When I change the name of a puppet it loses its rigging - HELP

Report · Apr 06, 2019

Hi,

I downloaded a free puppet (Tull the cat) that worked great. I wanted to edit the color and save the puppet under a differenname, but when I import the new colored puppet it is not rigged like the original.

I did not change any of the rigging... I simply renames it so as not to make a mistake on the original puppet.

Please help.

Thanks

Report · Apr 06, 2019

Did you import the puppet again or just re-import its artwork file? Re-importing just the artwork (psd/ai) will not include all the rigging that the puppet file includes. There is some basic addition of behaviors and tagging of certain layers based on their names, but the control panel and triggers would not be recreated.

DT

Report · Apr 06, 2019

From within the program...

I went to edit original (puppet)

I made some superficial changes and renamed the puppet.

How can I rename the original file and keep all the rigging the same.

The reason I want to rename the file is so I can have a separate puppet

based on the original rig.

Report · Apr 08, 2019

Since it came from a puppet file you can import it again and the two puppets will have their own rigging and artwork files (importing a puppet file copies the files and rigging into your project, importing again makes a new copy).

If you save the PSD to a new name, you can also use the puppet properties panel (visible when the puppet is selected in the project panel) and the path in that panel can be clicked to point it to a different psd file. Most basic edits (like changing the colors) should preserve rigging. More complex edits to the hierarchy/structure might require you to re-rig portions of the puppet.

DT

Report · Aug 19, 2020

The same question if I have similiar puppets structure and only some slight of variations (like in South Park characters with only hair and clothings are different while the rest are the same), how a rigging of one puppet to another?

Report · Aug 19, 2020

Did you ever figure out how to fix this issue?

Report · Aug 19, 2020

Yes. Changing even the slightest naming will destroy your entire rig.

Not only that,

So one time I decided, in the middle of the animating process, to add a mobile phone into the hand of the puppet. So I opened up Illustrator and create a mobile phone and add it into the hand. Then I group the hand and the phone layer (without giving a name) and change the name of the group as "hand" and the formerly named hand layer is put to default as "path/shape". But you know what? A trigger for that hand is missing. The naming is exact, the hierarchy is exact. Only a new existence of group cause Ch to miss that hand. Hope you understand what I mean.

Report · Aug 20, 2020

I am pretty sure the rule is if you change a layer name (which includes introducing an enclosing layer, or removing an enclosing layer) causes rigging to be lost from there down in the hierarchy. It treats it as a delete and add of layers - it thinks you deleted the old layers so loses the rigging.

For triggers the triggers still exist, but the bindings are to the old path names. You can look in the trigger panel and it should show the trigger and layer names in orange. You can drag the new layer names over onto the triggers to reconnect then.

If you change a puppet name (the name at the very top), well then it loses everything because it thinks you deleted everything and started a new puppet from scratch. Introducing walk profiles is almost as bad since they are right up at the top of the hierarchy as well.