Are bone chains able to follow a path in v13.5.5?

[mmmaarten]

Hi,

I saw that we can move objects along a path and when using a mesh we can even deform it. But is it also possible to make a chain of bones follow a path in Moho 13.5.5?
So far all tests I did didn't have the expected result, so I'm not sure. (I also found some old forum threads here with the same question and a negative outcome, but these are very old so I'm hoping this is possible now)

Thanks in advance!

[Greenlaw]

Follow Path normally works with layers, and in deforming mode it can be used to deform artwork and meshes. Used as a deformer, Follow Path can be used as an alternative to Bones.

Using Follow Path, it's possible to attach a Bones layer to a curve but the bones are not affected individually to conform to the path. That said, I'm not sure why you'd want to do that since the path itself can be used as a deformer.

Also, you can bind a curve to a bone so the deforming curve will move with the bone. I've used this technique but it's always for something pretty unusual.

But if you want to control a chain of bones as if they are on a curve, you might consider using the Sketch Bones tool. This is what I use to animate long bone chains for a tail, tentacles, rope, hair, etc. It's an easy tool to use and is very accurate when using a pen or mouse. Tip: be sure you draw thought the entire chain when setting a keyframe. It's easier to animate a chain of bones smoothly when all the bones have keyframes, otherwise, you may be fighting unwanted interpolations.

[mmmaarten]

...
Follow Path normally works with layers, and in deforming mode it can be used to deform artwork and meshes. Used as a deformer, Follow Path can be used as an alternative to Bones.

Using Follow Path, it's possible to attach a Bones layer to a curve but the bones are not affected individually to conform to the path. That said, I'm not sure why you'd want to do that since the path itself can be used as a deformer.

Also, you can bind a curve to a bone so the deforming curve will move with the bone. I've used this technique but it's always for something pretty unusual.

But if you want to control a chain of bones as if they are on a curve, you might consider using the Sketch Bones tool. This is what I use to animate long bone chains for a tail, tentacles, rope, hair, etc. It's an easy tool to use and is very accurate when using a pen or mouse. Tip: be sure you draw thought the entire chain when setting a keyframe. It's easier to animate a chain of bones smoothly when all the bones have keyframes, otherwise, you may be fighting unwanted interpolations.

Hi Greenlaw, thanks for your response.
As I just purchased Moho Pro at the moment I'm mainly learning and documenting for myself different ways and workflows to animate with Moho to have the tools in the pocket when needed on one hand, but I'm also creating a little personal project I'm using some of these techniques on.

Reason why I think moving bones over a path is very useful, if not necesary, is for doing things like letting a train with wagons follow a path where we don't want the path to deforms the wagons but we do need deformations by bones of different lenghts (different wagonsizes etc.) to keep the wagons connected while on the path. This is just one example. (although I know that making real train animations is more complex than this because of its wheels)

Another example I could think of would be to let a bones of a character follow a path. Like when two feet of the character are on a wavy conveyor-belt, or hands are hanging on a ski lift etc. So using it like a constraint.

I think it's easier to think 'bones' instead of meshes and it would really help if we could animate bones over a track. Just like we do in software like Blender with (bone) constraints.

BTW I know of the tool to draw chains of bones. I really love that tool in Moho!

You're only writing what I should use as an alternative. Does this mean bones following a path isn't possible currently?

Thanks again. Really value your extensive responses. There are clearly some active animators here on this forum with really valuable content. You're definitely one of them. Your content on this forum is really helpful and I love your enthousiasm for Moho!