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El Wombat
El Wombat
Inspiring
Jun 20, 2017 11:45 AM UTC
Answered

How to smooth transform a background for a walking illusion

Hello,

is there a way to move a background (or any bg element like clouds for that matter) WITHIN CH?

While I CAN transform any element and drag it manually through a scene, I don't seem to find a way to do this:

Element A, kindly move from x-position 1 to x-pos. 2 in amount of time (* seconds).

Just like I can easily do in Pr or Ae. And yes, I COULD, of course use these, but it would be nice to be able to do as much as possible in CH and it doesn't seem to be a tremendously complex feature so I wonder if I just miss s.th. or whether it may be added in the future?

That way I would be able to move a bg so as to create a walking illusion for my character or if it's standing move some clouds or birds. I HAVE done this by mouse-drag-changing the transform settings or a draggable handle of a bird and some clouds but it didn't seem to be a very elegant solution and neither is it incredibly smooth to move an object that way.

Thank you very much…

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oksamurai
oksamuraiCorrect answer
Legend
Jun 20, 2017 3:42 PM UTC

The only way to do this currently would be to arm Transform > Position X, record the background in one place, then adjust and record it in another, and blend the top one so it eases in. But you don't have a lot of control.

I would say this is currently better suited for After Effects. I treat Character Animator as my actors/actresses and After Effects as their stage.

Keyframes have been requested often and I agree - it should be way easier to do stuff like this. We will be addressing workflows like this for sure in future updates.

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5 replies

Emily_Watts
Emily_Watts
Inspiring
Jul 25, 2018 10:18 PM UTC

As an update, in case anyone comes upon this old thread looking for info, Okay Samurai featured a hack to create a moving background and foreground within CH, using the Walk behavior.

Here's a link to the video - it's the "Nuketown Camera Hack" segment at 6:33.

Character Animator Tips & Tricks (February 2018) - YouTube

Essentially, you tag your background and foreground as "Hip" body parts. Then you enable the walk behavior with 0% Strength (so it doesn't bob up and down), and you set a negative value for the Body Speed if you have a character walking in the scene and want the background to move in the opposite direction of the character. The video above does a great job of explaining in detail.

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ubanim95860298
Participating Frequently
Jun 20, 2017 1:39 PM UTC

I so wish they had KEYFRAMES.

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    El Wombat
    El WombatAuthor
    Inspiring
    Jun 20, 2017 3:15 PM UTC

    My guess is that Adobe wanted to get rid of Keyframes for a more simple interface and usability altogether, but I'm afraid that the result is that some of the most basic things like moving an object from a to b using keyframes for positions over a certain time start to become harder to do than need be.

    We'll see, maybe them wizards are onto a different solution while we are wildguessing…?

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    oksamurai
    oksamuraiCorrect answer
    Legend
    Jun 20, 2017 3:42 PM UTC

    The only way to do this currently would be to arm Transform > Position X, record the background in one place, then adjust and record it in another, and blend the top one so it eases in. But you don't have a lot of control.

    I would say this is currently better suited for After Effects. I treat Character Animator as my actors/actresses and After Effects as their stage.

    Keyframes have been requested often and I agree - it should be way easier to do stuff like this. We will be addressing workflows like this for sure in future updates.

    Translate
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