Animating with bones

[Jet]

Okay so I made a face with the parts on different layers. I placed a bone inside the nose layer, clicked on that layer and bind it but when I tried to manipulate the bone it just moves the whole face around, how do I make it work with the nose properly?

Thanks~

[slowtiger]

Always put vector / image / group / switch layers inside a bone layer. Only then binding to bones works.

[Jet]

Always put vector / image / group / switch layers inside a bone layer. Only then binding to bones works.

they're all inside the bone layer but it still moves the head from left to right and I cant move the bone.
EDIT: the 2nd bone I put moves left to right which solves part of my question but I still don't how you can make bones move only a certain layer and not affect the others.

~Thanks

[drumlug13]

Hi Jet,
Is this your first project in Anime Studio? It sounds like you may need to start with the manual to get a basic understanding of how bones, Layer Binding, bone strength and bone rigging works. When someone has a question like this one, sometimes it helps to know their level of experience with AS to help you with more detailed answers.

[Jet]

Hi Jet,
Is this your first project in Anime Studio? It sounds like you may need to start with the manual to get a basic understanding of how bones, Layer Binding, bone strength and bone rigging works. When someone has a question like this one, sometimes it helps to know their level of experience with AS to help you with more detailed answers.

Yes it is, I tried watching a tutorial but the bones work properly in it unlike in mine. I've had 2 days with it trying to figure out the basics but the tutorials are sometimes confusing me since I'm not fast in following up specially if they have an accent because English isn't my first language.

[drumlug13]

What is your first language Jet? I only speak English but there are many other people on this forum that speak different languages, and they could probably share links to other helpful videos.

You also have Anime Studio's PDF Manual to take you through tutorials step by step. When AS is open go to the top tabs and click Help > Tutotorials

[synthsin75]

Okay so I made a face with the parts on different layers. I placed a bone inside the nose layer, clicked on that layer and bind it but when I tried to manipulate the bone it just moves the whole face around, how do I make it work with the nose properly?

Thanks~

Try setting the bone strength to zero. Your bound layer should still move with it, but other layer won't be effected by its flexi-bound influence.

[Greenlaw]

Each Bone command binds layers in a different way. Some methods allow you to exclude certain layers, and other methods will affect all layers. Depending on your rigging approach, some bone binding methods can be combined with others.

Here's an overview of how each command works. This is not complete information but it may offer some insight.:

1. By default, layers about bound using Flex-binding. This means all bones, if they have a value higher than zero, will affect that layer.

2. Use Selected Bones For Flexi-Binding is the most commonly used method. This method is different from regular Flexi-Binding because you can exclude bones from the binding. To use it, select the layer or layers you wish to bind (yes, you can select several layers at once for this), select the Select Bone tool and choose your bones (single or multiple,) and then select Use Selected Bones For Flexi-Binding or Shift-Alt-F. This will bind the layer(s) selections to the bone(s).

3. Smooth Joint Pairs is a special case. It works great for deforming a layer between two bones in a very specific way. It works especially well when using bitmap images that bend like a knee or elbow. It even works surprisingly well for detailed textures--like animal patterns for example. To use it, make sure the two bones are in a straight line (a small bend is allowed if you want it to influence IK direction,) then select your image layer(s), the two bones and choose Smooth Joint Pairs. Note that you can only use two bones for this.

Normally, this method works well in limbs like arms if you only use it for the elbow and you place the hand in a different layer to be affected by a third bone. However, Victor demonstrated a while back that you can use a duplicate of the layers and use the crop tool to 'mask' opposing regions of the layers, and then apply a different pair to the copy. This command may seem limited but for situations where you need a very clean 'L' bend deformation in bitmap textures, it can often produce the best result.

4. Use All Bones For Flexi-Binding applies the default binding method to the selection.

5. Not listed in the menu but selectable in the tool bar is Bind Layer and Bind Points.

5a. Bind Layer binds the currently selected layer or group to a bone. This is a very fast and convenient way to 'parent' artwork to a specific single bone. It's great for accessories, like a hat for example. Just be aware that you cannot use other bones to deform anything that uses this binding. (Point deformation is allowed though.) Also, if you bind a Group using this method, you will not be able to individually bind nest child layers because this mode will override it. In this case, I just forgo binding the group and instead select all the child layers at once and select a binding method. Either method works but for different puposes.

5b. Bind Points is great when you wish to lock certain points to a specific bone but have other points deformed by other bones. It's a useful method where you really need a hybrid solution. For example, you may use this to pin the shoulder points for a character to a collar or upper body bone and bind the rest of the arm points to be affected by the arm bones.

6. To unbind artwork, you can use the commands in the menu but some binding methods require this method: Select the art; make sure no bones are selected; then select the binding method. Basically, this means if you use Use Selected Bones for Flex-Binding with all bones unselected, you're 'binding' the art to 'nothing'--effectively unbinding the artwork.

7. Don't forget to set Smart Bone Dial bones, 'handle' bones, and other bones that you don't want to use for direct deformation to 0. If you see odd deformations occurring in your rig, this should be the first and probably the most obvious thing to check.

Hope these tips help.

[Jet]

Okay so I made a face with the parts on different layers. I placed a bone inside the nose layer, clicked on that layer and bind it but when I tried to manipulate the bone it just moves the whole face around, how do I make it work with the nose properly?

Thanks~

Try setting the bone strength to zero. Your bound layer should still move with it, but other layer won't be effected by its flexi-bound influence.

Thank you!

[mdmodeler]

Here's an overview of how each command works. This is not complete information but it may offer some insight.:
...
2. Use Selected Bones For Flexi-Binding is the most commonly used method. This method is different from regular Flexi-Binding because you can exclude bones from the binding. To use it, select the layer or layers you wish to bind (yes, you can select several layers at once for this), select the Select Bone tool and choose your bones (single or multiple,) and then select Use Selected Bones For Flexi-Binding or Shift-Alt-F. This will bind the layer(s) selections to the bone(s).
...
6. To unbind artwork, you can use the commands in the menu but some binding methods require this method: Select the art; make sure no bones are selected; then select the binding method. Basically, this means if you use Use Selected Bones for Flex-Binding with all bones unselected, you're 'binding' the art to 'nothing'--effectively unbinding the artwork.

I'm hoping you can help me. I have your post above bookmarked because I refer to it all the times, kind of a cheat sheet on bone binding
Anyway, I'm having a problem with flexi-binding multiple bones with 2 artwork layers. I've uploaded a video to Youtube showing the issue.

I've tried your approach of unselecting the bones and clicking "Use Selected Bones For Flexi-Binding" with the artwork selected to unset and then try enabling flex-binding again on those bones - but to no avail. Other artwork layers are working fine. There is one aspect of this artwork that may be relevent, the artwork layer, Left Leg was actually 2 layers originally, bound using flexi-binding and they worked when separate. But once I put them together into one layer, Left Leg, and then I rebound them using flexi-binding to the 4 bones, it stopped working. If the file would be helpful, let me know and I'll upload it.

[dueyftw]

Never test on frame zero! Always be on frame one or more.

Dale

[mdmodeler]

Never test on frame zero! Always be on frame one or more.
Dale

I didn't put it in the video but I did try frames other than 0 - same results. Something is definitely up with this art layer. If I create a new art layer and flexi-bind the 4 bones to that new layer, they behave properly. The problem appears to travel with the artwork as well. When I create a new vector layer and copy/paste the artwork, the new vector layer won't flexi-bind. I've never seen this before.

[Greenlaw]

I haven't had the chance to look at the video yet but try this: select the layer, then select Reset All Bone Rigging. This sounds like it will reset the whole rig but it actually only resets the selected layer to the default setting, which is Flex-binding; the rigging for the other layers will remain intact. That's probably the easiest way to get back on track if you don't want to spend the time figuring out what went wrong.

Otherwise, it's possible that you have another rigging method applied or all binding methods (including Flexi-binding) stripped from the layer. You can fix this specifically but if you don't already know what's wrong, the above method is probably quicker.

If I'm off-base, sorry. I'll make time to watch the video a little later this evening.

[mdmodeler]

...but try this: select the layer, then select Reset All Bone Rigging. This sounds like it will reset the whole rig but it actually only resets the selected layer to the default setting, which is Flex-binding; the rigging for the other layers will remain intact. That's probably the easiest way to get back on track if you don't want to spend the time figuring out what went wrong.

You're a life saver!!
That was the key. I was avoiding the "Reset All Bone Rigging" because I thought it would cancel "ALL" my rigging but this operation was isolated to only the bones and layers I was having trouble with. Fantastic!!

[exile]

...but try this: select the layer, then select Reset All Bone Rigging. This sounds like it will reset the whole rig but it actually only resets the selected layer to the default setting, which is Flex-binding; the rigging for the other layers will remain intact. That's probably the easiest way to get back on track if you don't want to spend the time figuring out what went wrong.

You're a life saver!!
That was the key. I was avoiding the "Reset All Bone Rigging" because I thought it would cancel "ALL" my rigging but this operation was isolated to only the bones and layers I was having trouble with. Fantastic!!

Ditto!