Lights, camera, actions.

[theotherguy]

Hello, this may sound a little dense and it's probably in the help folder, but I'm quite excited about the idea of using actions but I can't figure out if they are re-usable content or if they only apply to the project for which they are made.

BTW Are there any tutorials that show actions being used in context?

thanks

[muffysb]

Hello Guy,

Actions are wonderful, they just take some getting used to. The best advice I can give is just to create some and try them out, but to answer your questions and also give some tips:

* I don't know of any tutorials, but if you do a search in the forum for Actions then you'll find lots of discussion.

* They are re-usable in the sense that they're applied to a layer. If you duplicate a later, the actions are duplicated too. If you import the layer into another project, the actions are imported with the layer.

* A nifty hidden feature is that actions apply to a layer AND all of its children. So, if you create an action for a group layer, an identically-named action is added to all of the layers it contains. This allows you to manage actions across multiple layers.

* Because an action is a timeline just like the regular ("Mainline") timeline, you can copy keyframes between actions (and also to/from the main timeline) with the Copy Actions button.

* The "Blend Morph" feature uses Actions too, and can be quite powerful. By creating multiple single-frame actions for a layer, you can "blend" the actions in varying degrees to create a composite. But remember this only applies to single frames.

Enjoy playing with actions! They're saving me countless hours of tedium.

Cheers,
Muffy.

[theotherguy]

Thanks for the info Muffy, I'm still a bit confused regarding actions and where they're stored though.

For instance, I'm trying a technique that lots of image files and switch layers, I found I had to save all the images in the same folder as the program file in order for it to work properly.

Are actions stored in the library with the corresponding images and can they be cut-and-pasted on similar but different looking objects?

[lwaxana]

My understanding is that actions are part of the layer's information. I don't think you can transfer actions from one rig to another unless you created an action in one rig, saved two copies of it and then modified one with different images. So perhaps if you made your movements first and your image based characters second, you could save a lot of animating. I've never tried this, though! Not 100% sure it would work.

As for tutorials in context, I'm not sure what you mean by in context. Here are some tutorials, though. :)

http://www.lostmarble.com/moho/manual/t ... index.html
viewtopic.php?t=8301

But these tutorials are pre-version 6.X, so they don't talk about blend morphs.

[edit] I just remembered this thread at Kellytown about reusing actions for multiple characters:
http://www.kelleytown.com/forum/animato ... PIC_ID=263

[DK]

If you really want re-useable animation that can be transferred fromn rig to rig try heyverns "Save Bone Animation" script. I use it ALL the time on my work.

viewtopic.php?t=7842

Not sure if it will work in AS6 though. I stopped using AS6 quite a while ago due to technical issues but it works great in AS 5.6

Cheers
D.K

[theotherguy]

Thanks all. I think I understand reusable content a bit more, but I'm still unsure about the properties of actions.

For example: I'm assembling a character out of imported (.PNG) images which I've placed in switch layers. I want to animate using the switch layer and cycles. (sort of like stop animation)

So, I open the actions window and create new action, the timeline shows editing mode, I right click on the switch layer and create my sequence and cycle, then when I click on --Mainline-- I can then place that sequence anywhere I like, which is great.

However, I notice that action is attached to the switch layer. I'd like actions that could access more than one group of images inside a switch layer, ideally I'd like to have actions for almost everything, but more on a global level.

thoughts? thanks again

[Genete]

However, I notice that action is attached to the switch layer. I'd like actions that could access more than one group of images inside a switch layer, ideally I'd like to have actions for almost everything, but more on a global level.

Actions are at layer level because they are a complete animation inside a layer definition level. Actions are not available outside the layer/group like layer scope. Otherwise, how can the action know which layers are involved in the action? Remember that each layer has its own number of points and meshes, and shapes... how can an action (that involves any kind of channel) be transferred out of the layer where it was defined without loose or scramble the information?
For your example (reuse switch combinations in other switch groups you can do this:
Duplicate the switch layer and its child layers. Change the content of the child layers and keep the same layer name. Then the actions should be available and can be used for a new set of switch image layers. Notice that switch layers work by child layer name so keeping the switch layer name would keep the animation in the switch layer.
Please let me know if that workaround works because I haven't tested yet

-G

[muffysb]

Actions are exactly like selectable mini-timelines for each layer in your project. Since actions are layer-specific, the keyframes for an action can only affect the layer the action is applied to.

So if you create an action called "Swivel Left" for a layer called "Cat Ears," the keyframes in the Swivel Left action will only apply to the Cat Ears layer.

BUT:

The nice thing about actions is that you can create and trigger them for all the children of a group.

So let's say you have a group layer called "Cat," and in that group layer you have child layers (vector, image, groups, switch groups, etc.) called "Cat Eyes," "Cat Ears," "Cat Tail," and "Cat Whiskers."

1. In the Cat layer, create an action called "Swivel Left." This action is created for the Cat layer, but an identically-titled action is automatically created for all child layers as well.

2. Edit the automatically-created "Swivel Left" action for the "Cat Eyes" layer, so that it contains keyframes which make the eyes look to the left, whether that means using a switch command, transposing vectors, moving the layer itself, etc.

3. Edit the automatically-created "Swivel Left" action for the "Cat Ears" layer, so that it contains keyframes which make the ears point to the left.

4. Do the same for the "Swivel Left" actions in any other layers that you want to respond to this action.

When you're done editing the action, select the main "Cat" layer and add a reference to the "Swivel Left" action in the main timeline. In all the child layers, their "Swivel Left" actions are automatically added to the timeline as well, so when that section of the timeline is played the cat's ears move left, its eyes move left, etc...a global action!

But each "Swivel Left" action is still independent...you manually move the action for "Cat Ears" forward or backward, to add some variety.

Now, if you have 100 layers inside a group, the same principle applies: create an action for the group, and all 100 layers automatically receive an action with the same name. Apply the group's action to your timeline, and all 100 layers perform their version of the action as well.

I don't know if this answers your questions...if not, maybe you can post a screenshot of your layer structure and say what you want to do with it?

Cheers,
Muffy.