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DUIK Bassel: Face rig - Modifying Paths

Rigging, animation, import/export of characters, props and cameras comprehensive tool set for After Effects.
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plshr

DUIK Bassel: Face rig - Modifying Paths

Post by plshr » Sat Sep 22, 2018 3:51 am

Hi there!

First of all big Thank You for your great job! You make lifes easier ;)

I’m trying to rig my character’s face and I do want to modify some shape’s paths. But I can’t figure out how to connect Path property to 2D Slider. It’s clear with X and Y position - each of them gets linked to a corresponding axis. But how to deal it with Path or even Rotation?

Here are extremes for bottom-left and up-right position. But unfortunately it doesn’t work well for modified paths at other positions of the controller.
8A17D170-4622-449B-B074-B4E4CE91311A.png
CEFF27D3-473F-4ECF-86B9-C0238A864F1F.png

Duduf
Posts: 915
Joined: Mon Jun 20, 2016 2:59 pm

Re: DUIK Bassel: Face rig - Modifying Paths

Post by Duduf » Sat Sep 22, 2018 11:00 am

Hi!

I'm working on tutorials about these kind of stuff, I'm trying make this available quickly but it's a lot of work ;)


When you connect your slider to properties, if you have only one connection to make, it's pretty easy: just do your animation and connect the slider.
Your problem is that you want to make several connections to the same property, which is not (yet) possible (I'm thinking about how to make this possible, maybe one day I'll find out...).

The solution depends on the type of property:

• If you're trying to connect transformation properties (i.e. position, rotation and scale), the quickiest and easiest way is to use parents: for each new connection, add a null layer, and parent the already connected layer to this null. You can then connect the transformation of the null object, and you can repeat this process for each new connection you want to make.

• For other numerical properties (including transformations actually) you can use the "list" tool of Duik, which is available in the link & constraints panel (in standard and expert mode only, it is hidden in rookie mode).
Just select the property, and click the "list" button. Duik will add an effect with 5 new properties to control the original property, allowing up to five connections (or even more if you add a list to the list....). With the list, you won't connect the original property, but one of the new properties in the list effect.

• And there are non-numerical properties, like Bezier paths....
Here it's tricky if you're using an version of Ae older than CC2018: with older versions, there is no way to efficiently work with shapes in expressions, so you can not do more than one single connection to the shapes (to your X OR Y slider, but not both). The only way to achieve something is by duplicating the bezier path and try to make it work, but it can be very difficult. Using masks can help: instead of connecting the original shape itself, connect masks which "cut" it, or in shape layers try using multiple shapes and the "merge path" option (which works like the pathfinder of Adobe Illustrator).
If your using CC2018 or any more recent version, you can add bones to the bezier path (select the path property, or any vertex of the path, and click on the "add bones" button in the links & constraints panel of Duik). This way you'll have one layer for each vertex (and tangent) of the path, and you can then connect the position properties of these bones, and get back to the first and second method (connecting transformations or numerical properties).

cedmunds
Posts: 1
Joined: Fri Jan 24, 2020 9:41 pm

Re: DUIK Bassel: Face rig - Modifying Paths

Post by cedmunds » Fri Jan 24, 2020 10:27 pm

Hi, I am trying to do the same thing and am having trouble finding my way though.

Is there anything new or updated regarding controlling paths in an x and y?

The bones method seems unwieldy to me. And the duplicate path works but not in the intended way.

Thanks so much!

Duduf
Posts: 915
Joined: Mon Jun 20, 2016 2:59 pm

Re: DUIK Bassel: Face rig - Modifying Paths

Post by Duduf » Tue Feb 04, 2020 8:03 am

The easiest way really is to create bones and connect their position (and/or scale and rotation)

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