Binding Methods Differences? Flexi vs normal

[hano]

Hi, I can't figure out what is the difference between the binding methods. Binding layers and points normally vs the flexibinding layers or points?

Don't these things do the same thing? If I flexbind a layer to a bone, what is the use of the Bone Strength in that case? I just binded the whole freaking layer to the bone, so I don't understand what difference does that make?

[slowtiger]

FlexiBind: the default. All parts of the layers are influenced by all bones, dependent on distance and strength.
Layer Bind and Point Bind: the layer or the selection of points is bound to just 1 bone. Bone strength doesnt apply. It's like making bone and image/points a single rigid unit.

[Greenlaw]

Just to add to SlowTiger's response, you should try each mode in isolation to see how they work. The differences are actually quite dramatic.

Here are some common examples of how and when to use the different modes:

Most of the time, you'll want to use Flexi-binding, which is the default mode. If you do nothing, everything is affected by Flexi-binding. Bone strengths do make a difference.

Flexi-binding by itself can make your character kinda 'squishy'. The have better control over the deformations, you might consider separating the influence of certain bone chains (i.e., limbs) to specific layers using Use Selected Bones for Flexi-Binding. Using this method, you can ensure that the arm bones only affect arm layers, the leg bones only affect the leg layers, and so forth, and get nice 'soft' bends in the artwork.

On top of that, you will probably want to use Smart Bone actions in the joints to make the deformations more precise.

Layer Binding is good when you want to rigidly bind a layer or group to a specific bone. This is good for attaching accessories or body parts to the character that you don't intend to deform with bones.

Point Binding rigidly binds points to specific bones. This is useful for pinning portions of a drawing to specific bones, and allowing the rest of the points to be affected by another method (like Flexibinding.) For example, you might Point Bind the points at the base of the neck in a head layer to the chest bone to 'lock down' the neck, and let the rest of the head be influenced by the neck bone and head bone with Flexibinding or more Point binding. The nice thing about Point Binding is that you can still add animation to the points via Smart bones (just as you can with Flexi-binding.) For example, you can Point bind the end points of a sleeve to a hand bone to have the cuff rotate with the hand, and make any necessary corrections to the sleeve cuff by adding a smart bone action the the hand rotation. The rest of the sleeve can still be flexi-binded to the arm bones for nicer deformations there.

The different modes may seem confusing at first but you'll catch on after a while. I highly recommend experimenting with each method on simple setups rather than on a full character. It's harder to troubleshoot rig problems if you don't fully understand the different modes.

Hope this helps.

[hano]

Thanks guys. Ok I am getting it. I will experiment when I get home and ask if I have any question. Goddamn job keeping me from learning.

[hano]

FlexiBind: the default. All parts of the layers are influenced by all bones, dependent on distance and strength.
Layer Bind and Point Bind: the layer or the selection of points is bound to just 1 bone. Bone strength doesnt apply. It's like making bone and image/points a single rigid unit.

Ok so if flexibinding is the default, why do we have in the bone menu the menu item 'Use selected bones for flexibinding'?

[Greenlaw]

As explained: Flexibinding, by default, has all bones affecting all layers, and the Use Selected Bones For Flexi-binding command lets you isolate Flexi-binding of selected bones to specific layers.

For example:

Set up a basic character rig with multiple layers. Without doing anything, all the bones will affect all the layers.

Now select layers for the arm and select only the arm bones and apply the Use Selected Bones command (Ctrl-Shift-F). Select the layers and bones for the legs and apply the command. Select the torso and spine bones, etc. When you're done, you'll find that the arm bones only affect the arms, the leg bones only affect the legs, the torso bones only affect the torso, etc.

The result is you get more specific control over what the bones deform. When done correctly, your character animations can look much better.

What may be confusing you is that if you use selective Flexi-binding on just a few layers, those 'selected' bones will still be affecting other layers if you're not using selective binding on other layers too. (To be clear, when I say 'selective binding' I'm not referring to just the Use Selected command; Point Binding and Layer Binding are also considered 'selective binding'.)

Remember, any layers not using selective binding are affected by all bones. There are a few exceptions, but in general, this is the default behavior.

[strider2000]

Binding was tough for me to understand at first too, so I made a video. Perhaps it will help.

[hano]

Binding was tough for me to understand at first too, so I made a video. Perhaps it will help.

Thanks friend.

[SimplSam]

What may be confusing you is that if you use selective Flexi-binding on just a few layers, those 'selected' bones will still be affecting other layers if you're not using selective binding on other layers too. (To be clear, when I say 'selective binding' I'm not referring to just the Use Selected command; Point Binding and Layer Binding are also considered 'selective binding'.)

Remember, any layers not using selective binding are affected by all bones.

Sweet Jeez..

I was just stuck in Binding HELL - and you chaps (including Mitch's video) helped to save my pitiful soul!

I will also add that I also got 'snared up' because I had some bones incorrectly parented - and that was causing strange behaviour!

Cheers

[Greenlaw]

It can be confusing when you're starting out.

Here's another tip: When I get a little stuck with a non-responding layer, I first try Reset All Bone Rigging for that layer. Early on, I remember being uncertain about this command because the name sounds like it will reset all your rigging, but it really means it will reset Bone Rigging for only the selected layer(s) and leave the rest of your rigging alone. This command should set the selection to the default state, which is Flexi-binding. I think it will remove any point binding or layer binding, so if you were using that for the selected layers, you will need to reapply it. Once it's been reset, you should be free to use Use Selected Bones for Flexi-binding or other binding methods again.

The other reset/remove commands kind of do the same thing, each just more specifically, but if you don't know what's gone wrong with the binding, you'll probably spend a lot of time blindly messing around with each of these commands. The Reset All Bone Rigging command mentioned above does it all once. This may remove some stuff you intended to keep for the selected layer (like point binding) but I generally find this is a cleaner and quicker way to get things back to where I need it to be, even if I had a pretty good idea what went wrong.

[strider2000]

Glad the video was helpful.

I first try Reset All Bone Rigging for that layer.

Thanks for sharing that one Greenlaw. I haven't used it before, but see your point.

The only other suggestion I have for readers is to just create a separate project and play with the different types of bindings, resetting them, undoing them and redoing. Trying different approaches, including smart bones, for elbows is a good project. That's how I got comfortable. I've just hit the walls enough that I now know where they are ... and it's better to hit them on a little file you don't care about than the rig you've spent a lot of time on and you realize ... "Oh bother, I want to rig this differently now".

[Greenlaw]

Yes, I agree, that's a very good habit to get into. I typically test techniques and ideas on a simple setup in a second project window before applying them to my real project file. If you try to test something new on a full rig and something unexpected happens, it can be harder to troubleshoot if you haven't validated that the new technique actually works on its own.

Also, be sure to save a copy of your scene before trying something you're unsure of. This way, if mess something up and you can't undo it, you can easily revert to before the problem started.

[strider2000]

I agree. Paranoia can really be helpful sometimes

[nikboy21]

Really nice post