I get really frustrated when trying you research tutorials on TH-cam. Half the time they spend 90% of it going over stuff that's not at all relevant to the name of the video and I find myself skimming through the video to find what I was looking for. This video was gold! Perfect to a T
Dave, you’re such an asset to the burgeoning Character Animator community. Thank you for making these high quality tutorials, tips vids and generally sharing your experience with us all. 🙌
This is wonderful. It's so helpful to have a top down view of the process from beginning to end. I've watched every video ever released on this channel, made tons of puppets and cartoons and I still get lost at times. These "birds eye view" videos really help especially with the constantly changing ( that is to say "improving " ) features. Thank you Mr Samurai. You're an Okay guy!
Totally useful tutorial!!!! I always roll my eyes whenever there's a video that's really long.... But you just get right into it and get to the points right away... No fluff, no unnecessary chatter... I'm impressed. Every minute is packed with details that count... You demystified it for all of us that always wanted to animate but couldn't deal with some of those other programs. Thank you so much!!!
Thank you so much for this massive help!! I am using Adobe Character for an e e-learning course which we have to create in university. I am making a course for kids and it's amazing what I am now able to do! I've never thought I would be able to do this, but now my first character is created and she looks like little me which is stunning! I am sure the other course members will be blown away! Without this video I would never ever have been able to do this!
This is so helpful. Thank you for including and not cutting out when there's glitches and showing how to fix those. I've only watched this one video and I feel like I'm ready to make a whole cartoon series!
I'm feeling less scared of Illustrator thanks to this video. I need to jump in and get over my Photoshop dependency. Also, I really liked seeing this whole process in real-time. Thanks Dave!
The Tutorials are some of the best I have seen. PLEASE make your cursor bigger to make it easier for us older folks to follow 🙏🏻. Thanks for everything!
Just started using Adobe Character Animator. Fantastic tutorial about character rigging! Hoping to manipulate one of the pre-designed puppets soon, and create my own animated puppet. Thank you :)
That tutorial is so clear, so you can easily understand how things work tougher. Stuff like this for sb who knows a little something but needs to learn a whole new world to get something out of it. Brilliant channel!
My goodness. This information for me is vital. I'm going to began making "animated shorts" about my life adventures. Thank you so much for sharing this information. I have a lot of studying and practicing to do!!! 🔥🔥🔥✊🏾👍🏾👌🏾
Thank you for the help Dave, your tutorials and quick response blow my mind. Thank you for all your hard work!! (I did have the wrong file after all. I was using the one from your website, not the one under Pro mode on Adobe.) THANKS AGAIN!!!
Thank You so much for this tutorial! I was terrified about learning this program but your videos are so to the point and clear it makes it fun and easy! Much appreciated!
your videos are amazing and detailed best by far I have come across, but I simply do not have the patience to learn every aspect of this still subbed though I can tell you genuinely care when putting your videos together
Do you prefer fresco or illustrator for creating puppets?? And I’ve Been binging your videos while I cram all this knowledge into a week! Thanks for always getting back to me!
You know, it really depends on the style of character I'm going for. I really love the hand drawn look, and for that it's hard to beat Fresco. But when I do more flat, cel-shaded type characters, I go with Illustrator. I have more fun drawing in Fresco, but I love the vector tools of Illustrator.
Love your channel dude! These tutorials are a great resource. Detailed, to the point, with no fluff! (Side Note: Thank God you don't have that annoying "strain to poop" voice like other channels I know 😁)
What are the advantages of creating the puppet on Photoshop over Illustrator? Since Illustrator is vector based, it just seems like a better idea in order to able to resize any character freely.
A really easy going toturial, love it ☀️ Only downside is that the programme can't change your voice and I did have trouble about delete a scene and after downloading Maybe just beginner mistakes that this video don't cover
Adobe Audition or other audio apps can change your voice. We don't recommend doing it until after lip sync because the variations could create inaccurate results. To delete a scene, just select it in the project panel and press delete.
You know, I was absolutely ready to use adobe Animate. I watched hours of tutorials, I don't even have a laptop yet, then, I watched a cartoon called Bob in Space, an amateur made cartoon using character animator and was blown away with the end result and how fast it was made. I'm after watching this tutorial 3 times and many others that you've done and have come to the conclusion that Character animator, using Adobe illustrator is definitely the way to go. You make it look extremely easy to use and break it down into easy to understand steps. Thank you very much for your tutorials. Once I get my laptop I will 100% be using this combo. Amazing. Quick question, I have a lot of my characters already drawn in Adobe illustrator draw (the free app). Can I import these PNG images into illustrator CC and rig them as is, or, will I need to draw them from scratch in Illustrator CC.
For Illustrator, CH is looking for an AI or EPS file, so if you can export like that you should be set (but you'll want to isolate and organize your parts according to the CH tagging hierarchy). Otherwise you could export out PNG parts and piece them together in AI or PS. It's been a while since I've used Draw so I don't remember all the export capabilities it has.
Just checked, it has the option to export directly to AI or PS. That's great news. Saves me a lot of time re drawing characters. Thanks for the quick reply. I hope to see more tutorials from you down the line. As of now, your channel is now my go to for how to. 😊
I have characters that I've drawn myself on paper and want to know if there's a way that I can bring them into Photoshop or Illustrator and make them into a puppet. I've been watching your videos lately but haven't seen a video on that particular feat. Loving the easy instructions and details these videos bring. Really driving me more to get my cartoon off the ground. Thanks!!
@@lindymartin8425 I'm still new with Adobe lingo, so that's probably why it's a bit confusing for me lol but I'm more of a hands on learner, so I'll take your words and try my best. Thanks!
@@lindymartin8425 OMG I just took your advice and looked up the Adobe Capture app and found a video on it! Thank you sososososososo much for your help!! This will make my cartoons 10x better now!!
Walking is possible (see th-cam.com/video/gv_2Upvtm-M/w-d-xo.html ) - but because this character is facing forward instead of sideways, it would take a little more work to get them walking (you would need to adjust the facial features, arms, and legs to be facing more towards the sides). A lot of work but not impossible!
Unfortunately my full-time job at Adobe prevents me from taking on outside projects. But I recommend checking out our community Character Animator users page, where hopefully you’ll find someone with the style and skillset you’re looking for: www.adobe.com/go/ch_examples_thirdparty_en
Nevermind hahaha I decided to put it in the face background layer and made it using the pen tool. Now gotta figure out how to make glasses or sunglasses
I can go in and change the Blank character in Illustrator view, but the changes don't seem to be impacting the character in animator view. Im missing a key piece and I can figure it out!
Sounds like the file isn't syncing correctly. Select the puppet in the project panel in Rig mode and make sure "auto sync with artwork" is checked on the right side. And/or click the blue link as shown here and select the file you want to sync: th-cam.com/video/7pgm_u4VkQk/w-d-xo.html
Hello there. Thanks for tutorial. Can you Tell me, how, if its posibile to animate two characters in the same time ? Like they have a conversation? Thanks.
Yes. In the app check out the Wizard tutorial from the home screen - it will teach you how to have two characters in the same scene and select one at a time to record them.
Just make a new layer inside the head. Anything you put inside the head group will move with the head. So if you wanted to add glasses, earrings, a mustache, etc - just add it as a new layer inside the head.
@@okaysamurai I know the tutorial above is using Illustrator, but I'm currently using photoshop which I know Character Animator is compatible with both. I'm making a video with Harry Potter and I added hair, glasses, and the lightning bolt as a png (Originally found them as JPG but I used photoshop to mask the background and export as a png). Thing is, the animation is broken. It doesn't move the pupil or eye or head correctly anymore. Not sure what I did wrong
My guess is that the items were put outside of the head, or in the eye group, or something similar. If you remove them and the head and eyes work again, that's probably it - I would remove them and then add them back in one by one, checking in CH each time if it breaks things or not. If it persists, please post a screenshot, video, or File > Export > Puppet (.puppet file) to adobe.com/go/chfeedback for more help.
Hi there! Excellent video. I have a question...It appears that a function no longer exists in the 2020 version of Illustrator that affects the making of the character's eyelid. At 18:50 you discuss copying the eyeball, placing a rectangle over it, selecting both shapes and then under Pathfinder using the "Minus front" option. That function no longer seems to be present. Minus back and all the others are. Is there a way you can suggest to go about making the eyelid (other than pen tool for us pen-tool-challenged folk)? I tried reversing the positions of the eyeball and rectangle and then selected "Minus back", but it didn't work.
If you change the name of something in Illustrator, it can potentially erase the rigging because CH can't keep track of the new layer anymore. However, you can change a name in CH Rig mode by selecting the layer and pressing enter to rename - that shouldn't mess up anything.
You have been my go to guy for Character Animator 4EVER. This tutorial is so great as it covers so many basic tips and since you start with a Blank Character it is a lot easier for my students to avoid so many of the mistakes we have had in the past when I tried to instruct them how too make a character from scratch, even when using the original template file and Template Mouths. However, this time, for some reason, we have an issue with the head movement after adding features to the face.Every thing was moving fluidly before. We all came back to Record Mode and now our heads are not working. When we move our heads the puppet head remain static. We tried some basic fixes but cannot pinpoint what went wrong in our behaviors or layers. I recently updated to the latest version. This has never happened before. Any words of wisdom?
I think I just responded to you in the forums?... If you can post or DM me there with a File > Export > Puppet there I can try to diagnose what the issue is. Probably a simple fix.
@@okaysamurai Yes I did get your reply in the forums. Thank you so much. You have been doing this for so long and have put so much energy and care into Character Animator and you still have time to reach out and help. Your enthusiasm is contagious and I just love this app.
Merhaba harikasın tam istediğim video budur.izlemeye başlamadan yazıyorum.izlemem bitip uygulamamı yaptıktan sonra da yazacağım.ama başlangıç tam istediğim gibi
Hello! After I went to do my edits , my changes showed up in rig mode but not back in record mode. 24:41 , do you know how to fix this? this video has been very helpful so far thank you so much.
Make sure that "Auto-Sync With Artwork" is checked on the right when you select a puppet. And make sure the scene is referencing the correct puppet and art file, not a copy or earlier version. If it persists, please post a screenshot, video, or File > Export > Puppet (.puppet file) to adobe.com/go/chfeedback for more help.
Hi Dave! I am stuck in this situation (I hope I can describe it properly) I have a puppet which I want her head to be moving (e.g. rotatable). She has a long hair, so this is the layer I made: (by order) 1. Head (everything but the back hair) 2. Body 3. Back Hair If I apply transform behavior to the head, the back hair will not be affected, which is not something I want. I want both the head and the back hair using the same transform behavior. I tried to apply another transform behavior to the Back Hair layer and do the same transformation (e.g. the same 9 degree rotation), but the result is not the same, like there was a space/gap between them. Probably due to the center/pivot point? If I move the Back Hair layer into the same Head layer, it will cause some part of the Back Hair (it's a long hair) will cover the body and cause her to look like a moslem woman. If I put together everything in one layer, well, of course, the body will also move following the transform behavior, which something I don't want to have. I tried to put everything together in one layer (with the exact same layer order) and then made the Body layer as Independent, thinking it will not move following the other layers in that same layer which the body is, but the body was still moving following the applied Transform behavior. How can I get around on this?
Yeah, normally this would work if the Head behavior is controlling the head and connected back hair, not the Transform behavior. If you do Transform on the head then you probably want to get rid of or severely limit the Head behavior on that. And yeah, to get everything to move in unison you would need the origins to be in the same spot and have the same settings. If you still need help please post your puppet or a screenshot/video to adobe.com/go/chfeedback for more direct help!
@@okaysamurai Hi Dave! I got another question, which I will also post on the forum. Have you watched South Park? I believe you have, they are hilarious I noticed there are lines between the arms and the body (to distinguish the arms from the body) when the arms are resting at "A" position. When the arms move, thus not overlapping the body, the lines will disappear (unlike outline which will always follow), and if the arms overlap the body, the line will be there to distinguish the arms from the body again (even when not in the "A" rest position, like when doing hand movements, the lines are still there every time the arms overlap the body). Do you know how to make the same effect in Character Animator?
You could do this with just not doing dragger for the arms and just doing triggered arm swaps instead - just take away the lines from the triggered arm positions. That kind of clunky style might look great for the effect you're going for!
Love it! Just got the programs, complete noob though so I'm trying to follow along with this video :) Do you have any videos on how to do a goatee on a male puppet? I tried but just end up blacking out most of the face :(
You would want to make a new layer inside your head group and just draw out a goatee with the pen tool. Illustrator can be tricky - might be worth checking out some other channels to nail down some basics first.
If you want the hands to sometimes come in front of the face and sometimes behind, would you do two different puppets or is there a trick while recording? Also how would you make the hands come together in the middle, would you create a trigger for that and have a complete different image that replace both independent hands into one joined hands in the middle?
Your best bet is to have two sets of hands to switch between. Usually you see people just pick front or back and stick with it, but you could make a trigger swap set that switches between two sets of arms. For holding hands in the middle, you might be able to line things up and do a hand swap to make it look like they're being held, or yeah, you could just make specific hand holding artwork to swap into as well. See Wonder Boy on adobe.com/go/chexamples - he has quite a few swapped hand positions.
I just installed Adobe Character Animator and I really like your videos. I might be impatient but I tried editing this file and replacing it with my own character, messed it all up. Can you please do a video on how to take this blank character and replace it with our own part by part?
Basically if you replaced all the [Replace] layers with your own artwork, it should still work. If it's like a hand drawn character or something non-vector I'd probably try the Photoshop tutorial instead: th-cam.com/video/o0qYSvxyCQ8/w-d-xo.html. You might be better off just building your puppet up by reorganizing parts instead of trying to fit it into this template - we have some blank templates over at adobe.com/go/chresources.
First of all thank you alot , after editing how do i transfer the illustration back to record , i cant find the option or search term to do so what you did at 54:15 exactly was transfer the illustration to be animated without losing rigging thing ? thank you .
It should just work automatically - CH should auto-sync with your file. When you select a puppet in the project panel in CH, make sure "auto sync with artwork" is checked and the blue link is pointed at the correct file. You can also click the blue link to relink it to the correct PSD or AI file. You will lose rigging if you make major changes, like renaming a folder or shifting things around too much. Luckily this is a simple enough character that even in a worst case scenario re-rigging it should only take a few minutes.
This tutorial looks so good and I'm amazed that you're still keeping up with all the comments! I'm not sure if I'm doing something wrong, but the blank puppet download won't open from the Adobe website anymore? Do you have a link to the exact file? Thank you!!!!
I get really frustrated when trying you research tutorials on TH-cam. Half the time they spend 90% of it going over stuff that's not at all relevant to the name of the video and I find myself skimming through the video to find what I was looking for. This video was gold! Perfect to a T
Yees exactly!
Dave, you’re such an asset to the burgeoning Character Animator community. Thank you for making these high quality tutorials, tips vids and generally sharing your experience with us all. 🙌
Dave, is it possible to use a character as a template to them edit its features into a new character?
This channel is absolute gold , i cant wait to get started
me to
i cant wait to start
me too !! ❤🙏🏾
Yeah pure gold he explains so clearly and motivates me too do it like now, awesome awesome🥺😍
Weird kid : well ya got somethin right before this puppet robot is made out of gold well at least it looks like it…
Same I cant wait to get starteddd
This is wonderful. It's so helpful to have a top down view of the process from beginning to end. I've watched every video ever released on this channel, made tons of puppets and cartoons and I still get lost at times. These "birds eye view" videos really help especially with the constantly changing ( that is to say "improving " ) features. Thank you Mr Samurai. You're an Okay guy!
I make my puppets with Ps but there was so much to learn from this video....thank you for this amazing tutorial!
5 mins in and I am already mind-blown with the number of things I didnt realise I could do!! So cool.
Totally useful tutorial!!!! I always roll my eyes whenever there's a video that's really long.... But you just get right into it and get to the points right away... No fluff, no unnecessary chatter... I'm impressed. Every minute is packed with details that count... You demystified it for all of us that always wanted to animate but couldn't deal with some of those other programs. Thank you so much!!!
For anyone looking, the Blank character is now under pro puppets (as of 8/31/23)
I can't find "pro puppets"
@@Crymsa Ne Neither
I found it, Go to pro and then click on Browse Pro Puppets
Thank you so much for this massive help!!
I am using Adobe Character for an e e-learning course which we have to create in university. I am making a course for kids and it's amazing what I am now able to do! I've never thought I would be able to do this, but now my first character is created and she looks like little me which is stunning! I am sure the other course members will be blown away!
Without this video I would never ever have been able to do this!
That's great to hear, made my day - thanks!
This is so helpful. Thank you for including and not cutting out when there's glitches and showing how to fix those. I've only watched this one video and I feel like I'm ready to make a whole cartoon series!
I'm feeling less scared of Illustrator thanks to this video. I need to jump in and get over my Photoshop dependency. Also, I really liked seeing this whole process in real-time. Thanks Dave!
Haha, it's funny, cause I am pretty confident with illustrator but always shied away from Photoshop. Good luck, hope it goes well.
The Tutorials are some of the best I have seen. PLEASE make your cursor bigger to make it easier for us older folks to follow 🙏🏻. Thanks for everything!
whatched it over a 3 days already over and over again and consume a hundred cup of coffee,thanks bro,still watching it right now,ggrrrr.....
That was beautiful, man. Thank you SO much!
Just started using Adobe Character Animator. Fantastic tutorial about character rigging! Hoping to manipulate one of the pre-designed puppets soon, and create my own animated puppet.
Thank you :)
That tutorial is so clear, so you can easily understand how things work tougher. Stuff like this for sb who knows a little something but needs to learn a whole new world to get something out of it. Brilliant channel!
You have helped me so much Dave. I'm learning slowly and my character is getting better every week! Thanks for everything. You are awesome!
Nice to know this takes weeks. I am just starting.
My goodness. This information for me is vital. I'm going to began making "animated shorts" about my life adventures. Thank you so much for sharing this information. I have a lot of studying and practicing to do!!! 🔥🔥🔥✊🏾👍🏾👌🏾
Been putting off learning CA, but now I love it and have made my first character! This has been great during these crazy times. Ty!
Incredibly useful, thank you!
Thank you for the help Dave, your tutorials and quick response blow my mind. Thank you for all your hard work!! (I did have the wrong file after all. I was using the one from your website, not the one under Pro mode on Adobe.) THANKS AGAIN!!!
Thank You so much for this tutorial! I was terrified about learning this program but your videos are so to the point and clear it makes it fun and easy! Much appreciated!
Your dedication to helping people is amazing, thank you so much !
I love you right now. I'm going to make whole animated movie because of u 💯💯💯💯💯💯
I’ve been hooked on all your videos! Thanks for your clarity.
Omg that was amazing, I’m totally new to this and this tutorial was definitely the best! I learned so much! Thank you thank you
Your tutorials are amazing! They are all that one needs to get started!
This is awesome, Been meaning to dive into Character Animator for a while.
Adobe ChA team is lucky to have people like you mate, thanks :)
Thankyou so much for all the efforts that you've put in. It is because of your channel that i could complete my project well.
Thankyou!
your videos are amazing and detailed best by far I have come across, but I simply do not have the patience to learn every aspect of this
still subbed though I can tell you genuinely care when putting your videos together
I’m SO excited to see this tutorial. I’ve been following character animator since Beta and this tutorial knocks it out of the park! THANK YOU.
I love your channel! Im a newbie when it comes to animation, and your videos helped me so much!!
So basic and so helpful! I like to go back to videos like this that show workflow and remind me that kinks happen (and its not just me :p)
I use the product every day and still run into kinks! It happens. :)
I appreciate the work you do. I enjoy long-form tutorials and think you do a great job...probably my favorite next to Andrew Kramer. Take care.
Do you prefer fresco or illustrator for creating puppets?? And I’ve Been binging your videos while I cram all this knowledge into a week! Thanks for always getting back to me!
You know, it really depends on the style of character I'm going for. I really love the hand drawn look, and for that it's hard to beat Fresco. But when I do more flat, cel-shaded type characters, I go with Illustrator. I have more fun drawing in Fresco, but I love the vector tools of Illustrator.
Thank you so much for all the work you do on these. It really has been a lot of fun learning to use this program and your videos are a godsend!
Thank you! I actually needed half of this to get most of what I need for my simple rig! Great job!! Thank you so much!
Love your channel dude! These tutorials are a great resource. Detailed, to the point, with no fluff! (Side Note: Thank God you don't have that annoying "strain to poop" voice like other channels I know 😁)
Thanks and HAHAHA I know exactly what you're talking about!
Installed, everything works, thanks!
im glad youre still making videos, these are so helpful thanks
This video helped me a lot on my university assignments 😭 thank you a lot
Great work 👍
What are the advantages of creating the puppet on Photoshop over Illustrator?
Since Illustrator is vector based, it just seems like a better idea in order to able to resize any character freely.
Either works - there is no real performance gain from either one, so I just tell people to go with what they feel comfortable with.
Fantastic tutorial-thanks!
I would like to thank you the Tutorials. I've learned a lot from these videos. Absolute Top. Respect!
Thanks man for that great tutorial
Thank you so much for creating this valuable content!
Very helpful. Thanks😊
Great video that helps me
This is so exciting. I feel like anything is possible. Thank you for sharing.
Sweeeeeeet! Yo! Thanks so much for all you do to teach people 😁😁😁 gonna watch this in full after work and take notes
This is so cool. I am definitely gonna learn about it.
Just need few more days to complete it.
this was really helpful. followed the entire tutorial!
Fantastic video - love your teaching style
A really easy going toturial, love it ☀️
Only downside is that the programme can't change your voice and I did have trouble about delete a scene and after downloading
Maybe just beginner mistakes that this video don't cover
Adobe Audition or other audio apps can change your voice. We don't recommend doing it until after lip sync because the variations could create inaccurate results.
To delete a scene, just select it in the project panel and press delete.
DAVE LIP SYNC MOUTH-->30.35 MINUTES THE BEST FOR ME SO FAR
Great job Dave. So helpful & well thought out. I need to find someone like you for After Effects & Premiere!
Thanks. Try Video Copilot for AE and Premiere Gal for PR!
You know, I was absolutely ready to use adobe Animate. I watched hours of tutorials, I don't even have a laptop yet, then, I watched a cartoon called Bob in Space, an amateur made cartoon using character animator and was blown away with the end result and how fast it was made. I'm after watching this tutorial 3 times and many others that you've done and have come to the conclusion that Character animator, using Adobe illustrator is definitely the way to go. You make it look extremely easy to use and break it down into easy to understand steps. Thank you very much for your tutorials. Once I get my laptop I will 100% be using this combo. Amazing. Quick question, I have a lot of my characters already drawn in Adobe illustrator draw (the free app). Can I import these PNG images into illustrator CC and rig them as is, or, will I need to draw them from scratch in Illustrator CC.
For Illustrator, CH is looking for an AI or EPS file, so if you can export like that you should be set (but you'll want to isolate and organize your parts according to the CH tagging hierarchy). Otherwise you could export out PNG parts and piece them together in AI or PS. It's been a while since I've used Draw so I don't remember all the export capabilities it has.
Just checked, it has the option to export directly to AI or PS. That's great news. Saves me a lot of time re drawing characters. Thanks for the quick reply. I hope to see more tutorials from you down the line. As of now, your channel is now my go to for how to. 😊
I have characters that I've drawn myself on paper and want to know if there's a way that I can bring them into Photoshop or Illustrator and make them into a puppet. I've been watching your videos lately but haven't seen a video on that particular feat. Loving the easy instructions and details these videos bring. Really driving me more to get my cartoon off the ground. Thanks!!
Have you tried using the Adobe Capture app to turn it into vector images to import into illustrator?
@@lindymartin8425 honestly, I don't even have a clue what any of that even means but I'll try and give it a shot. Thanks!
It took me a little while but there should be videos on it on youtube. Best of luck!
@@lindymartin8425 I'm still new with Adobe lingo, so that's probably why it's a bit confusing for me lol but I'm more of a hands on learner, so I'll take your words and try my best. Thanks!
@@lindymartin8425 OMG I just took your advice and looked up the Adobe Capture app and found a video on it! Thank you sososososososo much for your help!! This will make my cartoons 10x better now!!
Very well explained
I'll add some of my notes here:
37:00 Independent hair movements
58:00 fixing shoulder movement
Best tutorial ever!!! Thanks a lot 🙏🏻
Good information I would love to learn more.
Thank you, it works perfect!
Dave, you're the best! Thanks for always producing such great tutorials, they're always easy to follow and I always learn a lot.
Thank you, this tutorial is gold. Much appreciated 😀
you are awesome, thank you so much!
I followed the video detail by detail you're awesome!! im only wondering if its possible to make this format WALK??? thanks again
Walking is possible (see th-cam.com/video/gv_2Upvtm-M/w-d-xo.html ) - but because this character is facing forward instead of sideways, it would take a little more work to get them walking (you would need to adjust the facial features, arms, and legs to be facing more towards the sides). A lot of work but not impossible!
@@okaysamurai bro you are a bonafide saint. A noble Lord. I was sad there were no natively black ch puppets. You're the best dude. thank you.
could I pay you to send you a template and you send it back as a walking, talking machine?
Unfortunately my full-time job at Adobe prevents me from taking on outside projects. But I recommend checking out our community Character Animator users page, where hopefully you’ll find someone with the style and skillset you’re looking for: www.adobe.com/go/ch_examples_thirdparty_en
Dave how can I give my characted a beard?
Nevermind hahaha I decided to put it in the face background layer and made it using the pen tool. Now gotta figure out how to make glasses or sunglasses
For glasses just make a new artwork layer and put it above the eyes.
i can't import to this blank guy to my program due to the newer version 2.1, what should i do? i'm on the Ch cc 2019
Update! helpx.adobe.com/creative-cloud/help/creative-cloud-updates.html
best channel ever obviously !!!!!!!!!!
This is awesome! Very clear instructions and great tutorial. Thank you!
I can go in and change the Blank character in Illustrator view, but the changes don't seem to be impacting the character in animator view. Im missing a key piece and I can figure it out!
Sounds like the file isn't syncing correctly. Select the puppet in the project panel in Rig mode and make sure "auto sync with artwork" is checked on the right side. And/or click the blue link as shown here and select the file you want to sync: th-cam.com/video/7pgm_u4VkQk/w-d-xo.html
Amazing explanation good bro thanks
So wonderful tutorial!!! This is really so much helpful. Thank you sooooo much~~~~ !! Have goood day~~~
Hello there. Thanks for tutorial. Can you Tell me, how, if its posibile to animate two characters in the same time ? Like they have a conversation? Thanks.
Yes. In the app check out the Wizard tutorial from the home screen - it will teach you how to have two characters in the same scene and select one at a time to record them.
Thank you so much for the video. I have a question. How do you add glasses? Specifically round glasses like Harry Potter but also in general
Just make a new layer inside the head. Anything you put inside the head group will move with the head. So if you wanted to add glasses, earrings, a mustache, etc - just add it as a new layer inside the head.
@@okaysamurai I know the tutorial above is using Illustrator, but I'm currently using photoshop which I know Character Animator is compatible with both. I'm making a video with Harry Potter and I added hair, glasses, and the lightning bolt as a png (Originally found them as JPG but I used photoshop to mask the background and export as a png). Thing is, the animation is broken. It doesn't move the pupil or eye or head correctly anymore. Not sure what I did wrong
My guess is that the items were put outside of the head, or in the eye group, or something similar. If you remove them and the head and eyes work again, that's probably it - I would remove them and then add them back in one by one, checking in CH each time if it breaks things or not. If it persists, please post a screenshot, video, or File > Export > Puppet (.puppet file) to adobe.com/go/chfeedback for more help.
Excellent
My channel wouldn't exist if it wasn't for you! Thank you so much!
Hi there! Excellent video. I have a question...It appears that a function no longer exists in the 2020 version of Illustrator that affects the making of the character's eyelid. At 18:50 you discuss copying the eyeball, placing a rectangle over it, selecting both shapes and then under Pathfinder using the "Minus front" option. That function no longer seems to be present. Minus back and all the others are. Is there a way you can suggest to go about making the eyelid (other than pen tool for us pen-tool-challenged folk)? I tried reversing the positions of the eyeball and rectangle and then selected "Minus back", but it didn't work.
Strange, I am still seeing Minus Front in my AI 2020. You can also try Effect > Pathfinder to get to more options.
I don't know why mine is not showing up in either place. Oh well, thank you for responding.
I am very new to this so this may be a dumb question, but how do you go about saving them as new names? everytime I do it messes up everything
If you change the name of something in Illustrator, it can potentially erase the rigging because CH can't keep track of the new layer anymore. However, you can change a name in CH Rig mode by selecting the layer and pressing enter to rename - that shouldn't mess up anything.
@@okaysamurai thank you so much!!
@@okaysamurai I already had my character created, but not in CH. How can I make a CH file out of a .ai file?
File > Import. That will automatically turn it into a CH puppet, but you can then do File > Export > Puppet to get a .puppet file.
You have been my go to guy for Character Animator 4EVER. This tutorial is so great as it covers so many basic tips and since you start with a Blank Character it is a lot easier for my students to avoid so many of the mistakes we have had in the past when I tried to instruct them how too make a character from scratch, even when using the original template file and Template Mouths. However, this time, for some reason, we have an issue with the head movement after adding features to the face.Every thing was moving fluidly before. We all came back to Record Mode and now our heads are not working. When we move our heads the puppet head remain static. We tried some basic fixes but cannot pinpoint what went wrong in our behaviors or layers. I recently updated to the latest version. This has never happened before. Any words of wisdom?
I think I just responded to you in the forums?... If you can post or DM me there with a File > Export > Puppet there I can try to diagnose what the issue is. Probably a simple fix.
@@okaysamurai Yes I did get your reply in the forums. Thank you so much. You have been doing this for so long and have put so much energy and care into Character Animator and you still have time to reach out and help. Your enthusiasm is contagious and I just love this app.
Merhaba harikasın tam istediğim video budur.izlemeye başlamadan yazıyorum.izlemem bitip uygulamamı yaptıktan sonra da yazacağım.ama başlangıç tam istediğim gibi
Hello! After I went to do my edits , my changes showed up in rig mode but not back in record mode. 24:41 , do you know how to fix this? this video has been very helpful so far thank you so much.
Make sure that "Auto-Sync With Artwork" is checked on the right when you select a puppet. And make sure the scene is referencing the correct puppet and art file, not a copy or earlier version. If it persists, please post a screenshot, video, or File > Export > Puppet (.puppet file) to adobe.com/go/chfeedback for more help.
Hi Dave!
I am stuck in this situation (I hope I can describe it properly)
I have a puppet which I want her head to be moving (e.g. rotatable). She has a long hair, so this is the layer I made:
(by order)
1. Head (everything but the back hair)
2. Body
3. Back Hair
If I apply transform behavior to the head, the back hair will not be affected, which is not something I want. I want both the head and the back hair using the same transform behavior. I tried to apply another transform behavior to the Back Hair layer and do the same transformation (e.g. the same 9 degree rotation), but the result is not the same, like there was a space/gap between them. Probably due to the center/pivot point?
If I move the Back Hair layer into the same Head layer, it will cause some part of the Back Hair (it's a long hair) will cover the body and cause her to look like a moslem woman.
If I put together everything in one layer, well, of course, the body will also move following the transform behavior, which something I don't want to have.
I tried to put everything together in one layer (with the exact same layer order) and then made the Body layer as Independent, thinking it will not move following the other layers in that same layer which the body is, but the body was still moving following the applied Transform behavior.
How can I get around on this?
Yeah, normally this would work if the Head behavior is controlling the head and connected back hair, not the Transform behavior. If you do Transform on the head then you probably want to get rid of or severely limit the Head behavior on that. And yeah, to get everything to move in unison you would need the origins to be in the same spot and have the same settings. If you still need help please post your puppet or a screenshot/video to adobe.com/go/chfeedback for more direct help!
@@okaysamurai
I want to make South Park-style head movement when the character is speaking. No dangle or webcam.
@@okaysamurai
Hi Dave! I got another question, which I will also post on the forum.
Have you watched South Park? I believe you have, they are hilarious
I noticed there are lines between the arms and the body (to distinguish the arms from the body) when the arms are resting at "A" position. When the arms move, thus not overlapping the body, the lines will disappear (unlike outline which will always follow), and if the arms overlap the body, the line will be there to distinguish the arms from the body again (even when not in the "A" rest position, like when doing hand movements, the lines are still there every time the arms overlap the body). Do you know how to make the same effect in Character Animator?
You could do this with just not doing dragger for the arms and just doing triggered arm swaps instead - just take away the lines from the triggered arm positions. That kind of clunky style might look great for the effect you're going for!
@@okaysamurai Then it means I have to designed every arm movements in Illustrator then?
Wow, you're a genius. It's really cool.
Love it! Just got the programs, complete noob though so I'm trying to follow along with this video :) Do you have any videos on how to do a goatee on a male puppet? I tried but just end up blacking out most of the face :(
You would want to make a new layer inside your head group and just draw out a goatee with the pen tool. Illustrator can be tricky - might be worth checking out some other channels to nail down some basics first.
Awesome as always. You're a legend mate! 😁
If you want the hands to sometimes come in front of the face and sometimes behind, would you do two different puppets or is there a trick while recording? Also how would you make the hands come together in the middle, would you create a trigger for that and have a complete different image that replace both independent hands into one joined hands in the middle?
Your best bet is to have two sets of hands to switch between. Usually you see people just pick front or back and stick with it, but you could make a trigger swap set that switches between two sets of arms. For holding hands in the middle, you might be able to line things up and do a hand swap to make it look like they're being held, or yeah, you could just make specific hand holding artwork to swap into as well. See Wonder Boy on adobe.com/go/chexamples - he has quite a few swapped hand positions.
@@okaysamurai thank you will check that out.
Thank you for your videos, they are incredible helpful.
I just installed Adobe Character Animator and I really like your videos. I might be impatient but I tried editing this file and replacing it with my own character, messed it all up. Can you please do a video on how to take this blank character and replace it with our own part by part?
Basically if you replaced all the [Replace] layers with your own artwork, it should still work. If it's like a hand drawn character or something non-vector I'd probably try the Photoshop tutorial instead: th-cam.com/video/o0qYSvxyCQ8/w-d-xo.html. You might be better off just building your puppet up by reorganizing parts instead of trying to fit it into this template - we have some blank templates over at adobe.com/go/chresources.
WHAT IS THE FILE " TAKE 01_10_38 PM.ARF " USE FOR IN THE PUPPET FILE
First of all thank you alot , after editing how do i transfer the illustration back to record , i cant find the option or search term to do so what you did at 54:15 exactly was transfer the illustration to be animated without losing rigging thing ? thank you .
It should just work automatically - CH should auto-sync with your file. When you select a puppet in the project panel in CH, make sure "auto sync with artwork" is checked and the blue link is pointed at the correct file. You can also click the blue link to relink it to the correct PSD or AI file. You will lose rigging if you make major changes, like renaming a folder or shifting things around too much. Luckily this is a simple enough character that even in a worst case scenario re-rigging it should only take a few minutes.
@@okaysamurai Thanks a lot one more time .
Great help!
Thank you. You are an excellent teacher.
thank God I can use this program, than doing frame by frame animation
This tutorial looks so good and I'm amazed that you're still keeping up with all the comments! I'm not sure if I'm doing something wrong, but the blank puppet download won't open from the Adobe website anymore? Do you have a link to the exact file? Thank you!!!!
This link should still let you download the zip with everything in it: assets.adobe.com/public/eef57917-773f-4912-5f17-9629a600c27b. Hope that helps!
@@okaysamurai It absolutely does! Thank you so much! I can't wait to get started. :)
I want to learn how to use this program to create drawings not animations XD Great tutorial!
Thanks really helps a lot.