With a workable rig now in place, we can now dive further into Character Animator’s strengths. We can set up a rig to not only interact with movement or other entities, but layer-specific and universal behaviors can add more interactivity and realism. We will also look at meshes and how they can help change the rig further.
More specifically, we will cover the following topics:
By the time we finish this chapter, you will have an enhanced rig that reacts to different environmental effects – a great way to create subtle animations without having to do it by hand.
Be sure to have your tagged character open in Character Animator. Or, you can access Chat_with_Chaz.chproj and load Version 2 under the History panel if you wish to work with the book’s example.
Version 2 will also be referencing Chaz_Host_v3.psd in the event you need to access that file.
Being able to add physics to your rig is a great way to create automatic movement based on various factors. As an example, we can have hair bounce in reaction to what action the rig is taking. We can adjust gravity strength and direction. We can even enable wind and have hair or clothes flowing.
With our hair now ready for physics, we will need to add new handles to the rig. Given we learned about handles in the previous chapter, this process should be straightforward.
These handles will tag what we want to add physics to. Here, we will use Chaz’s hair as our point of reference. To begin this process, we need to perform the following steps:
Figure 6.1: Hair will be set as independent (indicated by the crown icon)
Figure 6.2: Set the origin point near the bottom right of the Hair layer
Next, we want to add a handle to coordinate the physics. To do this, follow these steps:
Figure 6.3: Dangle will be assigned to the new handle on the hair
Now, click the Record tab to see the result. There isn’t much going on with this handle. You can see the hair is hanging down, so physics is applied, but that’s our only sign.
Figure 6.4: Gravity is affecting the handle we applied
But without moving the character, or adding behaviors, we can’t really see this in action yet. So, let’s add some behaviors next!
Universal behaviors are actions or stimuli that interact with our rig based on what tags were applied. Using the previous example, we have a handle set to interact with physics. We can adjust the physics so that every handle marked Physics will react, and this applies to other tags and behaviors as well.
Another nice thing is we can change universal behaviors in real time while recording, which allows us to refine and tweak the effect to our liking. Let’s look at this now:
Figure 6.5: The Puppet Track Behaviors panel allows for adjustment to universal behaviors
Physics is a subcategory under this panel. Click the arrow next to the heading to expand and see the options. There are many options you can adjust here, and each project will have its own unique requirements.
Figure 6.6: The hair is revealing the head underneath (this is something we can go back to and fix if the issue persists)
Go ahead and play around with the other Physics parameters if you wish.
Let’s play with some more behaviors:
Figure 6.7: The wrist is now susceptible to the wind physics
You may also notice we have other universal behaviors to enable and adjust. Here is a brief description of each:
We can set each of these to record (indicated by the red circle to the left of the behavior name). When we do this, whenever we go the Record tab to animate, any behavior with a red record icon will animate and add keyframes to the timeline. This means you can focus on as many behaviors as you want each time you record, making the process more managable.
Figure 6.8: The list of behaviors for the currently selected puppet
So, what if you have multiple physics-based handles but want different wind controls for each? That’s where layer-specific behaviors come in.
Let’s control the wind strength for two dangle-based handles. We already have these set up for the wrist and hair, so it’s just a matter of applying these specific parameters. To illustrate this, take the following steps:
Figure 6.9: You can add new behaviors by clicking the + button
Figure 6.10: Note how the hand and hair are blowing in different directions
You will also note the Puppet Track Behaviors panel listed the hair physics behavior among the universal behaviors (labeled Physics [Hair]). This means we can adjust universal and layer-based behaviors in real time as we animate. It also gives much more control to the rig, as we can target any layer to set this process up.
Figure 6.11: Layer-specific behaviors will be added to the panel
We will work with both types of behaviors as we continue to progress through the book. For now, it’s important to know the difference in how they function.
As we continue to add handles to create behaviors, we are actually altering a mesh that was automatically created when we imported the .psd file. While we can’t do much to alter this mesh beyond this, it allows us to see how Character Animator is interpreting the bends and flexibility of the layers. To see this, follow these steps:
Figure 6.12: The right mesh button will show an outline, while the left will reveal the entire mesh
Figure 6.13: The mesh is tighter around the bends due to the sticks we added
If we remove the sticks, we get a mesh that looks like the following screenshot:
Figure 6.14: Removing the Sticks makes the mesh more relaxed
Again, this is mostly used as a reference if you’re having issues getting meshes to look or function a certain way. Leave the mesh view on if you find it to be useful.
You will find a new version, Version 3, in the History panel if you need to view the final result for this chapter.
Setting behaviors is a big part of the animation process and allows us to create rig or layer-based changes in real time. Danglers are great for adding physics to any layer you wish; they can be subtle or extreme, it’s completely up to you! If you’re having issues with getting things to link properly, viewing the mesh may give some insights. Being able to control all these elements will allow for a smooth recording process.
In the next chapter, we will focus on triggers, which allow for lip-syncing, swappable props, and more. Before you know it, we will animate a scene with your first fully functional rig!