Linking multiple puppet pins to one null object

[hnnssth]

Hi there,

right now I'm dabbling in character animation and I'm looking for a setup of an furry/wobbly character. (No native speaker, so sorry in advance.)

I want to set up the body like this: outside puppet pins (1-13) for the 'fur', linked to Null1, puppet pins (14-18, on the same layer) linked to Null2.
My goal is to animate the Nulls separately to achieve some kind of delayed movement of the outside part of the body.

My question: how do I link multiple puppet pins to one Null; what expression could I use?
Because pick-whipping the position of the puppet pins to the position of the Null results of course in a changed position of the pins.
I guess it has something to do with offsetting every pin, but is there a way to do this without entering offset-values into every puppet pin-expression?

Thanks in advance and sorry for the slightly confusing questions,

Hannes

[Dan Ebberts · Accepted solution]

You need a point of reference, which could be the null's position at time = 0, like this:

p = thisComp.layer("Null 1").transform.position;

value + (p.value - p.valueAtTime(0))

Note that nothing will happen until you animate (keyframes or expression) the null.

Dan

[hnnssth]

Mr Ebert, you're truly a wonderful person!

Thank you so much.

[edit]
Just realizing; you're Dan Ebbert from MotionScript.com! Cool!
Been a fan and heavy user of your work for years. Obviously not a very attentive learner, but nevertheless.

Kind regards and thanks for your vital work,

Hannes