Amount of Character Switch Layers

[jasononstage]

Can someone tell me how many Switch Layers you can have with in one character. The character has bones and has one switch layer already for the head turn. I am not able to add another for the mouth movements with in the head switch. I am just not sure where or if to put another switch layer for the mouth movements.

Thanks very much,
Jason

[Víctor Paredes]

It's just logic.
Switch layer always need coherent options to chose.

for example, if you have this there will be no problem:

-switch layer "head"
---- head right
---- head left
---- head center

but if you have:

-switch layer head
---- head right
---- head left
---- switch layer mouths
---- head center

one of the options will be "switch layer mouths", so if you select it, all the other options will disappear, so you will have a mouth floating with no head. it's logic, you are telling to AS that show us the head OR the mouth, but no both.


how to solve it?, just group your head layers
for example:

-switch layer head
---- group layer head right
-------- switch layer mouth
-------- head right
---- group layer head center
-------- switch layer mouth
-------- head center
---- group layer head left
-------- switch layer mouth
-------- head left

in this example head switch layer still having just 3 options (right, center, left), but inside each grouped option there are more layers (and even switch layers for the mouth, the eyes or whatever you want)
you could have all the switch layer you could handle, but you must be sure to have all in order.

[jahnocli]

Well, you CAN nest switch layers. I have included a file in the "Tips and Techniques" section (Resources, page 2, second "cribble" entry). This includes a lot of switch layers, some of which are nested. Download the file and take a look...

[Dodgy]

Because I like to morph switch layers, I have the following structure

Mouth
>Side_OOH
>Side_MMM
>Side_AAH
>Front_OOH
>Front_MMM
>Front_AAH
Head
>Side
>Front

Then as I go from a head front to a head side, I'll go from a front phoneme to a side phoneme. Works pretty well.

[slowtiger]

I worked with characters which had nested switch layers with more than a dozen options and several levels deep - I think up to 8 levels. I never came to a point where I couldn't add another layer or switch layer.