making a character

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furrymaster
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making a character

Post by furrymaster »

well, hello everybody, i'm a new user, and i saw the tutorials, actually i'm learning a bit of basic things of AS, but my doubt is... how to create a character?
I mean, a character like the anime characters that AS pro has, winsor, for example. i have various questions.

-Is better to use image, or vector layers?
-What is the best organization for a character?
-how many is the best number of parts of the character? because i want to unify te frontal, 3/4, lateral and backside views of the character, and some expresions...
-And... the hands, that's a problem XD

thanks everybody if anyone can help me. temember that i'm new, but i think that i can learn so fast.
si, esta es mi firma, que querias?
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PARKER
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Post by PARKER »

Para crear tu personaje lo mejor es usar vector layers o capas de vector.
En cuanto a la organizacion, no hagas todo tu personaje vectorizandolo enteramente en una sola capa de vector ya que eso haria mas complicadas las cosas especialmente a la hora de animarlo luego.

Lo mas recomendable es que pongas cada parte de tu personaje en una capa individual, osea que tendrias una capa para la cabeza, otra para el torso, otra para el brazo derecho otra para el izquierdo, otra para la pierna izquierda y otra para la derecha.

Luego agrupa todas estas capas dentro de una capa de grupo(group layer) y normalmente nombrarias a esta capa con el nombre tu personaje.

Al mismo tiempo podrias descomponer las capas de las partes o extremidades de tu personajes en varias otras capas.

Po ejemplo para la cabeza crea una capa para el rostro, otra para los ojos, otra para las cejas, otra para la boca, otra para la nariz, otra para las orejas, otra para el cabello y otra para el cuello.

Luego agrupa todas estas capas vector dentro de una capa de grupo que deberia llamarse "cabeza" y asi podrias hacer con el resto de las otras partes de tu personaje.

Si vas a animar a tu personaje con huesos o bones entonces en vez de agrupar las partes dentro de group layers hazlo dentro de bone layers o capas de hueso.
da2tha3
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Post by da2tha3 »

I agree with parker, putting each detail onto a layer gives you extra flexibility when it comes to animating the character

As for moving from front-side views, and the hands, you may want to look at creating the parts in a modular fashion, fingers separate from hands, so that the layer ordering can be switched at any time when moving the hands. Also, think about switch layers, to switch perspective of certain parts. This approach would be no good for the entire body though, switching from front-side view will not look smooth at all. Which is acceptable depending on your style.
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Mikdog
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Post by Mikdog »

Sorry to sound dry here, but if you want to make a character like Windsor its best to look at Windsor and check how he's constructed.

Vector, in this case. The other questions will be answered by looking at Windsor.
furrymaster
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Post by furrymaster »

well, thanks for the tips, i'm making my own one :P
i like the winsor order of files, but i'm still thinking that have all the views for each part, can make awesome effects, at any case, i'll try it.
si, esta es mi firma, que querias?
Vagabond
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Good ideas

Post by Vagabond »

I agree with Parker too. Especially with putting things in bone layers. I read a post from Heyvern saying group layers are not as good as bone layers. I've experimented and agree. I also learned that when switching from a group layer to a bone or switchlayer it's best to put the new folder underneath the old one so as you pull layers from the bottom of the group layer they fall into the correct order. Changing one's mind is time consuming.

As far as bones go I like to have a bone layer for the whole body and inside that one have another for the head with control bones for expressions.

As far as vector or image layers being better depends on the style of the project. I think drawing a bunch of image layers is easier than manipulating points. It's easier to draw vectors in llustrator and it's perfect for making custom shapes quickly too. Still vectors look a particular way when rendered but images can look like anything you want. I hope you post your work if you can.

Good luck.
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