Transform Data changing as I switch between puppets

Question

Hey all- I'm new to CA so this may be super basic.

I'm trying to get two puppets into a scene. When I drag PUPPET #1 into the scene it appears at 0,0/center screen. So I TRANSFORM X,Y to give the puppet a new position in the scene. So far, so good.

Then I add PUPPET #2 to the scene (and adjust its x,y as well).

But here's my challenge: as I toggle between the two puppets on the timeline, the selected puppet will be at its correct and just adjusted x,y transformed position but the other puppet (which - again- has had its transform x,y data adjusted) does not adhere to its newly adjusted x,y location.

Ex: I toggle on the timeline and PUPPET #1 does appear in the correct, adjusted x,y position but PUPPET #2 now seems to be ignoring its new x,y positions. The only way to get PUPPET #2 in the proper x,y position is to select it on the timeline. But this causes PUPPET #1 to now be positioned incorrectly.

My goal is to get the transform data for each puppet to stay locked regardless of which puppet I have selected on the timeline.

Does anyone know what I'm doing wrong? And if so, can you share/help me out? Thank you!

David

alank99101739 · Answer

I am not sure I exactly understand the details, but here is some info in case it helps.

It is important to understand whether you are editing the puppet data or the puppet-on-the-timeline data.
- If you click on the puppet in the project, you can see a "Puppet" group with the path name of the .ai or .psd file and "Auto-sync with Artwork". If you change settings here, it is the global default values for that puppet. So you can change say springyness for hair, and it will change all puppets in scenes.
- If you click on the puppet in a timeline, you get a set of values for that puppet instance. If you change a value like X and Y, you get this little "x" next to the value. This indicates you have overridden the default value, so the value for that puppet in that scene now wins.
- Then there are recorded values - you can record values for X,Y as they change on the timeline (e.g. so the puppet moves). You cannot see the values in this case, but you will see "Position X" in Puppets group in the timeline if a Position X value has been recorded for that puppet.

I think what may be happening is you change a value, but don't record it, and so it is resetting when you don't expect it? I am not exactly sure, but you could try arming the Position X,Y values (under Transform) and then record those values. The recording value will now override the puppet-in-scene and puppet-global values. For example, CTRL-1 does a one frame recording - that will lock the values in the scene.

The other possibility is you are scrubbing the timeline (moving the pointer). If you do this, it might be discarding changes you made but did not record. Maybe.

Another example of this is using the dragger. You can drag the dragger around, but various options do a "reset" on the puppet, e.g. if I move the timeline pointer, causing the drag values to be discarded. Could be something similar you are experiencing perhaps.

Anyway, I might not have all the details right above, but hopefully it gives you enough information to experiment some more. I must admit I still get confused at times the different levels of values and what overrides what. I think it the idea is the puppet-in-scene values are only intended to be changed so you can set them up before starting a recording - they get reset if you don't use them in a recording.

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