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inwils
inwils
Participant
August 7, 2020
Question

Just starting - questions

  • August 7, 2020
  • 2 replies
  • 523 views

Hi everyone,

Just starting out with the program and after building my first character and using it in a video on YouTube I have some questions - these will be basic and if they have been asked before then please do send me to the relevant post.

 

On the blank puppet, there is a green dotted line from the eyebrow tag and other facial features to the base of the head (image attached) - I don't seem to have this - what is it and how do I get it?

 

I'm trying to learn illustrator - is it worth continuing to learn this or just stay with photoshop?

 

What size should I make my puppets - as in pixels?

 

And finally - any suggestions for keeping calm during the rigging process 🤣🤣

 

Thanks

 

inwils

 

This topic has been closed for replies.

2 replies

Platty Puss
Platty Puss
Inspiring
August 7, 2020

Hi Inwils,

I would suggest, as Alan has stated, Illustrator gives you better images due to the vector artwork. There are minute differences in using a stroke on objects (AI outer stroke only, PS inside, center, outside strokes), however it makes little difference to me. In AI I select the 1920x1080 artboard.

 

I keep a spare computer to beat up. I have been programing computers since the 1970s and have a love-hate relationship. Rigging you will soon find out is an art form and a pain in the . . ..

 

Be well fellow pupeteer and have fun. -  Platty

    inwils
    inwilsAuthor
    Participant
    August 8, 2020

    Thanks for your reply - I'm not very creative at all, can't draw etc, so I like the shapes in Illustrator.

     

    Hope to develop my skills with the puppets not to make a career out of it, just to enjoy them and create some nice looking scenes

    ​inwils |Streamer | RPGer | YouTuber | Blogger | Podcaster |
    Platty Puss
    Platty Puss
    Inspiring
    August 8, 2020

    Hi Inwils,

       I must admit that I am not all that creative but I can copy. I have taken photos of people I like and used that as a basis for AI work. I put the image on the bottom layer and start building the elements. I start with the eyes since they are the most important. Then I build out from that. As an example, attached is a recreation of myself. Built up from a photo.

       Be well fellow pupeteer and have fun. - Platty

     
     
     
     
     

     

    alank99101739
    alank99101739
    Legend
    August 7, 2020

    The green dotted line is related to a concept of independence. You can specify where a child layer that is independent attaches to its parent. Normally for eyebrows I would just attach where the eyebrows are - no need for the long dotted line. I normally have one for the head attaching to the neck. I want the pivot point to be near say the chin, so i would drag the origin marker of the head (which is at the center of the head artwork by default) down over the neck near the bottom of the head.

     

    You do this for arms as well if independent. The origin will be in the center of the arm, but you want it to attach at the shoulder to the main body. So you drag the origin handle to where the shoulder overlaps with the body.

     

    Illustrator is vector artwork, which allows it to scale without pixelization. Eg i like to zoom in on the eyes sometimes. There is no other benefit I can think of. Many people use photoshop. I use illustrator because i want to be able to zoom in.

     

    What resolution? The higher the resolution, the less pixelization you will see and the slower the software will get. Think about the max zoom factor you want to use and the resolution of the video. If 1080 x 1920 and you want to zoom in x4 for head shots, then use at least 4k high artwork. That is a guide, not precise science. But if your drawing is 1k pixels high and you zoom in on the head then it will be clearly pixelated.

     

    Illustrator won't have this problem. I use 6000pt in illustrator myself, but no idea if it matters. I don't use photoshop- maybe look at some sample puppets and see what resolution they are, then try scaling them (zoom in with camera or use Scale in transform behavior) - how far can you zoom in before image quality is unacceptable?

     

    Keeping calm? I keep a baseball bat handy to threaten the computer with. Afterwards... expensive, but boy does it feel good!!!

      inwils
      inwilsAuthor
      Participant
      August 7, 2020

      Thank you - all very helpful - appreciate you taking the time to reply.

       

      I think I'll stick with illustrator for the time being 🙂

      ​inwils |Streamer | RPGer | YouTuber | Blogger | Podcaster |
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