboard shortcuts to manipulate roto points to keep animation consistent.
• Break up a complex movement into simple shapes that can be animated quickly and efficiently to save you time and energy
• Activate Motion Blur and how to control it
• Retire shapes that are needed temporarily

External Links

Keyboard Shortcuts can help accelerate Rotoscoping tasks. Here is a link to a cheat sheet with Fusion Keyboard shortcuts:

• PDF – Fusion Keyboard Shortcuts Cheat Sheets – This is a free download from my VFXStudy.com website. Mixing Light members, you can download these in the Additional Downloads section on this page. There are two Cheat Sheets, one for Fusion in DaVinci Resolve and one for Fusion standalone.

Related Mixing Light Insights

• The Fundamentals of Rotoscoping in DaVinci Resolve – Sometimes, a shot is so basic that a little VFX knowledge goes a long way. Dan shares his real-world rotoscoping example.
• Image Cleanup In Resolve – Rotoscoping, Cloning, and Repeated Frames – Being able to offer Basic Cleanup in the grade is great. It saves moving to and from a compositing application and helps finish the job.
• Using Paint and Rotoscoping Tools in Resolve Fusion – Create a clean plate to remove an item using Fusion’s Clone Brush. Then mask an area, replace it, and track the replacement onto the shot.
• Rotoscoping to Replace a Foreground Element in Resolve Fusion –  Part 1, you learned how to remove an object. Now, rotoscope the motion of foreground elements using Polyline masks and keying.

Questions or Comments? Leave a comment!

Is this Insight useful to you? Let us know! Mixing Light is all about community discussions and we’re curious if you found this helpful, if you have something to add, or if you need more questions answered?

– Bernd