Moho Forum

Hey guys i wanna ask that is it possible to mirror exact smart bone actions oppositely.

I mean if i make a smart bone dial for body turn for one side so will it be possible to do that for other side turn just by copying and pasting?
Because turn is quite complicated.

Depends on the character, but the easiest way is just to flip the main layer for the other direction.

synthsin75 wrote: ↑Fri Sep 04, 2020 10:32 pm Depends on the character, but the easiest way is just to flip the main layer for the other direction.

But if I'll do that then wouldn't at one point in smart bone dial the character will be nothing but a straight line ?

striker2311 wrote: ↑Sat Sep 05, 2020 12:48 pm

synthsin75 wrote: ↑Fri Sep 04, 2020 10:32 pm Depends on the character, but the easiest way is just to flip the main layer for the other direction.

But if I'll do that then wouldn't at one point in smart bone dial the character will be nothing but a straight line ?

You just need to do the flip in one frame, like with a step keyframe. So if you already have a turn, say, from front to right, you can do a one-frame flip in front view and that same turn is now to the left.

synthsin75 wrote: ↑Sat Sep 05, 2020 5:23 pm

striker2311 wrote: ↑Sat Sep 05, 2020 12:48 pm

synthsin75 wrote: ↑Fri Sep 04, 2020 10:32 pm Depends on the character, but the easiest way is just to flip the main layer for the other direction.

But if I'll do that then wouldn't at one point in smart bone dial the character will be nothing but a straight line ?

You just need to do the flip in one frame, like with a step keyframe. So if you already have a turn, say, from front to right, you can do a one-frame flip in front view and that same turn is now to the left.

Ok Thanks a lot sir I will try this one out and post results. Though it'll take some I'm quite busy. Again thanks sir for giving such a good advice.

synthsin75 wrote: ↑Sat Sep 05, 2020 5:23 pm

striker2311 wrote: ↑Sat Sep 05, 2020 12:48 pm

synthsin75 wrote: ↑Fri Sep 04, 2020 10:32 pm Depends on the character, but the easiest way is just to flip the main layer for the other direction.

But if I'll do that then wouldn't at one point in smart bone dial the character will be nothing but a straight line ?

You just need to do the flip in one frame, like with a step keyframe. So if you already have a turn, say, from front to right, you can do a one-frame flip in front view and that same turn is now to the left.

Thanks sir, it worked as you said . But it need a serious requirement and that is the character needs to be perfectly symmetrical (It was also like you said to have a condition for what you've said to work).

striker2311 wrote: ↑Sat Sep 12, 2020 4:20 am Thanks sir, it worked as you said . But it need a serious requirement and that is the character needs to be perfectly symmetrical (It was also like you said to have a condition for what you've said to work).

Animation flips asymmetrical characters all the time. You can often hide this with anticipation and snappy animation.

If you're willing to do a deep dive into scripts, DKWroot wrote one that will mirror points: DKWROOT Scripts ( Lots of Improvements )

I agree with Neeters guy, Mirror Points is a great way to 'flip' vector shapes that needs to deform across seamlessly inside an action. I often use this tool for smooth 3/4 to 3/4 turns.

When Mirror Points works, it's awesome but it can sometimes fail and mess up the curvature in a few points. But even when this happens, it's still a lot easier to use this tool than to manually shift all the points to re-create the mirrored profile.

The trick usually is the make sure you nave the same number of points on either side of the shape to be able to recreate the mirror profile accurately, and also make sure to select a point at the reflecting axis when running the script. Also, it works better with regular 'Moho' points and not so well with bezier points, so you should avoid bezier points. (IMO, you should avoid using bezier points for morphing shapes anyway...it's asking for a headache.)

Sorry, slight correction to what I wrote above. To do what I described, you should use Swap Sides, not Mirror Points.

Swap Sides will flip the point positions across the select point. For example, this is useful for making a shape morph smoothly from a left side profile to a right side profile.

Mirror Points moves the points on the left half of the shape to symmetrically reflect the positions of corresponding points on the right half. In short, it makes a shape symmetrical. it assumes you have the same number of points on either side of the shape. To reverse the symmetry, use Swap Sides first.

Both tools come in the same package, and they can be used together. For example, 1. on a later frame, use Mirror Points to make a symmetrical front facing head shape; 2. at frame 1, move the points around to shape the front facing shape into a right side profile; 3. copy this keyframe and paste it after the front facing keyframe; 4. use Swap Sides to make a left facing profile. Now you have a smoothly transitioning left to right head turn. You can use this animation inside a smart bone action for turning the head.

(There's additional info to make this work even better; I'll try to explain it all in an upcoming tutorial.)