Using Flipnote Editor

Flipnote Editor is RexiMemo's browser-based drawing and animation editor for creating Flipnotes directly on the website. You do not need to transfer a Flipnote from a Nintendo DSi or Nintendo 3DS before you start drawing.

The editor is designed around the familiar limitations and workflow of Flipnote Studio: a 256 × 192 pixel canvas, page-by-page animation, two drawing layers, Flipnote-style colors, frame timing, sound effects, selection tools, page tools and PPM export.

What can I make with Flipnote Editor?

You can create drawings and animations one page at a time, preview them at Flipnote-style playback speeds, add sound, reorganise pages, transform artwork, download a PPM file, or prepare the finished Flipnote directly for upload to RexiMemo.

The drawing area is the same 256 × 192 pixel size used by Flipnote Studio. Artwork remains pixel-sharp rather than being smoothed like a normal image editor.

Tools & Brushes

The Tools & Brushes tab contains the main drawing tools:

• Draw for normal line drawing.
• Paint for textured and patterned strokes.
• Fill for filling enclosed areas.
• Erase for removing pixels from the current layer.

Each tool family has several variations. RexiMemo remembers the most recently used variation in each family, so switching between Draw, Paint, Fill and Erase does not reset your tool choices.

Holding Shift exposes alternate or Advanced behavior where that tool supports it.

Quick right-click erasing

On desktop, right-click and drag on the canvas to erase without manually switching tools first. While the right mouse button is held, the editor temporarily switches to your most recently selected Eraser and shows that Eraser's normal outline. When you release the button, your previous tool is restored.

If you have not selected an Eraser during the current editor session, right-click erase starts with Erase 2.

The browser's normal right-click menu is disabled inside Flipnote Editor so right-click drawing can work without interruption.

Color & Layering

Every page has two independent drawing layers. You can switch between the layers at any time and choose the ink color used by the active layer.

Available Flipnote ink colors include:

• Black
• Red
• Blue

Pages can also use white or black paper.

The color belongs to the layer rather than to individual strokes. This keeps the editor closer to the way original Flipnote pages are structured.

Selection & Movement

The Select tool lets you work with part of the current layer.

Draw around an area to make a freehand selection. Hold Shift while selecting to make a rectangular selection instead.

Once an area is selected, movement and transformation tools work only on that selected area. If there is no active selection, those tools work on the entire active layer.

Moving artwork by one pixel

Hold Shift and press an Arrow key to move artwork by exactly one Flipnote pixel.

• If an area is selected, only the selection moves.
• If nothing is selected, the entire active layer moves.

Resize

Resize uses fixed Flipnote-style scaling rather than arbitrary percentages:

• Normal Resize shrinks the artwork to half size.
• Hold Shift while using Resize to enlarge it to double size.

Scaling uses nearest-neighbour pixels so the artwork stays sharp. If enlarged artwork extends beyond the 256 × 192 page, the part outside the page is clipped.

Flip

• Normal Flip mirrors the artwork horizontally.
• Hold Shift to flip vertically.

Rotate

• Normal Rotate turns the artwork clockwise.
• Hold Shift to rotate anticlockwise.

Pages and the timeline

A Flipnote is made from a sequence of pages shown in the timeline underneath the editor.

The timeline automatically follows the current page whenever:

• playback advances to another page;
• you manually change pages; or
• you make a new change to the current page.

You can still scroll the timeline elsewhere manually. RexiMemo leaves it where you moved it until the current page changes or another edit is committed.

Reordering pages

Click and drag a page thumbnail in the timeline to move that page somewhere else in the animation.

While a page is being dragged, its original position is shown with a dotted placeholder. A placement indicator shows where the page will be inserted when you release it. Dropping it back into the same position leaves the page order unchanged.

Page Tools

The small button underneath the timeline opens the Page Tools tray.

The tray contains:

• Erase Page — mirrors the normal Remove Page action.
• Insert Page — mirrors the normal Insert Page action.
• Copy Page — copies both drawing layers of the current page.
• Paste Page — replaces both drawing layers of the current page with the copied page.

When the tray is open, its toggle changes to Close Page Tools and moves to the bottom edge of the opened menu.

Animation playback

You can preview the animation directly inside the editor using Flipnote-style playback speeds and looping.

Press Space to start or pause playback.

While the Flipnote is playing, the timeline automatically follows the currently playing page.

Sound & Photos

The Sound & Photos tab contains audio and image-related tools.

Flipnote pages can carry page-specific sound-effect triggers, and supported audio can be prepared for playback with the animation.

You can also import image material into the editor. Because Flipnotes use a limited resolution, palette and layer structure, imported artwork may be simplified compared with the original source image.

File & Options

The File & Options tab contains the main import and export controls.

Prepare for Upload

Choose Prepare for Upload when you want to publish the current Flipnote on RexiMemo.

RexiMemo will:

1. encode the current project as a Flipnote PPM;
2. stage that file in RexiMemo's upload system; and
3. open /upload with the Flipnote already attached.

The file is not downloaded first. You can then finish the normal upload details such as title, description, Channel and visibility.

On the upload page, an editor-prepared file is identified as Flipnote recieved from the editor.

Downloading a PPM

If you specifically want a local file instead, use the editor's Download option. Downloading a PPM and preparing one for RexiMemo upload are separate actions.

Keyboard shortcuts

Editor shortcuts work whether you last clicked the canvas, the page background or another editor button. Text-entry fields keep normal typing behavior.

• Space — Play or pause.
• T — Cycle through the last-used Draw → Paint → Fill → Erase tools.
• X — Change the active layer color.
• Delete — Erase the current layer.
• C — Clear the current layer.
• P — Switch to Draw/Pen.
• B — Switch to Paint.
• E — Switch to Eraser.
• F — Switch to Fill.
• 1–8 — Choose a tool variation.
• U — Undo.
• R — Redo.
• Shift + Arrow — Move the selection, or the whole active layer, by one pixel.
• Shift — Use alternate or Advanced behavior where supported.

Mobile and touch support

Flipnote Editor supports phones and tablets as well as desktop browsers.

The mobile layout adapts the canvas, toolbar, timeline, Page Tools, playback controls and dialogs to smaller screens. Touch equivalents are provided for actions that normally depend on Shift or mouse-specific input, including long-press alternatives where appropriate.

A stylus can make drawing more comfortable on supported devices, but it is not required.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a Nintendo DSi or Nintendo 3DS?

No. Flipnote Editor runs in your web browser. A console is only needed if you use RexiMemo's separate Upload a Flipnote from your DSi/3DS workflow.

Are these real PPM Flipnotes?

The editor can encode its work into the Flipnote PPM format used by RexiMemo's upload system. However, the artwork was created in RexiMemo's browser editor rather than inside Nintendo's original Flipnote Studio application.

That distinction is important when using the resulting file on other services.

Can I upload directly to RexiMemo?

Yes. Use Prepare for Upload. RexiMemo encodes the Flipnote and opens the normal upload page with the file already attached.

Can I still save the PPM to my computer?

Yes. Use the separate Download action when you want a local PPM file.

Does Flipnote Editor support undo and redo?

Yes. Supported drawing and editing operations are stored in the page history so they can be undone and redone.

Can I move pages around?

Yes. Drag page thumbnails in the timeline to rearrange the animation.

Can I copy an entire page?

Yes. Open Page Tools and use Copy Page, then Paste Page. Both drawing layers are copied.

Can I transform only part of a page?

Yes. Make a selection first. Resize, Flip, Rotate, movement, Copy, Cut and Paste then operate on that selected area of the active layer.

Without a selection, applicable movement and transformation actions operate on the whole active layer.

Why does enlarged artwork sometimes disappear at the edges?

The Flipnote page itself always remains 256 × 192 pixels. Enlarging artwork does not make the page larger, so pixels that move outside the page are clipped.

Why does an imported image look different?

Flipnote artwork has strict resolution, palette and layer limitations. Full-color source images therefore have to be adapted to the Flipnote format.

Why do I not see an Experiments tab?

You do not need one. Flipnote Editor is available to all logged-in RexiMemo users and does not, by itself, make the Experiments tab appear.

Using editor-created Flipnotes on Sudomemo

Sudomemo's Terms of Use state:

Section 5: Content Policy (the “Rules”)

1. Prohibited Uses. The following activities are prohibited on Sudomemo:

1-5: Exploits or content that wasn’t created in the original Flipnote Studio software on a Nintendo DSi or Nintendo 3DS