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U
Unstable Focus
Inspiring
April 26, 2023
Answered

Motion Library - Either puppet head or body is all over the place

  • April 26, 2023
  • 3 replies
  • 1240 views

Hi

 

I'm having trouble getting my puppet to work properly with motion library. When i try the "recommended" approach as per Okay Samurai's video here: https://youtu.be/e85HGSAS80g?t=690 the head is ok but the body goes all out of whack. However, when i try the "normal" approach with a separate head group and the group profiles within (and i've tried varying combinations of dependent and independent), the head moves around all over the place (at the moment i'm trying dance/ginga.

 

Can anyone help me with the correct way to set up a character and should i have a puppet specific to motion library?

 

Puppet with "recommended" head set up here (RQ view only): https://drive.google.com/file/d/17HqL5-cSl4glPi2tD05oKTwNvAWs213a/view?usp=share_link

 

Puppet with "normal" head set up here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1p4qvs-g49n9M1RbktkKIf1WxbXvcDzgs/view?usp=sharing

 

Thanks!

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer j-saito

I went through both of your puppets. Here are my recommendations.

 

1. Puppet with "normal" head set up (the more complicated one with many views)

One major problem is this puppet has Transform behaviors everywhere. Even if you keep the transform values as defaults, Transform behaviors will still act on the puppet, causing tug-of-war with Motion Library and other behaviors. You only want to rig with Transform behaviors at all body parts when you want to key-frame everything for full control without relying on other behaviors.

 

2. Puppet with "recommended" head set up (RQ view only)

My version: https://shared-assets.adobe.com/link/3d2163cc-7252-452d-4f00-2201adf471c7

  • Walk: uncheck "foot pinning," switch Behavior Interaction to "Override"
  • Moved the Head tag from "Right Quarter" to the "Head" layer
  • Attached the "Head" layer to the "Body" layer using Leader-Follower (set to "Before IK")
  • Untagged Draggable from knees, ankles, and toes. Tagged Draggable on heels instead (IK on legs will only work with draggable heels)

 

Note: when animating my version with Walk, the head attachment lags by one frame because Walk in "Override" mode evaluates after Leader-Follower. Since your character has a huge beard covering the neck area, this is probably not an issue.

3 replies

J
Adobe Employee
j-saitoCorrect answer
Adobe Employee
April 28, 2023

I went through both of your puppets. Here are my recommendations.

 

1. Puppet with "normal" head set up (the more complicated one with many views)

One major problem is this puppet has Transform behaviors everywhere. Even if you keep the transform values as defaults, Transform behaviors will still act on the puppet, causing tug-of-war with Motion Library and other behaviors. You only want to rig with Transform behaviors at all body parts when you want to key-frame everything for full control without relying on other behaviors.

 

2. Puppet with "recommended" head set up (RQ view only)

My version: https://shared-assets.adobe.com/link/3d2163cc-7252-452d-4f00-2201adf471c7

  • Walk: uncheck "foot pinning," switch Behavior Interaction to "Override"
  • Moved the Head tag from "Right Quarter" to the "Head" layer
  • Attached the "Head" layer to the "Body" layer using Leader-Follower (set to "Before IK")
  • Untagged Draggable from knees, ankles, and toes. Tagged Draggable on heels instead (IK on legs will only work with draggable heels)

 

Note: when animating my version with Walk, the head attachment lags by one frame because Walk in "Override" mode evaluates after Leader-Follower. Since your character has a huge beard covering the neck area, this is probably not an issue.

    U
    Unstable FocusAuthor
    Inspiring
    April 28, 2023

    Thank you so much! I'll have a go with the puppet you altered and see how I get on. It's good to know that about how the behaviours work as i've been getting a lot of weird behaviours.

     

    I think some of the transforms I put due to not getting the animation I wanted. Would transforms on the eyelids also interfere with motion library as I have scenes where I need more control over eyelid movement.

     

    Also I noticed you added Leader/Follower, what is this doing?

    J
    Adobe Employee
    j-saito
    Adobe Employee
    April 28, 2023

    > Would transforms on the eyelids also interfere with motion library

     

    Most likely not with Motion Library, but they will fight with face-related behaviors.

    In the end, it is your choice - if you find manual keyframing everywhere to be the best way to get the animation you want, go for it. Just make sure you understand the consequence that your puppet may not work well with face tracking and so on.

     

    > I noticed you added Leader/Follower, what is this doing?

     

    Leader/Follower was the easiest way for me to attach the head to the body while making sure the puppet looks fine with Motion Library and/or Face behaviors (and reasonably well with Walk). The setup of Leader/Follower may get complicated for multiple views, though.

     

    One last note: I would consider moving the Walk behavior to the top level. This will allow you to switch back Walk's "Behavior Interaction" mode to "Combine." I will update my version with this change.

    k_oshiro
    Community Expert
    k_oshiroCommunity Expert
    Community Expert
    April 26, 2023

    Japanese was converted to English using translation software.

    Your puppet had a crown mark on the head layer.
    By removing the crown mark, the head and body are connected.

    Also, there was a head tag on the RightQuarter layer. I removed it.


    Here is a modified puppet 
    https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bgtQIBVPBfx-_kP-VmRnDCre4HnPRJLm/view?usp=sharing

    Thank You.

    k_oshiro(AdobeCommunityExpert)
      U
      Unstable FocusAuthor
      Inspiring
      April 27, 2023

      I just tried some different motions and it still has some problems, do you know how I can fix this?

      Parkour 1

      Parkour 2

      Thanks

      TheOriginalGC
      Community Expert
      TheOriginalGCCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      April 27, 2023

      You have a lot going on with your puppet, so it's not surprising to see that it doesn't mesh with some of the more extreme motions. I couldn't get ginga dance to work well, but the jazz dances worked fine. I don't have a great deal of experience with the motion library, so I'm not sure what to suggest. 

        TheOriginalGC
        Community Expert
        TheOriginalGCCommunity Expert
        Community Expert
        April 26, 2023

        We'll take a look at your puppets, but in the meantime, here are some puppets that work well with the Motion Library: Motion Library (adobe.com)

          U
          Unstable FocusAuthor
          Inspiring
          April 27, 2023

          Thank you, i will have a look at those as well

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