When adding sitting motions to characters, some characters may have clothes that are off their body, this is because the end of the clothes is not attached to the body. The following is the solution. 1. From the parent node, add a curved bone to the end of the clothes; 2. Click the bone frame where the clothes are off the body; 3. Pull the end of the clothes to the right position on the body and adjust the bending of the bone. 4. If the same sitting motion follows, then the X and Y values of the clothing end node property should be the same as the adjusted bone…
When creating a character, it is often necessary to add facial expressions to it. There are two situations for adding facial expressions to the character: 1. Use a custom character; 2. Use a template character. Here is an example of adding a wink expression, with the following tutorial. 1. Use a custom character (1) Add facial expressions (2) Replace facial expressions Select a layer frame > double-click the layer you want to replace > repeat the above steps to replace the expression. 2. Use a template character (1) Add facial expressions (2) Replace facial expressions Select a layer frame > double-click the layer you want to replace > repeat the…
In the animate mode, double-click on the hair layer; Click [Change Color] in the [Replace Layer] pop-up > [Pick Screen Color] > [Select New Color] > select a color > [OK].
Sometimes you need to add a motion such as a hand holding things to a character, and then you need to replace the layer of the character’s hand. The following is a tutorial on how to do this. 1. Move the playhead to any frame > [+Bone] > move the bone to add actions; 2. Click [+Layer] > click the layer frame > double-click the layer you want to replace; 3. Select a material in the [Presets] > select [Apply to Selected Layer]. 4. After replacing the layer, you can add more actions to the character to complete the motion and make it more logical.
Normally the character’s side view is leftward, you can flip it horizontally in the animation editor. In the animation editor, after adding all the motions to the character, the character can be flipped over. Hold down the Ctrl key to select all the bone frames > click [Flip] at the top left of the interface. Or hold down the Ctrl key to select all the bone frames > right-click and select [Group] > click [Flip] to flip the group.
Bend is for straight bones, and it can adjust the flexibility of the character’s bones. Click a straight bone > set the bend value in the properties panel. The higher the value, the greater the curvature of the straight bone.
The movement of the child bone drives the movement of the parent bone, which is Inverse Kinematics (IK). IK is used for straight bones to constrain the length of the figure’s legs and arms. Tick IK when adjusting the figure’s reach and leg lifts to prevent the changing of the figure’s leg and arm lengths. Click a straight bone on the limbs > tick IK in the properties panel.
When animating, when a part of a character’s layers is misaligned it is necessary to adjust the order of the layers to correct their position. In the animation editor, find out the misaligned layers > click and drag the layer to reorder it.
After adding a skeleton to the character, you can proceed to the animation editor to animate it. Today we’re going to take a closer look at the animation timeline in the animation editor. In the animation timeline you can add motions, expressions, etc. by adding layers frames and bone frames; preview character motions; customize the frame rate and duration of character animations, etc. 1. Settings bar of the timeline In this area you can set loop playback; hide/show character movement tracks, and bones; set auto keyframes; hide/show tracks; action capture; control animation playback; set the total duration and frame rate of character actions; save motions. (1) Loop Start/End: Set the…
A layer frame is a frame in which the character’s layer changes. Adding layer frames within the timeline allows you to add expressions to your character and enables layer replacement. A layer frame allows multiple layers to be replaced. The following is a tutorial on how to add and edit layer frames. Move the playhead to any position > click [+Layer] in the layer track > click the layer frame > double-click on any layer of the character to replace the layer material. The following are practical uses of layer frames. Click to view: How to add facial expressions such as winking and talking? How to change the color of…
How to use bone frames? A bone frame is a frame in which a character’s bone motion changes. Adding bone frames within the timeline allows you to add body actions to your character. You can only set one action in a bone frame, if you want to add more continuous actions to your character, you will have to add more bone frames. The following is a tutorial on how to add and edit bone frames. Move the playhead to any position > click [+Bone] in the bone track > click the bone frame > move the character’s bone in the canvas to add an action to the character.
The purpose of adding audio is to provide a reference for the subsequent application of the character to your animated video. Click [+Audio] > select a local MP3/WAV/WAM/FLAC/APE/ACC file > click [Open] > click on the Preview animation button to preview the overall effect.
The purpose of adding a GIF is to provide a reference for the subsequent application of the character to the animated video. Click [+GIF] > select a GIF file from the local folder > [Open]. You can drag the border of the GIF display box to scale it in the canvas, and click the preview animation button to preview the overall effect.
The purpose of adding a video is to provide a reference for the subsequent application of the character to the animated video. Click [+Video] > select an MP4 file in the local folder > [Open]. You can drag the border of the video display box to scale it in the canvas, and click the preview animation button to preview the overall effect.
Within the timeline, setting auto keyframe makes it quicker to add layer frames and bone frames. Click [Edit] in the timeline > tick [Auto Keyframe] > move the playhead to any frame > adjust the character’s movement and replace the character’s layer, and a bone frame and layer frame will be added automatically.
When you want to publish only a piece of your character’s motion, you can use the [Export] feature to select any animation segment to publish. By dragging the left and right ends of the slider and moving the slider, you can select a piece of animation to publish.
The [Save Motion] feature within the timeline allows you to combine your custom character motions and save them to the [Custom] motion library, making it easy to add motion to your next custom character. 1. Hold down Ctrl to select all the layer frames and bone frames; Or combine the layer frames and bone frames separately before selecting them: Hold down Ctrl to select all the layer frames or bone frames > right-click to select [Group] in the pop-up window. 2. Click [Save Motion] > name and classify the motion > click [OK].
Grouping layer frames/bone frames make it more convenient to manage multiple layer frames/bone frames. Ungrouping layer frames/bone frames to modify the layers and modify the bone movements. Group layer frames/bone frames: Hold down Ctrl to select all the layer frames/bone frames > right-click to select [Group] in the pop-up window. Ungroup layer frames/bone frames: Click the group > right-click to select [Ungroup] in the pop-up window.
Use the [Step] and [Indent] features of the timeline right-click operation to adjust the position of layer frames/bone frames in the timeline more precisely. Click a layer frame/bone frame > right-click to select [Step]/[Indent] in the pop-up window. Note: step affects only the selected frame, indent affects all subsequent frames.
Tick [Movement] can show the character’s movement tracks when previewing bone movements, helping to edit bone motion more accurately. Tick [Bone] provides a clear view of the character’s bones and allows for easier setting of bone properties. In the timeline, click [Edit] > tick [Movement] and [Bone]. When you need to hide them, uncheck them.
Use template motions to quickly add motions to your character. After adding a skeleton to your character, enter animation editor > drag a template motion to the timeline. Note: The skeleton of a template motion may not match the skeleton of a custom character, and you will need to ungroup the bone frames to adjust the action frame by frame. (Click to view: Group and ungroup layer frames or bone frames.) A template motion often comes with layer frames, which may not match some layers of the custom character, so you can ungroup the layer frames to replace layers, or delete all the layer frames and keep only bone frames….
When you want to save a certain frame of your character’s motion, you can use the [Capture] feature to save a screenshot of that frame as a PNG image. Move the playhead to any frame > click [Capture] > name the file > [Save].
Select the period to loop, preview the range of the animation and check the motion is correct for that period. Fill in the loop start and end frames in the loop area to loop only the period between the start and end frames.
The visual window is the visible area of the published content. Adding a visual window to a character and adjusting its size and position can achieve the effect of displaying only a part of the character after publishing. Tick [Visual Window] at the top of the editors > click [Edit] to set the size and position of the visual window. Note: If you want to import more motion for your character to the Mango AM, the size and position of the visual window must be the same as the first motion, otherwise the size and position of the imported character will be different. (Click to view: How to import a…
The higher the frame rate, the faster the action, and vice versa. Select any number in the timeline to adjust the frame rate. The frame rate is the number of frames or images shown per second, the default setting is 24 frames per second. The following is the effect when the frame rate is at its default value. Below is a comparison of the effects of adjusting the frame rate to 50 and the frame rate to 12.
Adding guides while animating allows you to adjust the character’s motions more precisely. Drag from the horizontal/vertical ruler to create a guide. Right-click to delete the guides.
Adjusting the easing function allows you to adjust the speed of the character’s bone movement between two keyframes. 1. Using the system’s preset easing function (1) Select a bone of the character; (2) Click on the [Edit] button of the Easing Function in the properties panel; (3) Select an easing function from the system list; (4) Preview the easing function effect; (5) If the effect is as expected, click [X] to exit, otherwise select another easing function and preview the effect. 2. Using custom easing functions (1) Select a bone of the character; (2) Click on the [Edit] button of the Easing Function in the properties panel; (3) Drag the…