The Process of Animation

[Piratere]

Hi again,
Yet another newbie question . As far as I understood from all the tutorials and the Q&As I read so far, there are 3 ways of animation basically -using AS that is:

1. Using the bone animation -including the bone control to turn figures around as well as make them move in one direction.
2. Point animation which means you use various frames for the animation and changing the points of the animated figures as you want them to move.
3. Using switch layers for things like lip-syncing and having characters turn around, move arms and legs, etc...

Of course there is also the layer animation which is not of big help except maybe in moving backgrounds and so.

Would anyone be kind enough to elaborate on how to use Switch layers to animate a figure? If I have 2 characters in my scene, how do I use Switch layers to animate them, make them walk side by side, one of them turn around to face the other, move their hands and legs, etc...

Thanks in advance.

[Piratere]

Wow. All that? . Can anyone please point out at least some articles/tutorials on the use of switch layers? The tutorials in the software mainly concentrate on lip-synching. Thanks.

[fiziwig]

The things you mention, walking, turning, move hands and legs, are things that are not best done with switch layers.

Also, you will find that specific questions will get quick and specific answers. Questions that are too general, or ask for an impossible amount of information in one post, will generally not get answered.

In other words, asking how to use switch layers to animate is like asking how to use a text editor to write a novel. The question is just too general to be answered in that form.

Start by mastering all the tutorials. Then check the forum under Tips and Techniques and read as many old posts as you have time for, There is loads of information in them.

Then check additional tutorials created by forum members. I'm I newbie myself, and I've started creating some of my own tutorial pages with what I've learned.



--gary

[heyvern]

So you post on Superbowl sunday morning... don't get a response less than 24 hours later and... and get annoyed? Learn patience. You will need to learn patience if you want to animate.

First, you can animate layers using bones. This is VERY useful. Binding layers to bones is the same as animating the layers directly (except for z translation and uniform scaling).

A switch layer does two things:
It can "switch" from one layer to the next in "step" or "hold" interpolation. This means there is no smooth transition from one layer to the next.

Or it can use "interpolation" to "morph" from one VECTOR layer to the next but ONLY if the layers have the exact same number of points in the same place in the order they were created. Usually this is done by layer duplication and changing the duplicate layer.

Having said all that the trick is what is this good for?

Switching hand shapes
Lip sync
Head turns:
("morph" from a front to a 3/4 view)
Animating shape order:
(identical layers with shapes in a different stacking order)
Scene changes or camera cuts:
(Put two completed animated scenes in a switch layer. Switch between them to "simulate" a camera cut. For instance cutting between two characters during a conversation)

Switch layers are limited. They don't have any interpolation options except linear. This is bad. You can't do much with linear interpolation. it looks "flat", mechanical and unexciting. Interpolating from one vector layer to the next is also "linear". You can't morph a bent leg to a straight leg. The shapes are so different that it will just look weird. You would end up having to use a few extra layers to achieve a good result which is probably simpler to do with bones and/or point motion and actions on just one layer.

Originally switch layers were only intended for simple things like lip sync or hands, basic switching of layers. When I first signed onto this forum over two years ago... or more... can't remember now, a brand new exciting cool technique was just catching on. A "Moho" user was using a switch layer to do head turns!

This was exciting. Now... it's old hat and people have moved on to other cool things to "turn heads" (pun intended ) Another technique at that time (that hasn't seemed to maintained popularity) is using z-depth for turning heads. Elements of the face at different z values. When the layer or camera turns, the face appears to "rotate". This would be used for "subtle" turns.

Switch layers could be used to animate a character by setting up several different "step" interpolated layers of different versions of the character. Maybe you have one switch layer with two bone layers inside, each containing a different version of the character (front, 3/4, side, etc.) You can switch between them but they won't "morph" smoothly.

Using switch layers is not an animation "technique" by itself. It probably wouldn't be a good idea to use it exclusively. It is a tool that can aid in the animation process. It could be used to do one thing in one scene, or to solve a specific challenge. Changing hands for instance. Some people use multiple hand shapes in a switch and then change them (step interpolation. Smooth interpolation with vector layers won't work with hands very well). There is a technique (new technique mind you. With in the last year or so) that uses bones on a switch layer for say, a leg. A leg may turn and have a different shape but the bones don't line up. Have a second set of bones for the other layer, use bone offset so they don't overlap.

I use bones, constraints and custom scripting to do turns now. I still use switches to do "shape ordering" for hands. Two identical switch layers with the order of the shapes "flipped" can turn a hand from facing front to facing back very easily and uses bones for posing.

A lot of the "techniques" and "tricks" that seem to have been around for ages are brand spanking new... the only reference that exists for them is to search the forum (like I did to find the "head turn" switch layer trick when I first signed up).

I haven't read that new book that is out yet, but I would bet a lot of these "taken for granted" techniques would be in there.

-vern