Character warping issue

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lhn2017
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Character warping issue

Post by lhn2017 »

Hi Guys,

New to this forum so be gentle if I'm A) Asking a stupid question, B) Haven't formatted this correctly! Essentially I've built a character based off a keychain, and have been tweaking the rig as I go, when attempting to move the rig the character essentially explodes and warps for lack of a better word, I've included a photo of the character prior to moving it and after so you can see what I mean by warping/ exploding.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Image
chucky
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Re: Character warping issue

Post by chucky »

The layers may have a z depth.
That or they have not been bound properly
Check the position of those layers, the z channel would be better a 0.
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Greenlaw
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Re: Character warping issue

Post by Greenlaw »

I agree with Chucky. if it's not a z-depth issue, it's a binding issue.

From what I see, try using 'Use Selected Bones For Flexi-binding' with each limb. For example:

1. Select the left arm layer.

2. Select the two bones for the left arm.

3. Choose 'Use Selected Bones..."

This will flex-bind this layer to these two bones, eliminating the influence of other bones in the rig.

Repeat this process for each limb. (For example: Flexi-Bind each antler to its two antler bones, each ear to its two ear bones, etc.,) You can tell when a layer (or multiple layers) have been Flexi-bound to specific bones because the selected bones will be bolded when you select the layer that's been bound to them.

Bone strength may also be a factor but it should be less so once all the limbs are properly bound.

Also, if a layer or group isn't meant to be deformed by bones, consider using Layer Binding or Point Binding for that layer. For example, you might want to Layer Bind the eyes and snout layers to the head bone. This means these layers will move only with that bone and not be affected by other bones. Layer Binding is easy: Just select the tool, select your layer, then select the bone you want to bind to. To unbind, just select the layer, select the tool and then click empty space.

When using Layer Binding on a Group, be aware that this binds the entire group so you can't use a different binding method for individual layers inside that group. That may be what you want but if not, you should bind the contained layers individually instead.

Hope this helps.

Question: What are the three bones dangling from the head for?
Last edited by Greenlaw on Thu Nov 09, 2017 7:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.
lhn2017
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Re: Character warping issue

Post by lhn2017 »

That worked! Just to clarify X & Y are horizontal and vertical translation whereas Z is depth?
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Greenlaw
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Re: Character warping issue

Post by Greenlaw »

Since I can't see how the bones will deform the limbs, I want to mention that point placement is important. In general, you want a point at each side of a joint (like in the elbows or knees.) For other points in the limb, experiment to see what's optimal for your character. Fewer points that are carefully placed tend to work much better than a lot of points placed arbitrarily.

I think you're using vectors but if you're using image layers (imported bitmaps), and you can't get good deformations with the default Flexi-binding, you have two good options to try.

1. Try Create Smooth Joint For Bone Pair. The feature works surprisingly well with image layers of long, straight limbs. I used this method for Puss in the interactive episode of Puss In Boots, and for Thighsander Plunderhorse in All Hail King Julien, and the bends looked very clean even with their texture fills. It may work well with your character.

2. Or, create a custom mesh that allows you to bend the joint exactly the way you want it to bend. Another advantage of custom meshes is that you can use Smart Bones with them for correcting/improving joint deformations.
Last edited by Greenlaw on Thu Nov 09, 2017 7:25 pm, edited 3 times in total.
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Greenlaw
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Re: Character warping issue

Post by Greenlaw »

lhn2017 wrote:That worked! Just to clarify X & Y are horizontal and vertical translation whereas Z is depth?
Yes. You can check depth visually by rotating the view with the Orbit Tool.
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Víctor Paredes
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Re: Character warping issue

Post by Víctor Paredes »

Just in case, I also recommend you to go to the preferences, Layers/Objects section and be sure Auto center new layers is unchecked.
Sometimes, that feature changes the position of the new layers without you noticing it.
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lhn2017
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Re: Character warping issue

Post by lhn2017 »

Greenlaw wrote:I agree with Chucky. if it's not a z-depth issue, it's a binding issue.

From what I see, try using 'Use Selected Bones For Flexi-binding' with each limb. For example:

1. Select the left arm layer.

2. Select the two bones for the left arm.

3. Choose 'Use Selected Bones..."

This will flex-bind this layer to these two bones, eliminating the influence of other bones in the rig.

Repeat this process for each limb. (For example: Flexi-Bind each antler to its two antler bones, each ear to it two ear bones, etc.,) You can tell when a layer (or multiple layers) have been Flexi-bound to specific bones because the selected bones will be bolded when you select the layer that's been bound to them.

Bone strength may also be a factor but it should be less so once all the limbs are properly bound.

Also, if a layer or group isn't meant to be deformed by bones, consider using Layer Binding or Point Binding for that layer. For example, you might want to Layer Bind the eyes and snout layers to the head bone. This means these layers will move only with that bone and not be affected by other bones. Layer Binding is easy: Just select the tool, select your layer, then select the bone you want to bind to. To unbind, just select the layer, select the tool and then click empty space.

When using Layer Binding on a Group, be aware that this binds the entire group so you can't use a different binding method for individual layers inside that group. That may be what you want but if not, you should bind the contained layers individually instead.

Hope this helps.

Question: What are the three bones dangling from the head for?
Is there a specific benefit to using layer binding over point binding? Layer binding seems very restrictive but I will experiment with Flexi-Binding. The bones from the neck are to control the movement of the fabric loop which will connect him to a key ring which you can see better in this screenshot.

Image
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Greenlaw
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Re: Character warping issue

Post by Greenlaw »

It depends on your needs. I use both methods, often in the same rig, but with different intentions in mind for each method.

Layer binding is simpler and easier to bind and unbind layers with. It works with groups, which is quicker if you have many layers inside that group. It works with Vectors or Image Layers. The only caveat is that if you bind a group, it affects everything inside the group (which is what you normally want for this kind of binding.)

Point Binding is great for distributing the binding of individual points to multiple bones. It's very useful when you really want rigid deformations (i.e., the opposite of what you get with Flexi-binding.)

It's possible to bind all the points in a layer to a single bone, which essentially gives you the same result as Layer Binding but without the other benefits of Layer Binding. For example, it does not work with groups, so you'll need to point bind each layer separately.
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