Just finished a course on Lynda about creating and animating a character in AE. Wanted to learn the tougher, manual way first, and I can confirm doing a whole cartoon the old fashion way is hell. So glad Character Animator exists to streamline the heck out of the whole process. Can't wait to start some of your tutorials.
Is there any way to sync the left and right arms movement ? Or maybe a way to watch the pre recorded movements while we are recording a new one. Thanks !
Just some product design feedback on the elbow bend behaviour, it would be nice to have auto hand swap when, the elbow bends past 180 degrees into the other direction, when your arm is bent outwards you're likely to see the open hand side of a hand, however if the arm bends inwards so the hand moves towards the torso, it is likely to display the back of the hand. This could then be set so, that any hand set you have you can have a front and back hand for each hand design so whenever a specific hand design is toggled and the hands are being moved around, the hand also faces the expected direction. this change is likely to occur at the elbo change point, and could be a trigger setting below auto arm bend.
I was having a problem with the Evans robot puppet that I was able to solve with this tutorial. In recording the scene, I would bend the left arm up, turn on the weapon, and shoot fire upward. However, when playing back the scene, the weapon would point downward and shoot fire downward. I turned off Auto Arm Bend, and this seems to have fixed the issue. Thanks!
For Limb IK we recommend not adding fixed handles (at least, on non-independent parts) as those can create pulling/pinching effects on those parts. I don't believe any of the example puppets shown here have any fixed handles. If you absolutely have to have one, try making that part independent so it won't affect the rest of the puppet.
Sounds like you might need some more direct help. If it persists, please post a screenshot, video, or File > Export > Puppet (.puppet file) to adobe.com/go/chfeedback for more help.
I've had that issue in the past and it took me a while to realize it was the anchor point. Click on the puppet name to see if the anchor is located in that area. Sometimes it needs to be maneuvered around until you find a sweet spot or it makes the puppet looks like it's pinned to a particular spot.
This is awesome!!! Huge update. I love your videos Okay Samurai! I also have a question, with the jumping character with the baseball cap, he had a traditional animation feel because his layers were looping! How can I do that that's one of the things i've been missing about character animator!!!
Yeah, so if you look in Rig mode, for most of his parts I have them as groups with two layers inside and a Cycle Layers behavior added to the group. So basically I just drew every layer twice and the behavior cycles between the two states. It makes for a cool effect for sure!
Can you have one of these limb ik set ups with frontal and independent head....2 head rig with head turner behaviours +frontal+side profiles+quarter profiles ...also draggable?
Maybe...? A lot of this can still feel experimental when you get into the hacks of adding extra heads. I would try it with a simple stick figure rig and see if you can get it to work. If the problem persists, please upload a screenshot, video, or your File > Export > Puppet file to the official forums at adobe.com/go/chfeedback so we can take a closer look.
Mr. Werner, this has got to be the most amazing adobe software that's been launched. Everything is so incredible! I think I may actually realize my dreams of being an animator! My CC just update Character Animator to 2021. Do you have any videos that showcase and demonstrate , if any, the new features? Thank you for all that you've done and continue to do!
There isn't a lot of big stuff in the new release - primarily behind the scenes stuff and bug fixes - but I might do a video about some of the new puppets (Hopscotch on the homepage and Alex & Sam on adobe.com/go/chexamples) soon.
Hi. Some time ago I had a character created for me since I can't draw BUT I didn't realize that the arm goes behind the head when I need it in front of the head or at least the hand to the elbow. Any advice or video for that one? It's set up where the left arm in part of the body so I can't move it alone without making the whole body in front of the head
Hey there, the eyeballs and red dots on my behaviours in the properties panel are not there for me how they are there for you. How can I get them to appear?
This should be possible, but you may need to play with behavior placement to make sure the head turner is picking up the correct views (same issue when adding head turner + a walking 3-view character). If you get stuck, please upload a screenshot, video, or your File > Export > Puppet file to the official forums at adobe.com/go/chfeedback so we can take a closer look.
Thanks! Open up LimbIKBot from the LimbIK pack on okaysamurai.com/puppets - if you just drag his neck down and to the right he seems to "sit" on something. I would take a screenshot of a character in this position, bring it into Photoshop, and draw the bench with that relative height so it looks good with him on it.
I've built my puppet matching "June's" layers in Photoshop & CH, tagging, everything, but when I go to my scene and try to raise either arm that is set with draggable points on the wrists, the entire arm floats off the torso. Can't figure out what's the problem. And the head floats a bit as well. Frustrated because I've watched this video over and over and can't find the disconnect.
Hard to diagnose here, but my best guess might be that something in the Body/torso might be independent or the arm origins aren't lined up with the body, causing it not to attach? That's the best idea I can think of, but for more direct help, please post a screenshot, video, or File > Export > Puppet (.puppet file) to adobe.com/go/chfeedback.
Hello :), I have a question for the hands. When I put them on the hips like your first character in the video, they stay on her hip when she moves her torso to the left and right. At my character the hands don’t stay on the same spot on the hips when the rest of the body moves they kind of hover to right and left with the torso. Did you tweak that afterwards or are thy stuck to the hip with a magnet or so? Thanks for your awesome Videos
Hmmm, the only reasons I can think of this happening are a) Limb IK > Pin has different settings for the wrists instead of the defaults of puppet / 100%, or b) the arms are rigged differently and are creating a floating issue. If the problem persists, please upload a screenshot, video, or your File > Export > Puppet file to the official forums at adobe.com/go/chfeedback so we can take a closer look.
How do you define the ground plane? I seem to be able to drag the Yoga June character by the body up and down and the feet won't go down past a certain line near the bottom of the screen. Instead the rest of the body comes down, giving the illusion of a ground plane. I can't seem to recreate this with my own character.
The ground is wherever the feet start out. So position your character using the Transform behavior, and that will be where things start. If the problem persists, please upload a screenshot, video, or your File > Export > Puppet file to the official forums at adobe.com/go/chfeedback so we can take a closer look.
Hey Dave I did the exact thing you did with the frontal and the head (crowned) but I have a right quarter as well and when I turn the character disappear from the scene how can I fix this?
It sounds like CH is trying to swap between the front and quarter views but not all the artwork is under the right quarter tag so it isn't coming along for the ride. I have not seen the system I'm showing here work with head turner personally, but if anyone knows how to do it, it would be the Digital Puppets UK guys - check them out, I think they do this technique with head turns as well.
Hi sorry to bother you but I may need some help. I have follow the tutorial to rig my own puppet, but my puppet can not detect the floor therefore the leg can't not bend when I drag the puppet. I have also downloaded the free file that you provided, but they also cannot detect the floor. Am I missing something in the tutorial?
The only reasons I can imagine the sample files aren't working is either a) you have an older version (current is 3.4), or 2) the Limb IK settings are different, like set to arms only. If it persists, please post a screenshot, video, or File > Export > Puppet (.puppet file) to adobe.com/go/chfeedback for more help.
Make sure the body is not independent and the arm group is set to weld or hinge and not free in the "attach style" parameter on the right. If the problem persists, please upload a screenshot, video, or your File > Export > Puppet file to the official forums at adobe.com/go/chfeedback so we can take a closer look.
If parts aren't moving along, make sure their origin (dotted line circle that appears in the middle of the artwork by default) is attached to something. For example, the origin of the arms should be by the shoulders. If the problem persists, please upload a screenshot, video, or your File > Export > Puppet file to the official forums at adobe.com/go/chfeedback so we can take a closer look.
Hi Dave! Sorry, I must be annoying with all those questions. ;) This might be the last one! I was wondering: I am using a character with 4 different views, that I can switch between (1 frontal, one profile, one side, one back), I rigged them all up, no issues. Now the genius part is that the Limb IK Behavior, the Motion Library and the Body Behavior on the Master Level affect (all) the views. So I can animate something with the Frontal View, make the puppet dance, and then change in between the different views and I don't have to adjust/add everything again. Also the ground level stays the same for all the views. So if I make my puppet bend in the frontal view, then switch to the side, the knees and ankles bend at the same position. So far, so awesome!! I am in love with the software. However, for some reason, the Limb IK Behavior, Motion Library and Body Tag do not work on the back view. (the forth one in the hierarchy). I tried everything, mirroring the left/right tags, etc. If I give the back layer its extra Limb IK, Motion Library and Body Tag, it works. BUT it is a bit buggy with the ground layer. So if in the Front view my character bends its knees and ankles, I have to add the same motion to the back view, which would be fine, but for some reason, it does not natively have a feel for the ground layer. I have to drag the feet just a little bit, then it finds a ground layer, but it seems to different and more buggy than the main ground level from the upper IK Behavior Tag. Even though the feet are on the exact same position. Now my question: Is the IK-Behavior limited in some way to only be able to affect a certain number of tags in the hierarchy? Or at what point does it get confused with too many tags? I am just trying to understand the problem and couldn't find anything on google. If I loaded the puppet with only the back view, the master IK Tag worked. I mean, I wouldn't mind to give every layer view its own Limb IK, etc. Behaviors, I already tried that, but then the ground layer does not match up all between them and it's super glitchy. This way, I now at least have consistency between the frontal, profile and side view. But it would be the icing on the cake, if the back view would also follow. :) As a side note: This also affects the face behavior! So it's not just limb IK.
So I believe the way this works is that behaviors are carried through to view tags. So when you name something frontal or left profile, that gets tagged as a new "view" and everything inside it should work the same as any other view. Because we don't have a back view, my best guess is that view wasn't tagged, and so it's not working as expected. If you tag the back folder as an additional view you're not using, like left quarter, then I think it should work. If the problem persists, please upload a screenshot, video, or your File > Export > Puppet file to the official forums at adobe.com/go/chfeedback so we can take a closer look.
Oh wow, you are on to something! I changed the name for the back view from "+Back" zu the German one and all over sudden it worked but now the Side one is not working. I named it back to "+Back" to see if it stopped working, to replicate the error, but no - now the Side now is refusing no matter what I name the views. :D Also tried to name it a bunch of things. Hmmm... I will try my luck with naming views and if I fail, I'll upload the puppet, thank you! :)
Alright, it seems to be an issue of both naming and order. No matter name and order, the Frontal and Frontal Profile always get recognize. But depending on how I order and name Side und Back, on of them does not work. But it's not consistent bug. So I think I'll upload the puppet. Is it then downloadable for everyone? I'm a bit afraid to just make the puppet public by accident since it's for a client.
I should also note that I don't intend to control the puppet via Body. I just want the limb IK to work. So I haven't tagged them as views, I just named them in photoshop.
@@okaysamurai I take everything back, you were 100% right!!! Even though I changed the names in photoshop and in ChA, because before I had them named as Frontal and Frontal Profile, they were still tagged with the frontal face. No idea why always one of the additional ones worked since they weren't tagged but it now it WORKS!! Wow, man, you saved me a headache, was going crazy the whole day about this issue! Amazing!! Thank you!
Hey How can I bend my chrctr torso while he is sitting because it looks weird that legs are bending and of chrctr but the torso is straight so any tip on this?
If they're sitting maybe don't use the double head rigging treatment I show here for the Yoga character - you'll get more body movement if you rig it more like a traditional character.
I moved the characters right arm from rest pose to a wave pose. I created a 2 frame take and then dragged that take to be 1 second long, i added easing and created a replay trigger. It worked perfectly. I then did exactly the same thing for the left arm, but when I play the replay, the arm flips in the wrong direction before getting to the wave pose. No matter what I try it will not do what the right arm does even though they are rigged exactly the same. Any suggestions?
Hmmm, hard to diagnose here but if anything was recorded for the left arm, even as part of the right arm replay, then it will compete with any additional movements, leading to weird results. It could also be a bug. If it persists, please post a screenshot, video, or File > Export > Puppet (.puppet file) to adobe.com/go/chfeedback for more help.
My character mouth is moving with it's body when i enable walk behavior, how can i fix that? And the limb is not working somehow, my characters arms are still stretching enlessly.
Hard to diagnose here - for more direct help, please post a screenshot, video, or File > Export > Puppet (.puppet file) to adobe.com/go/chfeedback. Making the mouth group independent should help it not move with the body.
Hello, I do not have the option for Limb IK in my Character Animator program. Can you tell me which version you are using, or maybe where to find it outside of behaviours maybe?
Make sure the "show mesh outline" toggle is on in the bottom left corner of the Rig puppet panel. Yellow means what parts are connected together in a mesh. It doesn't always show up for every layer though, depending on your setup.
hi, when I record and drag the hand, it's ok, but I try to record again but now I want to move the other hand, its working good but I can't see what does the other hand do in realtime? is there a way to fix that?
Nice sir i have a question how to deshaped the character like tom hit the jerry with a stick is it animated using cycle layers and triggers or something else
I made a puppet with three profiles and that's was amazing using Limb Ik, but I wonder why when I use Immediate walking the character always start walking to the right?
I would only recommend using Limb IK for the standing view, otherwise it will compete with the walk behavior (they both want the same tags). See how Eliza on www.okaysamurai.com/puppets/ is set up - I would copy her setup exactly. If it persists, please post a screenshot, video, or File > Export > Puppet (.puppet file) to adobe.com/go/chfeedback for more help.
Hello, thank you for this tutorial. Just a question about the tagging of shoulders and hips: shouldn't they be made on the body layer ? I'm a bit confused... :))
In general, for most body behaviors (Limb IK, Walk, Body, and a new one coming soon), there can be subtle differences if you put the shoulders and hips on the body vs. the limbs. Bottom line: either is considered correct, and if something isn't working, try the other way!
Hi , can you show us how to convert the puppet from photoshop back (or correctly save) to CH ? I’d make an edit, but it when i save an entirely new puppet (that i don’t know how to rig) is created. It doesn’t even read the face anymore and saves as “.psp”
Hmmm, I've never seen a psp file before - not sure what that is. I cover this in the beginning of th-cam.com/video/7GKCw4f1UrI/w-d-xo.html - if you edit a PSD or AI file coming from CH (either clicking the icon in the project panel or going to Edit > Edit Original), you will open up the linked file, and if you save, the CH character will automatically update. If it persists, please post a screenshot, video, or File > Export > Puppet (.puppet file) to adobe.com/go/chfeedback for more help.
I'm having a problem with walking cycles, that get more pronouncing when I put Limb IK on it. I start reseting the camera, to have my face aligned, then when the character start walking, it get short, and when limb ik is on, it walk with bended knees. Super strange. The only way to minimize that here is not using limb ik. Is there a fix for it? Using the latest Character Animator from Adobe Creative Clouds. (not beta)
Limb IK and Walk can "fight" over the same handles, causing problems. We recommend only using Limb IK for the standing position in a 3-view walk and not the left/right profiles because of this. Just put the behavior on your front/standing view only, not at the root, and it should work. If it persists, please post a screenshot, video, or File > Export > Puppet (.puppet file) to adobe.com/go/chfeedback for more direct help.
I have everything tagged correctly but my libs are still stretching way too far, what else can I do to stop that? Even when I set my stretchiness to 0 it still stretches all over.
If you're still seeing stretching it means the IK isn't working - I would triple check your behavior and all the tags against the example characters' setups. If it persists, please post a video, screenshot, or your File > Export > Puppet to adobe.com/go/chfeedback for more direct help.
I'm not sure what list you're talking about, but you can record movements and turn them into triggerable replays. th-cam.com/video/mZioGOAt8RE/w-d-xo.htmlsi=T5xmy75TaNEG7YVO
pls what is the best way to save a file in character animator? This is like the third time I've lost intricate files after saving it sometimes with ctrl S even after I save with save as character animator project
Nothing should ever be lost - everything is auto-saved. If the problem persists, please upload a screenshot or description of what is happening exactly to the official forums at adobe.com/go/chfeedback so the developers can take a closer look.
Hi Dave When want to use limb IK on hand but dont want to use weld feature instead I want to rotate like hing from elbow can you please suggest me something. I spent almost 3 hours trying different things but failed 😞
I'm not sure how to correctly set up head turns using the frontal workaround, because frontal is also used for head turns. So the issue you're running into is probably that the head turner behavior is just seeing the frontal view and making everything else disappear. I think you might be able to solve this by putting the head turner behavior directly on the inner head group? If it persists, please post a screenshot, video, or File > Export > Puppet (.puppet file) to adobe.com/go/chfeedback for more help.
Hello! Two minutes in you do an effect that makes the characters look more like traditional animation. You have two frames of the character playing rapidly back and forth, how are you doing that in Character animator?
That's called "cycle layers" animation, and I talk about it in the triggers tutorial: th-cam.com/video/WzYJbZYhxmk/w-d-xo.html. The character Scribbles on okaysamurai.com/puppets/ also does this technique.
@@okaysamurai Wow, thank you so so much for responding. I appreciate all the effort you've put into all of these resources. I know it's not easy, we are all super grateful for your commitment. 🙏🏽🙌🏽
Usually this means the Limb IK behavior is placed somewhere it can't find the handles, or the handles are taken over by something else instead. I would compare against the example puppets. If it persists, please post a screenshot, video, or File > Export > Puppet (.puppet file) to adobe.com/go/chfeedback for more direct help.
Hard to diagnose here - if the problem persists, please upload a screenshot, video, or your File > Export > Puppet file to the official forums at adobe.com/go/chfeedback so we can take a closer look.
I have a question regarding the renaming of the face behavior as body on the top level puppet? Why are you renaming the face behavior there instead of the frontal view?
So you could really call these whatever you want - in this case with two Face behaviors, the "Body" one moves the body the most, while the "Face" one is more about moving the head. It's more about clarity to the animator in record mode to understand where the focus for each behavior is.
@@okaysamurai Thanks, I understand that, but my question is shouldn't that change be made to the face property of the frontal layer rather than the Yoga2 top character layer? If not, it's just confusing to me, but I'll reconcile the issue in my mind:)
So if I look at the June puppet in the Limb IK pack, she has two Face behaviors: one on the "June" top level and the "Head" level. I renamed the top level "June" one to "Body" because, like all the other behaviors up there, it kinda controls everything below it; in this case, the full mesh of the character. I believe putting this on Frontal instead would still work in this case, but in cases of multiple views it wouldn't. And then the second Face behavior, on Head, is really only focused on the head itself. Bottom line: this is a pretty hacky solution and I hope we create better ways in the future to have this work with just 1 face behavior! Does that help?
These are great tutorials! I'm having a problem where I've place dragable points on the hands but they're still sort of frozen in place. I'm thinking is this because I had it auto-sync to pre-recorded audio? I have my puppet rigged and selected but when I play the scene, she's just frozen in place.
For characters like these it's probably because they have a default replay that is locking their hands into a certain prerecorded position. Look at their triggers and try unselecting the defaults in their "poses" group or wherever (turn off the lit up finger icon) - and you should regain control!
When i used Eliza from past walk example and i add Limp IK i found that the both leg are separate from the body when i walk , how to fix this Issue , thanks in advance for this great efforts
Limb IK and Walk don't get along that well. I wouldn't add Limb IK for a single view puppet, and I would only add it to a standing view for a 3 view walk puppet. If the problem persists, please upload a screenshot, video, or your File > Export > Puppet file to the official forums at adobe.com/go/chfeedback so we can take a closer look.
When I have both Frontal and Head tagged as "Head" my head floats around all over the place. I have to turn off the "Head" tag on the head, and then I'm back to the stiff-necked problem we started with.
Hard to diagnose here - If the problem persists, please upload a screenshot, video, or your File > Export > Puppet file to the official forums at adobe.com/go/chfeedback so we can take a closer look. If you look at the working version of June as an example download, it's a very particular setup you need to do of independence, behaviors, and tagging.
When i Make my character jump his legs starts to come close to each but your YOGA character legs are straight while jumping and in the air can u tell me how i can keep my legs straight in the air and while jumping (i have added sticks to the legs also)
Hmmm I haven't seen that before. I would triple check the leg tags and IK behavior parameters and make sure they are exactly like June and Baker in the IK Puppet Pack. If you still can't figure it out, please post a screenshot of what's happening to adobe.com/go/chfeedback for more direct help.
Is it possible to copy the rigging to another character if the characters are identical except for say their outfit (that's on a separate layer)? Trying to save time rigging across multiple characters. Thanks in advance!
Yes, the easiest way to do this is to save a copy or duplicate the puppet - then select the copy in the project panel in CH, click the blue link on the right, and find the file to replace it. If the files are structured the same way, it should work great!
Just finished a course on Lynda about creating and animating a character in AE. Wanted to learn the tougher, manual way first, and I can confirm doing a whole cartoon the old fashion way is hell. So glad Character Animator exists to streamline the heck out of the whole process. Can't wait to start some of your tutorials.
I was to say the same thing! This video really helps you appreciate character animator
I was actually just looking for a video on this when the notification popped up. Talk about synchronization.
Okay Samurai has the Best Adobe Tutorials I have found.
It's cool how you improved arm IK into this...character animator is one of the best software for animation
I'm coming to life with all this advice. With love, T-Hawk.
Thanks for the shout out, we rig all our puppets with the extra face behaviour and it works great :)
really appreciate the time and effort that has gone into making these tutorials! super helpful!!
What would I do without your page! Your the best man. Thanks for all the great tutorials! Learned CA solely by watching your vids.
Dave you are officially my superhero for 2020.
Is there any way to sync the left and right arms movement ? Or maybe a way to watch the pre recorded movements while we are recording a new one. Thanks !
Yep! Two dragger behaviors. Check out th-cam.com/video/XolxHNixBpA/w-d-xo.html.
@@okaysamurai Wow ! Thanks a lot, exactly what I needed😄
I am a beginner in animation and I am really lucky that I discovered this channel.... Many thanks bro... You earned a subscriber btw...
highly underrated youtuber and teacher!
this is one spectacular update Dave!!
Character animator is really great.it is saving so much of time..thanks for advanced features
Hey! Thanks for the shoutout @okaysamurai! Love limb ik!!!🤙🏽🤙🏽❤️
Haha awesome, glad you got to see that. Great character! Is the final piece out yet?
@@okaysamurai not yet. Missing some key scenes that haven’t been drawn yet.
Thank You!!! This Tutorial opens my eyes on what I can do. Amazing!
Just some product design feedback on the elbow bend behaviour, it would be nice to have auto hand swap when, the elbow bends past 180 degrees into the other direction, when your arm is bent outwards you're likely to see the open hand side of a hand, however if the arm bends inwards so the hand moves towards the torso, it is likely to display the back of the hand. This could then be set so, that any hand set you have you can have a front and back hand for each hand design so whenever a specific hand design is toggled and the hands are being moved around, the hand also faces the expected direction. this change is likely to occur at the elbo change point, and could be a trigger setting below auto arm bend.
Thanks so much Okay Samurai, your videos have been as valuable as the software itself, you kick @ss.
Thanks Dave for going through this process. Also great job on Adobe Max
I must say you are doing great work dude, Thanks for teaching things in detailed. I really appreciate your hard work
Thank you. Thanks to you, I'm studying hard. I'll watch all the videos!!
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS VIDEO!!!! I am finally understanding Limb IK. I watched your video but some stuff was outdated. Thanks again!
You're my actual hero. Thank you 🙏🏼
Thank you for your videos you've Givin me a solid foundation.
You videos are so so so good! Thanks to you I have learned how to animate in a few days!!!
thanks Dave, pretty cool, comprehensive tutorial!
I was having a problem with the Evans robot puppet that I was able to solve with this tutorial. In recording the scene, I would bend the left arm up, turn on the weapon, and shoot fire upward. However, when playing back the scene, the weapon would point downward and shoot fire downward. I turned off Auto Arm Bend, and this seems to have fixed the issue. Thanks!
I’m buying it now. I’m excited to start working.
Really really appreciate all the tutorials and tips. Keep it coming! and THANK YOU!
Great addition to the amazing software. Thanks so much (jumping of joy)
Wow you are amazing. Pleasure to watch you and your work.
Yes… I still find myself checking out your tutorials! Sometimes the basics find a way to hide (at times) 😂
I have been looking for this!! Thank you😁
OMG! You're so good! Thanks a lot for sharing all these :) I always dreamed about making animations. I can't believe that it can come true 🥲
Thanks Dave Amazing waiting for more tutorials and more App's devolving 👍😍
Hi , help please. I did limb ik for some of my characters, but some of them have a pin 📌 point, that don’t move when I drag the head,
For Limb IK we recommend not adding fixed handles (at least, on non-independent parts) as those can create pulling/pinching effects on those parts. I don't believe any of the example puppets shown here have any fixed handles. If you absolutely have to have one, try making that part independent so it won't affect the rest of the puppet.
@@okaysamurai i dont have fixed parts
also there are no draggable point on the same part
Sounds like you might need some more direct help. If it persists, please post a screenshot, video, or File > Export > Puppet (.puppet file) to adobe.com/go/chfeedback for more help.
I've had that issue in the past and it took me a while to realize it was the anchor point. Click on the puppet name to see if the anchor is located in that area. Sometimes it needs to be maneuvered around until you find a sweet spot or it makes the puppet looks like it's pinned to a particular spot.
@@Dramadonia I already tried, not helping : (
Amazing, great tutorial. Thank You
how is this video not getting a few million views?!
You are amazing bro
That was great, answered some of the issues I was having too - extra bonus there! Thank you so much!
This is awesome!!! Huge update. I love your videos Okay Samurai! I also have a question, with the jumping character with the baseball cap, he had a traditional animation feel because his layers were looping! How can I do that that's one of the things i've been missing about character animator!!!
Yeah, so if you look in Rig mode, for most of his parts I have them as groups with two layers inside and a Cycle Layers behavior added to the group. So basically I just drew every layer twice and the behavior cycles between the two states. It makes for a cool effect for sure!
This video has given me life.....
Thank you !
This is amazing! Keep up the good work!
Amazing
Nice
Awesome Work Dave !
Brilliant Dave! Thank you!!
Can you have one of these limb ik set ups with frontal and independent head....2 head rig with head turner behaviours +frontal+side profiles+quarter profiles ...also draggable?
Maybe...? A lot of this can still feel experimental when you get into the hacks of adding extra heads. I would try it with a simple stick figure rig and see if you can get it to work. If the problem persists, please upload a screenshot, video, or your File > Export > Puppet file to the official forums at adobe.com/go/chfeedback so we can take a closer look.
GREAT DAVE!
Mr. Werner, this has got to be the most amazing adobe software that's been launched. Everything is so incredible! I think I may actually realize my dreams of being an animator! My CC just update Character Animator to 2021. Do you have any videos that showcase and demonstrate , if any, the new features? Thank you for all that you've done and continue to do!
There isn't a lot of big stuff in the new release - primarily behind the scenes stuff and bug fixes - but I might do a video about some of the new puppets (Hopscotch on the homepage and Alex & Sam on adobe.com/go/chexamples) soon.
Hi. Some time ago I had a character created for me since I can't draw BUT I didn't realize that the arm goes behind the head when I need it in front of the head or at least the hand to the elbow. Any advice or video for that one? It's set up where the left arm in part of the body so I can't move it alone without making the whole body in front of the head
Yep, check out: th-cam.com/video/7pgm_u4VkQk/w-d-xo.htmlsi=YxqvbMrSVS8PweSy&t=287
Hey there, the eyeballs and red dots on my behaviours in the properties panel are not there for me how they are there for you. How can I get them to appear?
Make sure you are in Pro mode and the "Record" workspace. Eyeballs and red dots don't show up if you're in Rig mode.
but what should I do if I have my head turns (Frontal, left & riht quarters) inside of the head group. would it be ok to have two frontal groups?
This should be possible, but you may need to play with behavior placement to make sure the head turner is picking up the correct views (same issue when adding head turner + a walking 3-view character). If you get stuck, please upload a screenshot, video, or your File > Export > Puppet file to the official forums at adobe.com/go/chfeedback so we can take a closer look.
Thank you so much for this! I am having trouble figuring out how to make him just sit down at a bench.
Thanks! Open up LimbIKBot from the LimbIK pack on okaysamurai.com/puppets - if you just drag his neck down and to the right he seems to "sit" on something. I would take a screenshot of a character in this position, bring it into Photoshop, and draw the bench with that relative height so it looks good with him on it.
Amazing. thank you
Thank you bro
I start after adobe anime to day after i see your video thank you its not easy but i hope to learn
I've built my puppet matching "June's" layers in Photoshop & CH, tagging, everything, but when I go to my scene and try to raise either arm that is set with draggable points on the wrists, the entire arm floats off the torso. Can't figure out what's the problem. And the head floats a bit as well. Frustrated because I've watched this video over and over and can't find the disconnect.
Hard to diagnose here, but my best guess might be that something in the Body/torso might be independent or the arm origins aren't lined up with the body, causing it not to attach? That's the best idea I can think of, but for more direct help, please post a screenshot, video, or File > Export > Puppet (.puppet file) to adobe.com/go/chfeedback.
Hello :), I have a question for the hands. When I put them on the hips like your first character in the video, they stay on her hip when she moves her torso to the left and right. At my character the hands don’t stay on the same spot on the hips when the rest of the body moves they kind of hover to right and left with the torso. Did you tweak that afterwards or are thy stuck to the hip with a magnet or so? Thanks for your awesome Videos
Hmmm, the only reasons I can think of this happening are a) Limb IK > Pin has different settings for the wrists instead of the defaults of puppet / 100%, or b) the arms are rigged differently and are creating a floating issue. If the problem persists, please upload a screenshot, video, or your File > Export > Puppet file to the official forums at adobe.com/go/chfeedback so we can take a closer look.
How do you define the ground plane? I seem to be able to drag the Yoga June character by the body up and down and the feet won't go down past a certain line near the bottom of the screen. Instead the rest of the body comes down, giving the illusion of a ground plane. I can't seem to recreate this with my own character.
The ground is wherever the feet start out. So position your character using the Transform behavior, and that will be where things start. If the problem persists, please upload a screenshot, video, or your File > Export > Puppet file to the official forums at adobe.com/go/chfeedback so we can take a closer look.
Hey Dave I did the exact thing you did with the frontal and the head (crowned) but I have a right quarter as well and when I turn the character disappear from the scene how can I fix this?
It sounds like CH is trying to swap between the front and quarter views but not all the artwork is under the right quarter tag so it isn't coming along for the ride. I have not seen the system I'm showing here work with head turner personally, but if anyone knows how to do it, it would be the Digital Puppets UK guys - check them out, I think they do this technique with head turns as well.
Hi sorry to bother you but I may need some help. I have follow the tutorial to rig my own puppet, but my puppet can not detect the floor therefore the leg can't not bend when I drag the puppet. I have also downloaded the free file that you provided, but they also cannot detect the floor. Am I missing something in the tutorial?
The only reasons I can imagine the sample files aren't working is either a) you have an older version (current is 3.4), or 2) the Limb IK settings are different, like set to arms only. If it persists, please post a screenshot, video, or File > Export > Puppet (.puppet file) to adobe.com/go/chfeedback for more help.
Im having trouble with the arm I properly rigged but when I click and drag it drag the whole arm not stick it to the shoulder
Make sure the body is not independent and the arm group is set to weld or hinge and not free in the "attach style" parameter on the right. If the problem persists, please upload a screenshot, video, or your File > Export > Puppet file to the official forums at adobe.com/go/chfeedback so we can take a closer look.
some limbs parts are not attached to the body when moving it. Did i forget an step?
If parts aren't moving along, make sure their origin (dotted line circle that appears in the middle of the artwork by default) is attached to something. For example, the origin of the arms should be by the shoulders. If the problem persists, please upload a screenshot, video, or your File > Export > Puppet file to the official forums at adobe.com/go/chfeedback so we can take a closer look.
Great tut as always. Are there any hacks for animating 4 legged animal characters?
Here's one way to do it with the Walk behavior, Limb IK could work as well: th-cam.com/video/gv_2Upvtm-M/w-d-xo.html
@@okaysamurai THanks! I will try that.
Hi Dave! Sorry, I must be annoying with all those questions. ;) This might be the last one! I was wondering: I am using a character with 4 different views, that I can switch between (1 frontal, one profile, one side, one back), I rigged them all up, no issues. Now the genius part is that the Limb IK Behavior, the Motion Library and the Body Behavior on the Master Level affect (all) the views. So I can animate something with the Frontal View, make the puppet dance, and then change in between the different views and I don't have to adjust/add everything again. Also the ground level stays the same for all the views. So if I make my puppet bend in the frontal view, then switch to the side, the knees and ankles bend at the same position. So far, so awesome!! I am in love with the software.
However, for some reason, the Limb IK Behavior, Motion Library and Body Tag do not work on the back view. (the forth one in the hierarchy). I tried everything, mirroring the left/right tags, etc. If I give the back layer its extra Limb IK, Motion Library and Body Tag, it works. BUT it is a bit buggy with the ground layer. So if in the Front view my character bends its knees and ankles, I have to add the same motion to the back view, which would be fine, but for some reason, it does not natively have a feel for the ground layer. I have to drag the feet just a little bit, then it finds a ground layer, but it seems to different and more buggy than the main ground level from the upper IK Behavior Tag. Even though the feet are on the exact same position.
Now my question: Is the IK-Behavior limited in some way to only be able to affect a certain number of tags in the hierarchy? Or at what point does it get confused with too many tags? I am just trying to understand the problem and couldn't find anything on google. If I loaded the puppet with only the back view, the master IK Tag worked.
I mean, I wouldn't mind to give every layer view its own Limb IK, etc. Behaviors, I already tried that, but then the ground layer does not match up all between them and it's super glitchy. This way, I now at least have consistency between the frontal, profile and side view. But it would be the icing on the cake, if the back view would also follow. :) As a side note: This also affects the face behavior! So it's not just limb IK.
So I believe the way this works is that behaviors are carried through to view tags. So when you name something frontal or left profile, that gets tagged as a new "view" and everything inside it should work the same as any other view. Because we don't have a back view, my best guess is that view wasn't tagged, and so it's not working as expected. If you tag the back folder as an additional view you're not using, like left quarter, then I think it should work.
If the problem persists, please upload a screenshot, video, or your File > Export > Puppet file to the official forums at adobe.com/go/chfeedback so we can take a closer look.
Oh wow, you are on to something! I changed the name for the back view from "+Back" zu the German one and all over sudden it worked but now the Side one is not working. I named it back to "+Back" to see if it stopped working, to replicate the error, but no - now the Side now is refusing no matter what I name the views. :D Also tried to name it a bunch of things. Hmmm... I will try my luck with naming views and if I fail, I'll upload the puppet, thank you! :)
Alright, it seems to be an issue of both naming and order. No matter name and order, the Frontal and Frontal Profile always get recognize. But depending on how I order and name Side und Back, on of them does not work. But it's not consistent bug. So I think I'll upload the puppet. Is it then downloadable for everyone? I'm a bit afraid to just make the puppet public by accident since it's for a client.
I should also note that I don't intend to control the puppet via Body. I just want the limb IK to work. So I haven't tagged them as views, I just named them in photoshop.
@@okaysamurai I take everything back, you were 100% right!!! Even though I changed the names in photoshop and in ChA, because before I had them named as Frontal and Frontal Profile, they were still tagged with the frontal face. No idea why always one of the additional ones worked since they weren't tagged but it now it WORKS!! Wow, man, you saved me a headache, was going crazy the whole day about this issue! Amazing!! Thank you!
Hey How can I bend my chrctr torso while he is sitting because it looks weird that legs are bending and of chrctr but the torso is straight so any tip on this?
If they're sitting maybe don't use the double head rigging treatment I show here for the Yoga character - you'll get more body movement if you rig it more like a traditional character.
I moved the characters right arm from rest pose to a wave pose. I created a 2 frame take and then dragged that take to be 1 second long, i added easing and created a replay trigger. It worked perfectly. I then did exactly the same thing for the left arm, but when I play the replay, the arm flips in the wrong direction before getting to the wave pose. No matter what I try it will not do what the right arm does even though they are rigged exactly the same. Any suggestions?
Hmmm, hard to diagnose here but if anything was recorded for the left arm, even as part of the right arm replay, then it will compete with any additional movements, leading to weird results. It could also be a bug. If it persists, please post a screenshot, video, or File > Export > Puppet (.puppet file) to adobe.com/go/chfeedback for more help.
My character mouth is moving with it's body when i enable walk behavior, how can i fix that? And the limb is not working somehow, my characters arms are still stretching enlessly.
Hard to diagnose here - for more direct help, please post a screenshot, video, or File > Export > Puppet (.puppet file) to adobe.com/go/chfeedback. Making the mouth group independent should help it not move with the body.
Hello, I do not have the option for Limb IK in my Character Animator program. Can you tell me which version you are using, or maybe where to find it outside of behaviours maybe?
You most likely have an older version. I'm using version 4.0.
I don't get yellow outline instead I get square around each leg or so? Is this the normal 2021 update?
Make sure the "show mesh outline" toggle is on in the bottom left corner of the Rig puppet panel. Yellow means what parts are connected together in a mesh. It doesn't always show up for every layer though, depending on your setup.
hi, when I record and drag the hand, it's ok, but I try to record again but now I want to move the other hand, its working good but I can't see what does the other hand do in realtime? is there a way to fix that?
A second dragger behavior lets you do this: th-cam.com/video/XolxHNixBpA/w-d-xo.html
@@okaysamurai thanks, you're awesome
Is this additional frontal head view still a requirement/recommendation?
Not required, but still recommended if you want that extra head tilt.
I LOVED YOUR CHANNEL YOU ARE GREAT
Nice sir i have a question how to deshaped the character like tom hit the jerry with a stick is it animated using cycle layers and triggers or something else
You could do that with cycle layers, replays, or just using dragger.
THANK YOU!!!
I made a puppet with three profiles and that's was amazing using Limb Ik, but I wonder why when I use Immediate walking the character always start walking to the right?
I would only recommend using Limb IK for the standing view, otherwise it will compete with the walk behavior (they both want the same tags). See how Eliza on www.okaysamurai.com/puppets/ is set up - I would copy her setup exactly. If it persists, please post a screenshot, video, or File > Export > Puppet (.puppet file) to adobe.com/go/chfeedback for more help.
Hello, thank you for this tutorial. Just a question about the tagging of shoulders and hips: shouldn't they be made on the body layer ? I'm a bit confused... :))
In general, for most body behaviors (Limb IK, Walk, Body, and a new one coming soon), there can be subtle differences if you put the shoulders and hips on the body vs. the limbs. Bottom line: either is considered correct, and if something isn't working, try the other way!
@@okaysamurai thank you!
Hi , can you show us how to convert the puppet from photoshop back (or correctly save) to CH ? I’d make an edit, but it when i save an entirely new puppet (that i don’t know how to rig) is created. It doesn’t even read the face anymore and saves as “.psp”
Hmmm, I've never seen a psp file before - not sure what that is. I cover this in the beginning of th-cam.com/video/7GKCw4f1UrI/w-d-xo.html - if you edit a PSD or AI file coming from CH (either clicking the icon in the project panel or going to Edit > Edit Original), you will open up the linked file, and if you save, the CH character will automatically update. If it persists, please post a screenshot, video, or File > Export > Puppet (.puppet file) to adobe.com/go/chfeedback for more help.
I'm having a problem with walking cycles, that get more pronouncing when I put Limb IK on it. I start reseting the camera, to have my face aligned, then when the character start walking, it get short, and when limb ik is on, it walk with bended knees. Super strange. The only way to minimize that here is not using limb ik. Is there a fix for it? Using the latest Character Animator from Adobe Creative Clouds. (not beta)
Limb IK and Walk can "fight" over the same handles, causing problems. We recommend only using Limb IK for the standing position in a 3-view walk and not the left/right profiles because of this. Just put the behavior on your front/standing view only, not at the root, and it should work. If it persists, please post a screenshot, video, or File > Export > Puppet (.puppet file) to adobe.com/go/chfeedback for more direct help.
Oh YEAH ! Hacky way of fixing the head but it's getting HOTTER and HOTTER !
Is the program online and not necessary to buy it, and is it possible to download it on the mobile phone?
No, CH is currently a desktop program only, not online or mobile yet. www.adobe.com/products/character-animator.html
Hello, i want know if he capture the moves of other body beyond of head ?
Not yet! Currently you need to use the mouse to drag the other limbs around like I show in this video.
I have everything tagged correctly but my libs are still stretching way too far, what else can I do to stop that? Even when I set my stretchiness to 0 it still stretches all over.
If you're still seeing stretching it means the IK isn't working - I would triple check your behavior and all the tags against the example characters' setups. If it persists, please post a video, screenshot, or your File > Export > Puppet to adobe.com/go/chfeedback for more direct help.
Very good 🙂
Hi... Noob here just started.... can we export a recorded movement and add it to the list? Thanks if you can reply
I'm not sure what list you're talking about, but you can record movements and turn them into triggerable replays. th-cam.com/video/mZioGOAt8RE/w-d-xo.htmlsi=T5xmy75TaNEG7YVO
pls what is the best way to save a file in character animator? This is like the third time I've lost intricate files after saving it sometimes with ctrl S even after I save with save as character animator project
Nothing should ever be lost - everything is auto-saved. If the problem persists, please upload a screenshot or description of what is happening exactly to the official forums at adobe.com/go/chfeedback so the developers can take a closer look.
Hi Dave
When want to use limb IK on hand but dont want to use weld feature instead I want to rotate like hing from elbow can you please suggest me something. I spent almost 3 hours trying different things but failed 😞
Try this concept: drive.google.com/file/d/1FChn0PqCudGjFydjKlgwiUbaeiGWQPiO/view?usp=sharing
@@okaysamurai Thank you so much for instant reply brother 🙌
Hi i did the frontal workaround as in the video, but now when i turn my head the character disappears. Do i need to make a full body for all angles?
I tired assigning the all angle tags to the body folder but that didn't solve it.
I'm not sure how to correctly set up head turns using the frontal workaround, because frontal is also used for head turns. So the issue you're running into is probably that the head turner behavior is just seeing the frontal view and making everything else disappear. I think you might be able to solve this by putting the head turner behavior directly on the inner head group? If it persists, please post a screenshot, video, or File > Export > Puppet (.puppet file) to adobe.com/go/chfeedback for more help.
Hello! Two minutes in you do an effect that makes the characters look more like traditional animation. You have two frames of the character playing rapidly back and forth, how are you doing that in Character animator?
That's called "cycle layers" animation, and I talk about it in the triggers tutorial: th-cam.com/video/WzYJbZYhxmk/w-d-xo.html. The character Scribbles on okaysamurai.com/puppets/ also does this technique.
@@okaysamurai Wow, thank you so so much for responding. I appreciate all the effort you've put into all of these resources. I know it's not easy, we are all super grateful for your commitment. 🙏🏽🙌🏽
sometimes u want to show your hands in front and behind the torso.
How to do that!??
See here: th-cam.com/video/7pgm_u4VkQk/w-d-xo.html
i do everything by this tutorial and there is no handles in LIMB IK all zeros...
Usually this means the Limb IK behavior is placed somewhere it can't find the handles, or the handles are taken over by something else instead. I would compare against the example puppets. If it persists, please post a screenshot, video, or File > Export > Puppet (.puppet file) to adobe.com/go/chfeedback for more direct help.
I tried doing everything you taught but my legs are not bending.. please help
Hard to diagnose here - if the problem persists, please upload a screenshot, video, or your File > Export > Puppet file to the official forums at adobe.com/go/chfeedback so we can take a closer look.
I have a question regarding the renaming of the face behavior as body on the top level puppet? Why are you renaming the face behavior there instead of the frontal view?
So you could really call these whatever you want - in this case with two Face behaviors, the "Body" one moves the body the most, while the "Face" one is more about moving the head. It's more about clarity to the animator in record mode to understand where the focus for each behavior is.
@@okaysamurai Thanks, I understand that, but my question is shouldn't that change be made to the face property of the frontal layer rather than the Yoga2 top character layer? If not, it's just confusing to me, but I'll reconcile the issue in my mind:)
So if I look at the June puppet in the Limb IK pack, she has two Face behaviors: one on the "June" top level and the "Head" level. I renamed the top level "June" one to "Body" because, like all the other behaviors up there, it kinda controls everything below it; in this case, the full mesh of the character. I believe putting this on Frontal instead would still work in this case, but in cases of multiple views it wouldn't. And then the second Face behavior, on Head, is really only focused on the head itself. Bottom line: this is a pretty hacky solution and I hope we create better ways in the future to have this work with just 1 face behavior! Does that help?
@@okaysamurai Yes, thank you for the in depth explanation.
These are great tutorials! I'm having a problem where I've place dragable points on the hands but they're still sort of frozen in place. I'm thinking is this because I had it auto-sync to pre-recorded audio? I have my puppet rigged and selected but when I play the scene, she's just frozen in place.
For characters like these it's probably because they have a default replay that is locking their hands into a certain prerecorded position. Look at their triggers and try unselecting the defaults in their "poses" group or wherever (turn off the lit up finger icon) - and you should regain control!
When i used Eliza from past walk example and i add Limp IK i found that the both leg are separate from the body when i walk , how to fix this Issue , thanks in advance for this great efforts
Limb IK and Walk don't get along that well. I wouldn't add Limb IK for a single view puppet, and I would only add it to a standing view for a 3 view walk puppet. If the problem persists, please upload a screenshot, video, or your File > Export > Puppet file to the official forums at adobe.com/go/chfeedback so we can take a closer look.
@@okaysamurai thanks for replying,i will retest with the 3 view and upload the export puppet❤️
When I have both Frontal and Head tagged as "Head" my head floats around all over the place. I have to turn off the "Head" tag on the head, and then I'm back to the stiff-necked problem we started with.
Hard to diagnose here - If the problem persists, please upload a screenshot, video, or your File > Export > Puppet file to the official forums at adobe.com/go/chfeedback so we can take a closer look. If you look at the working version of June as an example download, it's a very particular setup you need to do of independence, behaviors, and tagging.
@@okaysamurai I absolutely will do that! I'm sure I just missed a step, or misinterpreted something. thanks!
Fixed. The default "Head Position Strength" in the Face behavior was too high. I took it down to 20%, it all works beautifully now.
When i Make my character jump his legs starts to come close to each but your YOGA character legs are straight while jumping and in the air can u tell me how i can keep my legs straight in the air and while jumping (i have added sticks to the legs also)
Hmmm I haven't seen that before. I would triple check the leg tags and IK behavior parameters and make sure they are exactly like June and Baker in the IK Puppet Pack. If you still can't figure it out, please post a screenshot of what's happening to adobe.com/go/chfeedback for more direct help.
Hi Dave! Do you have any tutorial explaining how to set up an arm, so that it can move behind and in front of the body?
Usually we recommend picking one or the other: th-cam.com/video/7pgm_u4VkQk/w-d-xo.html
Is it possible to copy the rigging to another character if the characters are identical except for say their outfit (that's on a separate layer)? Trying to save time rigging across multiple characters. Thanks in advance!
Yes, the easiest way to do this is to save a copy or duplicate the puppet - then select the copy in the project panel in CH, click the blue link on the right, and find the file to replace it. If the files are structured the same way, it should work great!
@@okaysamurai Thank you! Your videos are amazing and inspiring.