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El Wombat
El Wombat
Inspiring
June 20, 2017
Answered

How to smooth transform a background for a walking illusion

  • June 20, 2017
  • 2 replies
  • 1371 views

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…

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer oksamurai

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.

2 replies

Emily_Watts
Emily_Watts
Inspiring
July 25, 2018

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.

U
ubanim95860298
Participating Frequently
June 20, 2017

I so wish they had KEYFRAMES.

    El Wombat
    El WombatAuthor
    Inspiring
    June 20, 2017

    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…?

    oksamurai
    Community Manager
    oksamuraiCommunity ManagerCorrect answer
    Community Manager
    June 20, 2017

    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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