Model Rigging Q: Best Practice for character turnarounds

[Gibble]

Hey Gang!

I am in the process of rigging a new character and I was wondering the best way to set up a rig.
Specifically- how do you swap the 1. head Front view to the 2. Head 3/4 view?

BONUS: If there is a tutorial or video that already outlines this- please share!

PS. I don't want to build a 360 rig.

Another way to ask is:
How would you set up Homer to go from the front pose to the 3/4 pose? [head only is fine]:

[Greenlaw]

It depends on how complex you want to get.

For some characters, going from 3/4 to 3/4 can be accomplished in a Smart Bone action. A common way is to parent the parts of the face to a bone and slide the bone from side to side. If you're working with Moho's vector layers, the Smart Bone Action can smoothly 'morph' the features and the head shape from front to 3/4 views.

If transitioning smoothly between views isn't a priority, you can use a Switch layer to cut to a different view.

Or, you can take a hybrid approach and include some sliding within each view. For example, in much of my TV work, I use smooth turning setups from 3/4to 3/4 views, but then I use the Switch to 'pop' the character to the side views, which is a completely different drawing and setup. In motion, no one notices this unless they're specifically looking out for it.

The trick is mostly timing and performance. When the character moves between strong key poses, the 'pop' from 3/4 to Side can be very forgiving.

[Gibble]

Thank you DR! Once again, your advice is super helpful!!

To answer your notes:
If transitioning smoothly between views isn't a priority, : no, its not a priority at all. I plan to transition during faster moves or on cuts.

The main reason I thought each head needed to be separate was because each angle had its own Mouthgroup Switch layer and I didn't think that'd work with a Smart Bone set up that morphed between Front and 3/4F (the mouths would need to move over). How do you accomplish this though with your hybrid setup??

I'd love to see how you set up your TV Production rigs. Or at least the concept of how this works.

[MrMiracle77]

If mouth switch layers are your preferred process, you could apply a smart mesh to the entire switch layer. As the head turns left or right, you can use the smart mesh to compress or stretch the appropriate side of the mouth.

[Greenlaw]

This might sound like a cop-out answer, but there are so many ways to handle the mouth, and the best method depends on the character design and how it will be animated. I suggest experimenting and finding what works best for your situation.

For me, I usually place the mouth in a Switch Layer and use the same switch for the range from front to front 3/4 views. To do this, I place each mouth pose inside its own group and break it apart into layers, typically Mouth, Teeth, and Tongue layers. Then, in the Head Turn Smart Bone Action, I'll slide the position of the teeth and tongue to the left or right to give the inside of the mouth depth. Also, I might reshape the edge of the mouth to give it dimension as it slides into its 3/4 view.

There have been times when I rotated the Switch Layer group on its Y-axis to give the drawings a cheated perspective in the 3/4 views. This works great, but you need to remember what's going on if you need to edit it later. (Actually, I guess the perspective is real, and what I've cheated is the drawing.)

To be clear, I use the same Switch from 3/4 left to front to 3/4 right views and animate the angles (shapes and perspective) in the transition. But when the character is in full profile, I'll use a different Switch Layer with side-view versions of the mouth poses. This lets me use a different setup where I can cut out the shape along the side of the head.

I may even set up a mouth control that keeps all of the mouth Switches in sync. That's really not necessary, though. In fact, these days, I like to use the Switch Selection window instead of a Smart Bone to animate mouth poses. This method requires very little setup, is easy to animate with, and lets me smoothly interpolate between mouth poses. (This Switch Layer sub-interpolation won't work with a Smart Bone.)

MrMiracle77 mentioned using a mesh warp, and I agree this is another good method. To do this, make sure your vector shapes have the points to support the mesh warp. Tip: controlling Bezier Points can get funky with this level of warping, so I usually reset the curvature in the curves and disable Bezier when I know I'll be doing this. The curvature will deform more predictably this way.

So, yeah, lots of different ways to animate mouths, and the above are just my personal go-to methods.

(As for tutorials, I have something coming in mid-June, so stay tuned. But don't tell anyone...it's a secret.)

[Gibble]

Thanks for the feedback MrMiracle77 and Greenlaw. Its encouraging to hear there are basically no right or wrong way to set these up, just the way that works for you

And thanks for outlining your setup, DR! I think I understand it. To make it clearer in my mind, I mocked up a graphic that hopefully reiterates your set up. Please see below.
Is this how you set up heads?

• Smart Bone Head shape covers the three front views [1. Front 2. 3/4 Right and 3. 3/4 Left]
  Switch Layer Mouth: A single switch Layer contains all the mouths for the above heads
  Side View: Is unto itself.

Does this basically capture your setup correctly?

Tutorials: Looking forward to what you are coming up with! I am sure they'll be super helpful! If you ever need assistance or a Beta viewer, I'd be glad to assist!