Moho Forum

I bought Anime Studio Pro 11 about two months ago. I've been busy rendering a character, breaking all the various parts into multiple layers and using patches around the joints. Here's what I have so far.



I figured the easiest way to handle her hands for now would be to make a switch layer (R. Hand) so I could just alternate between gestures, but I noticed a problem when that hand would go over part of the F. Hair layer and how it'd get hidden behind it. I was thinking it'd be a simple matter of using a patch layer and targeting the R. Hand, but I'm unable to target it because it's a switch. I've noted the same issue when trying to target something in a seperate group nestled inside the main bone layer I currently have everything in.

I worked around it by editing the hair line out of the F. Hair layer, going further down the layer order and editing it into the R. Hair layer so that I got the following result that I wanted.



I just wanted to know if there's a reason that patch layers can't target switches and groups. I don't understand most of the technical parts of how all this works, so any kind of insight would be appreciated. Outside of the tutorials, I'm just trying out things via trial and error. Just wondering about why patches can't be used like that, and I was also curious if anyone else had any recommendations on different options I could try for stuff like this in the future.

Personally I think using patches will add complexity to your rig - now that you can have animated layer ordering, layer references, and smart bones you probably don't need to use them at all, but it will take a shift in your methods of construction.

For example, you could have a layer reference of the hand that sits below the hair, you could automate the visibility of one or other layer using the rotation bone of the arm when it goes behind the body. You could also not use references but change the layer orders around instead.

It looks like you might be using patch layers in places where you could simply hide a stroke with the hide edge or stroke exposure tool. You could even use a little filled shape to cover a line that moves as needed using smart bone controls.

You've done really well in two months... the number 1 tip I could give is there's more than one way to skin a cat, so experiment with different way of achieving the same results to broaden your choices when it gets down to complex rigging.