Separate, multi-bone arm layer, parented...

[Greenlaw]

To me, it still sounds like the layer with the unwanted animation is being affected by the default global Flexi-binding and not explicit Flexi-binding.

Just wondering: If you're using a mesh layer for the body layers, is that mesh layer bound to only the body bones with Use Only Selected Bones For Flexi-Binding? If you're using the mesh to deform those bitmap art layers, then it's the mesh layer needs to be bound to bones, not the bitmap art layers. And if there is more than one body bitmap art layer, make sure they're all using the same mesh layer. (Assuming, of course, that you want them all to share the same deformation.) If some of the layers are using the mesh and some are not, or some are using different meshes, you'll probably get variances in the deformations. That's normal and expected, If there are multiple body bitmaps involved, you want to be sure they're all being deformed the same way.

Side note: If you're binding the body bitmaps and the mesh to the same bones with Use Selected, I think Moho ignores the bones deformation for the bitmaps and defaults to the mesh deformation. Normally, I don't also bind the bitmaps when I"m using a mesh, so I'm not 100% sure about that--but if I'm wrong, I guess it's possible you're getting multiple deformations. But I don't think that's what's happeneing, and it would probably be very obvious if that was the case.

I'm just mentioning this to illustrate that if the binding isn't correct, the deformations might not be coming from where you think.

There's only other thing I can think of besides the above: since you are using a mesh, could the mesh be getting point animation from an unintended keyframe in Smart Bone Action?

FWIW, when I get stuck on something like that, I usually select the 'problem' layers and use Reset All Rigging for just those layers. That returns only the selected layers to their original state, and then apply the binding I want. I typically do this after I've been experimenting a lot with different binding methods and I need reset to be sure I'm using only the methods I want to be in affect. I find it's usually faster to reset the selected layers than to try to specifically remove each unwanted thing I might've done to them.

[ladlon]

Hello again, Greenlaw. Thanks for all the input. Much appreciated!

I'll have to read though your post really carefully, as there's a lot of good info there, I think. I'm just quickly checking in right now. I suspect the answer is in your latest post.

The only layers that use a warp mesh are the two arms (since they are both single bitmap layers that I want to control with multiple bones, and I use the warp mesh so I can do point binding to specify exactly what part each bone controls).

Ya, I have to say, I was a bit confused by the various Flexi-Binding menu items, as I wasn't sure what the distinction was between them, if any... You've got Flexi-Binding, and then Flexi-Binding on Selected layers, etc... or something like that. I'll read up on those, as I suspect there's some distinction between them that I'm not aware of, and I may be using the wrong type or something. I also feared that maybe there was some 'residue' binding from previous binds that might be interfering, and so I started using the Release Layer and Release Layer And Points... although, admittingly, probably not fully aware of their effects. I know that the 'movement multiplier' effect I was previously seeing (where the bitmap's range of movement seemed to be the result of the bone/mesh movement MULTIPLIED by some amount, and as a result, moved further, exponentially) was the result (seemingly) of the bitmap being (wrongfully) linked to the bone or something... fixed by releasing the bitmap layer.

Okay, well I'll be having another work session on this scene today, so I'll really disect the rig/layers, taking into account the various things you pointed out.

Very sure it's something simple, and easily fixed. I already watched a really good vid showing all the different binding methods, side by side... but I need to read up on it further, and do some isolated tests. I'll keep you posted. Thanks again for all the effort!

[Greenlaw]

Sure, glad to help. Yeah, I know bone rigging can be pretty confusing when you're starting out with the program (been there, done that.) It may not be immediately apparent but each rigging command does do something unique, so until you know exactly what the differences are, it's easy to pick the wrong command for what you want to do.

This is just a guess but I think in your case, you need to select the problem layers (just the torso layers I think), chose Reset All Bone Rigging (which will affect only those layers,) select the torso bones, and apply the Use Selected bones command.

Using the Reset command basically, removes all binding from those layers and then sets the layers to the default Flexi-Binding, which means all bones with strength will influence those layers. Applying Use Selected narrows it down to the selected bones. Once you do that, any bones not in that selection will have no effect on these layers.

Using the release commands will also remove Flexi-binding, so if you want that, you'll need to re-apply it. TBH, it's easier to just use Reset the binding than to spend a lot of time figuring out the status of the layer binding if you've lost track.

You can check which bones have been assigned by clicking on the layer. If Use Selected has been applied, the bones in the selection will become highlighted in 'bold'.

Other binding methods will have different indicators. Selecting a Layer with layer binding, for example, will highlight the assigned bone with an even bolder version of the bone highlight. And Point binding will display points that are slightly bolder and in the color of the bone they're bound to. If the points are just bold without the color assignment, that means they've been bound but not to the currently selected bone.

I think all this is covered in the manual but, TBH, I don't think I fully understood all the differences until after I've been using Moho for some time.

What helps me when I'm uncertain, is to make small experiments with a limited setup and observe what happens with different settings and approaches. I find it's much easier to see what's happening on a small focused setup than it is on a fully rigged character where many things can be influencing the deformations. Once I'm sure I understand that 'small' thing, I'll integrate it into the actual character setup.