I have a character where I need different expressions for the mouth and eyes. I have a bones layer adjusting the mouth which i was going to set up using actions. However I have the eyes set up as a eye open layer and eye closed layer. And I was just going to have an action for a blink but I am running into some problems trying to set this up. Is actions the best way to set something like this up? Or should I use switch layers since its just a on/off thing? I dont even really understand switch layers. Can switch layers be incorporated into actions?
I am thinking part of my problem is that I am still trying to figure out how that timeline/animation aspect of Moho works since I am coming from an After Effects background its taking a bit to get my head wrapped about it. So if anyone has any advice or tips about animating layers and timelines usage from an AE perspective that would be great. And yes I have been through the tutorials which helped a lot as an intro but still seem to be lacking.
Switch layers and actions can work somewhat the same, if you have interpolate sub-layers on for the switch layer than it will tween the in-betweens and look like a style of an action.
Actions are based on timeline and static to that action. You can use paste copy and change the length of it but it can be a pain in the butt if you're doing multiple things in a certain action.
Since switch layers are from A-B with a single keyframe change, it's much easier to use a switch layer VS an action.
Actions are more suited for things that take time to animate, like a walk cycle or a character jumping and flipping etc.
A tip about actions, Seperate walk cycles into seperate parts for example:
Say I want my character to walk normally, but at a certain part in the animation I want him to wave at someone while he continues to walk by.
If I action the arms and legs etc in a single action and try waving the arms manually at a certain part in the main timeline, I'm going to get a very strange looking wave because the action will be fighting what I'm trying to do with the charactrs arms.
when I setup actions I use quite a few. I create walking, running and things like that for each part.
I have actions listed like this:
Walk (arms)
Walk (legs)
Run (arms)
Run (legs)
it takes more time to do it this way, but it gives you more control over what your charater can do at any time.
I can use the walk (legs) and have my character walk while reading a paper, throw the paper away while walking past a garbage can and wave at someone while he passes by.
I hope this helps you out, and you learned a little something.
yes they are and like i mentioned i went through all of them but they still lack a lot of info that is needed like is it possible to cycle an action or not.
I wonder if the commercial version will include tutorials in depth or rely on the community as before. The community here is terrific and in my case, very patience in going over things that others find easy.
As far as cycling action, you just need to put a "cycle" type keyframe at the end of the action's instance in the mainline timeline. It'll cycle until you drop in another keyframe or insert a new action.
I often end up with a whole lot more than just open and closed for eyes in switch layers, a whole pile of them for different expressions, with the switch layer set up for interpolation.
7feet wrote:As far as cycling action, you just need to put a "cycle" type keyframe at the end of the action's instance in the mainline timeline. It'll cycle until you drop in another keyframe or insert a new action.
I often end up with a whole lot more than just open and closed for eyes in switch layers, a whole pile of them for different expressions, with the switch layer set up for interpolation.
great tip. I am going to have to try that.
Ok new question, any tips on organizing and managing several characters for one project?
If the characters are wrestling... tricky tricky... if they are just talking and possibly have to walk around each other... easier.
I will create each character separately... and enclose it in a group layer with the name of the character.
I then start a new project and import both of those moho objects. Nice and neat and tidy.
If the characters have to interact in a complex way... this requires making sure each character is done "to scale"... other wise you may have trouble later when rearanging the layers.
I often put legs and arms all over the place and then control them with a master/slave bone script I created.
For instance there will be one master bone layer for each character at the top. I can put copies of different body parts (in an identical bone layer) any where in the layer hierarchy I need to to have the proper layer order. Like one arm of one character behind another character and the other infront.
Then I just animate from the master layer for each character.
The files can sometimes end up looking like a total nightmare to be honest... but who cares? The controls are on one layer so I don't have to worry about it.
Also keep in mind your story board. You should decide way in advance if two or more characters have to actually be in the same file... or if the whole rigged character needs to be there.
I had a file that had 5 characters in one scene. Only two were ever in motion at one time... others only had simple secondary motion.
So I had two "full" characters in the project... the other 3 were reduced simpler versions.
And then the camera would cut to a close up of a character that needed more control. I used a separate file and then just stitched the rendered animations together.
ramble away. haha. its giving me insight into your workflow which is what i need, so much thanks. Yeah the project I am working on doesnt have anything that complex like wrestling characters, thank god. Basically I am creating and animating 5 character floating around (pretty simple animations really) and then rendering them out and bringing them into After Effects to comp into the scenes. And so far I have to say Moho is rocking it. Its just taking my awhile to get a grasp of how to optimize my workflow for speed of production, quality and the ability to change things in a timely manner as per client request, once we get to that phase.
One of the feature requests is a "reusable library" type functionality... similar to... Animation:Master... or Flash, that would allow linking an external file to multiple files so you could edit one file and have it update automatically in other files..
Or... edit one layer... and have it update on copies of that layer.
Currently this is not available. If you import a character and make changes later... you would need to import the modified version again.
I tend to keep common elements in a folder for other files... like hands, eyes, mouths... depends on how similar these things are.
I can telll you it is easier sometimes, to modify an existing lip synch switch layer or a hand switch or even hands with finger bones for a new character than to draw it from scratch.
Eyes and eyebrows are great too for this. I have an "eye" file that has a rig set up for animating the lids with bones and controling the pupils etc. I can import those eyes and modify the mesh easy enough for a new/different character.
If you continue to save out different "versions" of these items you can build up a collection for future use.
