Curve Profile "teeth" shapes technique

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heyvern
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Curve Profile "teeth" shapes technique

Post by heyvern »

I came up with a pretty cool trick using curve profiles.

Download Page:
curve-profile-teeth-shape

Image

I was trying different ways to create teeth. I was having trouble with all the points, lining up the teeth shapes with the lips, moving them around for smart bones etc etc. I tried brushes which didn't work so well. Then thought why not try using a curve profile?

The trick with curve profiles are the "rules" for how they must be created and how the interact with the vectors they are applied to. You can't simply select points of a whole connected shape and apply multiple profiles to parts of one shape. A profile vector can't be a closed shape either. It can only be an unclosed path. A profile can't be filled or stroked... well it can be stroked but the stroke on a profile won't show on the path it's applied to.

The trick then is to create a fillable shape made of two separate paths (see the image). As you see from the image you need those two extra dangling points on one of the path vectors, and then delete them afterwards.

The curve profile is even simpler. All you need is the simple shapes of the teeth (top and bottom) assign each one as the profile to the opposite sides of the shape and then set the repeat count to however many of the "teeth" you need. You can also create smart bone actions or simply key frame the vertical scale of the profile shape to change all of the teeth at once.

One warning, do not try to edit the shapes too much after creating. If you connect new points to the ends of the vectors with a profile it can delete the profile, and reasigning may "reverse" the direction that the profile applies to the vector. When you connect a vector to another vector (path intersection) it sort of reverses the path direction.

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Víctor Paredes
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Re: Curve Profile "teeth" shapes technique

Post by Víctor Paredes »

What a clever idea! Fantastic!
I never thought it were possible to have two curve profiles in one shape, but it totally makes sense!
Thank you, Vern. I'll try once I have some time.

PD: I met your friend from Hubu media yesterday, very nice guy. And today I saw him again walking in the street.
I hope to be able to meet you in the future too, maybe in some other convention, if everything goes well.
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Rigged animation supervisor in My father's dragon - Lead Moho artist in Wolfwalkers - Cartoon Saloon - My personal Youtube Channel
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heyvern
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Re: Curve Profile "teeth" shapes technique

Post by heyvern »

Hey Victor!
John is a huge fan of Zombies. That character you were showing was very appropriate for his visit. :)
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An alternative method to try out with this technique.

There is a problem with it. The profiles align with the curve of the path they are assigned to. So for the "teeth" curve, the teeth stick out differently based on the curvature. You can see at the front the teeth sticks out at the end on one side, and point in on the other side..

Instead of just one tooth in the profile with a high repeat count, you can create the entire row of teeth as a profile shape, and set the curve profile to 0 or 1. Then you can modify the whole length of the teeth profile. For example, I can have the teeth towards the front larger or smaller or at a different angle than the back teeth to compensate for the curve and the profile alignment to the curve. It's still not a perfect solution but it can help.

Actually this technique would work pretty well for a "normal" type mouth with teeth just in the front. The idea originated with a White Shark character I am working on. He has a bunch of teeth and it was becoming very difficult to manage all of those teeth creating smart bones for lip sync.
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heyvern
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Re: Curve Profile "teeth" shapes technique

Post by heyvern »

I added a new file download with an alternate version. This one uses the "full length" teeth profile with repeat count set to 1.
curve-profile-teeth-shape-version-2
Image

I also fixed the original file because the vectors for the profile needed to be "flipped" horizontally. One of the problems with curve profiles is getting the vectors in the right direction. Often they flip around based on how the points of the shape are connected to other paths.
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funksmaname
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Re: Curve Profile "teeth" shapes technique

Post by funksmaname »

cool technique vern - nice thinking out of the box :)
chucky
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Re: Curve Profile "teeth" shapes technique

Post by chucky »

Hey Vern, I tried this months (with that purple hulky character)ago but ran into big problems with misbehaving paths that got 'all wiggly'. so I ended up sadly abandoning the technique . Do you have a secret to keeping the profile under control.
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heyvern
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Re: Curve Profile "teeth" shapes technique

Post by heyvern »

Hey Chucky!

I have no special tricks for that. Would need to see how you used it and what the problem is. I have encountered issues with profile vectors "flipping" direction but that's about it. The sample file speaks for itself. Didn't do anything fancy. It could be bone influence? If the profile points are moved around too much it would cause the profile to get wiggly I suppose.

when you say "all wiggly" what do you mean exactly?
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