Actions vs. My Brain...

Hookflash · Post by **Hookflash** » Tue Jan 20, 2009 3:41 am

Am I the only one who can't get their head around actions? Nothing seems to work the way I would expect (compared to the NLA features common to 3D animation packages), especially when dealing with layer hierarchies. Are there any good, in-depth tutorials out there on this sort of thing (the one in the AS documentation is pretty sparse)? Thanks.

synthsin75 · Post by **synthsin75** » Tue Jan 20, 2009 3:53 am

viewtopic.php?t=8867&highlight=head+turn+actions

If you can download a large video, this will teach you all the details of actions. Search the forum for the other parts.

Hookflash · Post by **Hookflash** » Tue Jan 20, 2009 4:04 am

Thanks!

mkelley · Post by **mkelley** » Tue Jan 20, 2009 4:50 am

The other thing I've learned about actions is this: if you are going to define actions using more than one layer, absolutely do them in the main timeline and then copy them to the action you want.

It's SOOOO much easier to work in the main timeline, getting the action correct, and then copying the whole thing to an action rather than try and define an action at a group layer (where every time you move to another layer it will take you out of that action).

Once you've got things working in the main timeline, just create an action at whatever top level you need (the topmost level of what layers need to be manipulated) and then do an insert copy in the action (with the cursor on the main timeline) and you'll have everything there correctly.

Magnatude · Post by **Magnatude** » Tue Jan 20, 2009 5:21 am

Does anyone have a link to the first part?
(the one in the forums is dead, both part2's and part 3 works tho)

Hookflash · Post by **Hookflash** » Tue Jan 20, 2009 5:28 am

Magnatude wrote:Does anyone have a link to the first part?
(the one in the forums is dead, both part2's and part 3 works tho)

The smallest (mp4) version of part 1 seems to be working.

synthsin75 · Post by **synthsin75** » Tue Jan 20, 2009 5:46 am

Oh yeah, I definitely agree with Mike. Building actions on the main timeline is the only way to go. If you watch most of Part 3 of Darthfurby's tutorial, it's almost painful watching him work on it after it's kicked him out of the action editing (before he realizes it).

It's just one of the hard things to get use to in actions.

Hookflash · Post by **Hookflash** » Tue Jan 20, 2009 6:10 am

synthsin75 wrote:Oh yeah, I definitely agree with Mike. Building actions on the main timeline is the only way to go. If you watch most of Part 3 of Darthfurby's tutorial, it's almost painful watching him work on it after it's kicked him out of the action editing (before he realizes it).

It's just one of the hard things to get use to in actions.

This is an example of what I mean when I say actions never seem to work as expected. I really hope the NLA workflow gets reworked for v6, cause, right now, it seems to be a huge, confusing mess...

funksmaname · Post by **funksmaname** » Tue Jan 20, 2009 11:40 am

I work directly in actions, but i've installed the 'select parent layer' script that uses the letter J - that way whenever i'm done with a particular layer, i just press J before selecting the next layer and i'm NEVER kicked out of the actions.

if you have a lot of layers to copy over to actions isnt this easier?

synthsin75 · Post by **synthsin75** » Tue Jan 20, 2009 12:40 pm

if you have a lot of layers to copy over to actions isnt this easier?

It would be, except that you can copy to actions from the group layer which copies all the sublayer keys as well. But if you have 'too much' going on in the main timeline already, that select parent layer script is a much better solution than trying to move all of you action keys back to frame one, or delete large portions of each layer's keyframes.

I'm planning to incorporate a 'selection through the parent layer' for actions in my new select layer script eventually.

mkelley · Post by **mkelley** » Tue Jan 20, 2009 4:27 pm

Yeah, Wes has it right.

If you are working on something that needs multi-layer actions you really shouldn't be doing other work on the main timeline anyway, IMHO. Those actions are the kind of stuff you want to store with your character and use over and over, and thus should be done independent of other animation. Even using a script to select a parent layer is fraught with problems (if you forget to hit that key, for example) whereas working in the main timeline will never let you down.

funksmaname · Post by **funksmaname** » Tue Jan 20, 2009 5:20 pm

how do you copy all the sub keys over then? its just something i've never tried

Hookflash · Post by **Hookflash** » Tue Jan 20, 2009 5:32 pm

funksmaname wrote:how do you copy all the sub keys over then? its just something i've never tried

Yeah, I'm wondering this myself. Cause you can't select sublayer keyframes in the timeline (to copy them) from the parent layer, right? Do you have to go from layer to layer, selecting all the appropriate keyframes before copying them to the clipboard?

mkelley · Post by **mkelley** » Tue Jan 20, 2009 5:36 pm

As long as you are on the parent all sub layer keys will be copied correctly.

As an example, you are making an action with an eye that blinks. Your eye is a group that consists of an upper switch layer and a lower switch layer. In order to "blink" your upper layer needs to start off at "normal" and then go to "closed", stay there a while, and then go back to "normal". The same for your lower lid.

You create this action on the main timeline and when you are satisfied with how it looks you select the top most eye group (if that's where you want the action --you can put the action as high up as you want, including the bone or parent layer) and create a new action. Then just right click on the eye layer and choose "insert" and it will copy all the keys to all the layers from that layer to below.

This is really much easier to do than to explain. Just try it.