Comments on: Flash CS4 Animating Puppets

By: Bob

Bob — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 09:08:55 +0000

But how do i make the arms etc return to the exact same point in the last frame as the first frame. The location parameters arent scrubbable and you cannot copy an armature frame. Surely this can be done without trying to drag it back to the exact position. I want to do this so my animation loops perfectly when I place it inside a movie clip. I hope this is possible.

By: Ourvinny

Ourvinny — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 16:05:40 +0000

Kind David,
Kudos on your presentation, I was struggling with the bones feature working from book to screen and watching the tutorial was such a help and the hidden symbols fixed some dead ends. Do you have a video on the control points?

Thank you,

By: Dallas

Dallas — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 18:34:52 +0000

Thanks! Best tutorial I found!

By: Creating a Walk Cycle « Foundations of Animation

Creating a Walk Cycle « Foundations of Animation — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 18:02:14 +0000

[...] IK Bones IK Bones allows the users to create and arrange symbols in a collection called an Armature. These armatures contain bones that have relationships with other elements which can be animated. http://www.lynda.com/home/DisplayCourseN.aspx?lpk2=696 http://www.layersmagazine.com/flash-cs4-animating-puppets.html [...]

By: » Yesterday Marc Hibbins

» Yesterday Marc Hibbins — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 10:22:14 +0000

[...] Simply constraints applied to skeleton joints create faux-physics that look very convincing. Have a look here if you’ve not seen these in [...]

By: David Stiller

David Stiller — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 18:27:03 +0000

Flashy and Chris,

Thanks for the kind words! I’m glad you like the video!

By: Chris Grieve

Chris Grieve — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 17:18:39 +0000

Thank you Adobe for making the effort to hire such incredible people to provide this library of tutorials!

By: Flashy

Flashy — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 15:45:04 +0000

Man you rock! That was awesome, very handy for my puppet project! Thanks!

Joshua
————————————–
bestflashwebsites.blogspot.com

By: David Stiller

David Stiller — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 14:56:48 +0000

Angel,

Gracias!

By: Angel Burgos

Angel Burgos — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 18:04:54 +0000

De Venezuela, EXCELENTE TUTORIAL! Muy fácil para los que apenas nos adentramos en Flash!

By: David Stiller

David Stiller — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 14:00:02 +0000

To Rina C …

> This tutorial is great for a starting point,
> but are there any more tutorials on puppets?

As of this reply, this video is the only bones-related tutorial I’ve recorded for Layers personally. I suspect there are more out there, but as with anything else, the trick is to find them!

> I guess I can figure out how to add more joints
> but seeing more tutorials on more complex puppets
> gives me an better idea on how it can be done or
> if there’s an easier more efficient way.

Every new feature if Flash has its pluses and minuses. In the case of bone rigging, the benefit of the articulation is “paid for” by the potentially tedious task of adding bones. Fortunately, it’s easy enough to keep adding them, even if it takes a while.

If you like, you can check out the sample files from Chapter 8 of Tom Green’s and my Foundation Flash CS4 for Designers. You’ll find a rigging that connects the fingers of a hand, as well as another full-body puppet (”Richard”) at this URL:

http://www.foundationflashcs4.com/sample-files.html

To Vanda …

> I would like to know is it possible to avoid
> [a running character's] legs going below the
> ground line?

Try experimenting with the “Joint: X Translation” area of the Property inspector when you select one of the leg bones. When you enable joint translation, you can move bones horizontally and/or vertically along their joints. That may help you!

To Johnny …

Thanks!

To Norberto …

> How is the head connected to the bone rig?

You can’t really see it in the video, but Tom’s head actually has two bones on it (check the sample files for this tutorial to see them). The first bone is tiny, and it attaches his head to the neck, which is the hub for all the other extremities. The second bone attaches the stand-in movie clip (the “drag handle”) to the head.

To Urg …

Thanks!

To Juan …

I’m afraid I don’t speak Spanish, so I got a friend of mine to translate. Thank you so much for your kind words! I hope you can understand my reply. You may indeed contact me with additional questions (visit quip.net for a contact form). The speed of my reply is always dependent on my schedule, which varies greatly, but I do try to answer everyone eventually!

To Adamanta …

> Sorry but where are the files for this?

Thanks for bringing this up! When I originally recorded this video, Flash CS4 wasn’t yet commercially available, but I supplied Layers Magazine with sample files shortly after CS4 entered the market. Unfortunately, we had a miscommunication, and those files didn’t make it up until just yesterday (July 7), but they’re up now.

By: Adamanta

Adamanta — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 22:44:51 +0000

Sorry but where are the files for this?