Should I use a reference character when animating scenes?

[Sharpie-Zilla]

Hello Moho Friends,
So I have been watching every YouTube video I can find on Moho and there is just so much out there that it is overwhelming. One video I watched was all about using reference characters for animated projects which has some incredible benefits .....yet, when I watch timelines and zoom in on layers for animated projects done in Moho I never see anyone using reference characters?

So is it ideal to use reference characters for animated scenes or is it only in certain cases that one would use a reference character?

I welcome any and all advice.

Steve

[slowtiger]

You do it if you need it. There's no rule to that. I animate most of my stuff right from memory, and when I see a result lacks reality, I try and find references and use them.

[Greenlaw]

Same here; I use reference footage when I'm animating something I've never animated before or when I need it to be realistically accurate.

For example, I like using reference footage for dancing and playing music. I'm not a dancer or a musician, but I like my animations look authentic.

[Greenlaw]

It also depends on the style of animation. When I'm asked to do something over-the-top and very cartoony, I can usually fake it, and it's fine.

[Maestral]

....yet, when I watch timelines and zoom in on layers for animated projects done in Moho I never see anyone using reference characters?

There seems to be some terminology issue — mislabeled things, so to speak.
I believe Steve is asking about Reference layer usage.

My understanding of Ref. layers existence in Moho is to provide simple, quick and easy solution for particular, rather specific, situations.
For example, when portions of the rig overlap (limbs and body or crossing arms, etc.) but you need the shoulder to remain in front and hand behind the body. Selective visibility of Layer and its Reference (along with animated layer order enabled) allows a quick and easy solution.
or
When you have rig elements that could be animated through inherited animation (duplicates) of the Original layer. Fish scales, parts of costume/armour... etc.

[Greenlaw]

Oh, I believe you're right...he must mean Referenced Rigs. That's what I get for skimming these posts.

When we animated the Moho segments for Boss Baby: Back In Business, I set up all our character rigs so our animators would work with the Referenced versions of the project files. I generally followed the system described by Jeremy at Cartoon Saloon, where we had 'Parent' Reference projects and 'Grandparent' Reference projects. This allowed me to mess around and update the original rig files without interfering with the animation work already in progress by other team members.

For the most part, this system was successful for Boss Baby.

Unfortunately, using References in Moho has a few problems, which can force one to break the references in order to keep working with the layers or project file. This is probably why you don't see many examples of artists using Referenced rigs in Moho.

When Reference layers and project files work as expected, I find them incredibly useful and powerful. Lost Marble is aware of the problem, so hopefully, we'll see a fix.

[Maestral]

You must be right, about Referenced Rigs.
I almost forgot about that option and usually deploy references only on layers.

[Sharpie-Zilla]

Thank you for the info the reference rigs look like they could be really amazing but I never saw them used in videos when animators were creating scenes.

Thanks again!
-Steve