Documentation Center artzone:pub:software:puppeteer

Using the Edit Mode

2011-11-01T17:42:05+00:00

This page exists within the Old ArtZone Wiki section of this site. Read the information presented on the linked page to better understand the significance of this fact.

Using the Edit Mode

The basic steps in using Puppeteer in Edit mode are as follows:

Use the drop-down menu in the Puppeteer tab to select the item in your scene that you want to animate.
Pose or position the figure or other object in its starting pose. You can use pre-made poses or pose the figures yourself using the Parameter dials, or the PowerPose tab.
With the Puppeteer tab in Edit mode, click to add a red dot in the grid. This stores the current pose for the selected object.
Add a new pose or position for the object and click in the grid to add a dot for the new pose.
Continue to add poses and dots until you have a number of different dots in the grid.
Arrange the dots in a circular fashion so that it is easy to move your mouse between them. It might also be helpful to place a neutral pose in the center.

Using Layers

2011-11-01T17:42:05+00:00

This page exists within the Old ArtZone Wiki section of this site. Read the information presented on the linked page to better understand the significance of this fact.

Using Layers

Puppeteer allows you to layer your animations so that you can combine several actions into a single, fluid, complete animation. One way to demonstrate this capability is to show you how to animate a face with several different layers.

To begin, load Victoria 3 RR LE into a new empty scene, and zoom the camera into her face. Adjust the camera so that you can also see her neck, and turn the camera slightly to one side as shown below.

Layer 1: Turning the Eyes

We’ll use the first layer to create three poses … one with her eyes and face in its default neutral pose, another with her eyes looking upward to the left, and another with her eyes looking upward to the right. Proceed as follows:

With Victoria’s face in the default position (as she loads from the Content tab), make sure that the Puppeteer tab is in Edit mode. Then click to place a dot in the center of the grid. (If necessary you can use the Center View command in the Puppeteer options menu to center the dot).
Select Victoria’s Right Eye in the Scene tab. Adjust the Up-Down and Side-Side parameters of the left eye each to -12.
Click to the left of the dot in the Puppeteer tab, about half way to the edge of the grid. This saves the new eye pose.
Again select Victoria’s Right Eye and adjust the Side-Side parameter to +12. Leave the Up-Down parameter as it is.
Select the Left Eye and adjust the Side-Side parameter to +12. Now Victoria is looking the other way.
Click to the right of the center dot in the Puppeteer tab, about half way to the edge of the grid. This saves the third eye pose. Your layer should look similar to that shown below.\\ \\ {{http://documentation.daz3d.com/studio/images/22-07s.jpg?450x416}}
Now it’s time to use the Preview mode to get a feel for how the new morphs work. Move the mouse around the dots and watch how the eyes respond.
Once you get an idea of how you want to create the animation, go into Record mode and create an animation that is at least ten seconds (300 frames) long, but feel free to make it longer if you like. The animation will record for as long as you keep the mouse button pressed, and stops when you release the button.

Layer 2: Moving the Brows

Let’s add a little more expression to the face by adding another layer that raises her eyebrows. We’ll again create three poses &ldots; one with her eyebrows at the neutral position, another with the brows raised, and another with the brows frowning. Follow these steps:

Return the Puppeteer tab to Edit mode.
From the Puppeteer Options Menu, choose Add Layer. Name the new layer Brows and click OK.
With the face in its neutral position (which it should be because there are no other dots in the layer), click to place a dot in the center of the grid.
With the Head selected in the Scene tab, scroll through the morphs in the Parameters tab until you find BrowUpR and BrowUpL. Set both dials to 30%. Then click above the center dot to create a new dot in the Brows layer.
Now return to the Parameters tab and set both brow dials back to zero. Move down to the BrowFrownR and BrowFrownL parameter dials and set them both to 115%. Click to set a new pose dot beneath the center dot.
After you set the third dot, return the Frown settings to zero. When you’re done your Brows layer should look similar to the figure below.
Once again, enter Preview mode, and get a feel for the mouse movements you need to make to achieve results you like.
The real magic begins when you enter Record mode. But first you’ll have to make sure that you are starting the brow animation in the first frame. Use the Scrubber on the timeline or the Current Frame field to move to the first frame (frame 0) in the animation. Then click inside the Puppeteer grid to begin your brow animation. You’ll notice that the timeline plays the first eye animation that you made, while also keeping track of the brow movements. Play a bit here &ldots; if you don’t like the results, you can always choose the Clear Layer Animation command from the Puppeteer Options Menu to remove the current layer animation and start the recording over again.
After you record your second layer animation, play it back and observe the results. Animation can’t get much more simple than that!

One More Layer: Head Movement

Now that you have two layers done you are no doubt beginning to see the power of layered animation and you have all sorts of ideas running through your head. We’ll go gentle on you in this tutorial, though, and will create one more animation layer. After that you can continue to experiment on your own to add more facial layers until you get a completely unique animation of your own. You can even use Mimic to add speech to the animation should you decide to make your character speak.

To create the head animation layer, follow these steps:

Return to the Puppeteer tab and set it back to Edit mode.
Choose the Add Layer command from the Options menu, and name the new layer Head Movement.
Select the head from the Scene tab and scroll through the list of dials in the Parameters tab. Verify that all dials are set to zero. If they are not, use the Zero > Figure Morphs command in the Parameters tab options menu to remove all morph settings from the figure.
With the head at its default position, click to add a dot in the center of the Puppeteer Grid.
At this point, create two or more additional head poses (the number is up to you), using combinations of the Bend, Twist, and Side-Side parameter dials. Create poses that make the head look up, down, left, right, or any combination thereof. Place the dots around the center dot so that you logically know the approximate way that the head is pointing. In other words, if the head is pointing up toward the left, place the dot above and to the left of the center dot. When you are finished making your poses, get ready to preview your animation layer.
Once again, put Puppeteer into Preview mode to get a feel for the options you have. Another thing that hasn’t yet been mentioned is that if you find an intermediate pose that works well, you can stop your mouse movements at any time in preview mode and return to Edit mode to save the current point as another pose dot.
After you are done with your preview, once again go into Record mode and watch the fun begin. As you build layer upon layer of animation, your head animation becomes more and more realistic.

Hopefully by now you see the power behind Puppeteer, and how it can assist you in creating realistic fluid motion that would take much longer than if you had to use traditional keyframe methods. Experiment and have fun with this innovative tool!

The Puppeteer Options Menu

2011-11-01T17:42:05+00:00

This page exists within the Old ArtZone Wiki section of this site. Read the information presented on the linked page to better understand the significance of this fact.

The Puppeteer Options Menu

The Puppeteer Options menu displays the commands shown below.

Use the Options menu commands as follows:

Play Audio:
Fill Skipped Frames:
Extend Frames:
Zoom to Fit: Zooms in to the dots you have placed on the layer so that they fill the grid.
Center View: Centers all of the dots in the grid.
Reset View: Resets the position of the dots to the default zoom and pan area.
Add Layer: Adds a new layer to the grid. You can assign any name that you like to the new layer.
Delete Layer: Deletes the current layer.
Rename Layer: Assigns a new name to the current layer.
Clear Layer: Clears all dots from the current layer.
Clear Layer Animation: Clears the animation generated from the current layer from the Timeline.
Delete Selected Pose: Deletes the current pose dot from the layer.
Update Selected Pose: Allows you to change the pose of a dot. Select the dot you want to change, repose the figure, then choose this command to assign the new pose.
Close: Closes the Puppeteer tab.

Using the Preview Mode

2011-11-01T17:42:05+00:00

This page exists within the Old ArtZone Wiki section of this site. Read the information presented on the linked page to better understand the significance of this fact.

Using the Preview Mode

After you add your pose dots in Edit Mode, you then use the Preview mode to determine whether or not you might need additional poses. You can also use preview mode to plan out your animation.

Basically, you click on a dot to start the preview, then you drag your mouse toward, between, away from, and around the various pose dots to see what kind of animation you get by moving between the various poses. The figure below shows the mouse cursor between poses, and the figure moving in response to the position of the mouse. The figure changes pose and animates in real time, while responding to your mouse movements and their distance from the pose dots you placed.

You can use any type of mouse motion you like &ldots; straight lines, figure eights, circles, crosses, any type of movement that creates desirable movement in your figure. You’ll also notice that you can go outside the circle of dots to exceed the settings of the original pose, thereby creating exaggerated movement.

If, during your experiments, you arrive at a pose that you want to save, stop dragging at that point. Switch back to Edit mode and save a pose dot for that new intermediate pose. Then switch back to Preview mode to continue experimenting with the variations you can get.

Using the Record Mode

2011-11-01T17:42:05+00:00

This page exists within the Old ArtZone Wiki section of this site. Read the information presented on the linked page to better understand the significance of this fact.

Using the Record Mode

After you preview your poses and movements, you’ll probably come upon a good range of mouse movements that will give you the type of animation you’re looking for. Now it’s time to switch to Record mode.

When you record your Puppeteer mouse movements, each mouse movement that you make (around, away from, and between the dots) is recorded in real time, including any pauses that you might make to keep your figure still. The recording continues for as long as you keep the mouse button pressed. Once you release the mouse button, the recording stops. You can click again at any time to start the recording session up again.

If the Timeline is not visible, choose View > Tabs > Timeline to display it. Then press the Play button and watch your animation play back exactly as you recorded it.

Puppeteer

2011-11-01T17:42:05+00:00

This page exists within the Old ArtZone Wiki section of this site. Read the information presented on the linked page to better understand the significance of this fact.

Puppeteer

Puppeteer provides an ingenious method to create animated poses for the figures and other poseable objects in your scene. It’s a fun and easy way to create walk cycles, dancing figures, and a wide array of facial expressions. You can combine several different layers of animation, each moving one or more body parts, into a more complex animation that brings them together to create realistic movement and expression.

The Puppeteer tab is shown below and is accessed by choosing View > Tabs > Puppeteer.

This tab is divided into the following sections:

Selection Menu: Use the drop-down list to select the item in your scene that you want to animate.
Mode Selection: Select from one of three modes (Edit, Preview, or Record) to develop an animation cycle in the current layer.
Layer Grid: The grid in the Puppeteer tab does not represent physical space. Nor does it represent linear time. Basically, when you are in the Edit mode, you place various dots in the grid, with each dot representing a target pose or morph. In the Preview mode, you move your mouse from dot to dot, creating fluid movement between the poses to preview the movement that you can achieve as you move toward, between, and away from the dots. Finally, in Record mode, you write the motions to the Timeline and create a full animation.

Click on the links below to learn more about using Puppeteer: