Workflow between the animator and illustrator

Question

Hi,I am working on a project where I am getting help from an illustrator to do all of the artwork (characters and backgrounds) in Illustrator for our team. Since Character Animator is new both for me and the illustrator, I am sending back comments and edits on some of the illustrator files to the illustrator which she then merges with any other edits she has done and sends them back. I copy and replace the .AI files in my project folder. This has not been a problem for me yet, but I sense it will force re-rigging in the future?Should we start exporting .puppet files back and forth? And what is the optimal workflow here? Will I have to delete old puppets from a scene and then replace them and re-do recordings? Thanks!

oksamurai · Answer

Sharing AI files is probably the easiest way to go. And if you have differing versions, you can always relink artwork (see 11:30 here):

So if I were you, I'd have the illustrator send you updated AI files that you just relink. But .puppets could work too - once a .puppet is imported, if you highlight the puppet in your project panel and press ctrl + e (win) or command + e (mac), you'll open up the AI or PSD file, and could relink from there if need be.

The one thing to note is that major structural changes in your AI or PSD might not always sync exactly as expected, leading to lost rigging - CH can't (yet) always remember a group or layer if it gets moved around or put into a new group. For me, I do light / loose rigging (add a few fixed / draggables / sticks to get some basic structure), but wait until the art feels complete for more final rigging. This is something we are actively working on making better in the future.

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