Export and Import Actions

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Hoptoad
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Re: Export and Import Actions

Post by Hoptoad »

synthsin75 wrote: Wed Jun 23, 2021 6:04 pm Editing the points (flipping, deleting, adding, etc.) will mess up any existing smart bone actions. So if you're duplicating limbs to flip for the other side, layer operations are all you want to do.
Ah! Thanks for the information. This helps me.
Greenlaw wrote: Wed Jun 23, 2021 6:30 pm...It's much easier and faster to animate a bunch of points with the Magnet tool than using the Transform Points tool...
The last time I used the magnet tool, I used it to move a blob of slime. The magnet tool was fast and imprecise, which was great. Your information about the magnet tool surprised me. I had no idea that it could be used for nuanced point animation. Thanks for the info. I'm kinda slow at animating, so anything that might speed-up my workflow interests me.
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Greenlaw
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Re: Export and Import Actions

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Greenlaw wrote: Mon Jun 21, 2021 8:27 pm I’m going to do a walk through and document this anyway. I have a feeling some of what I wrote above is inaccurate but I need to be sitting in front of Moho to be sure.
Something was bugging me about what I wrote earlier, and after reading Wes' reply, I think I know it was.

It has to do with my suggestion about flipping the bone to make a mirror version. Flipping a bone to mirror a limb works fine on frame 1 or later, but on frame 0 (the setup frame,) you will also need to flip the layers/group. This is because flipping the bone on frame 0 will flip only the bone and not the items parented to it. As mentioned before, you'll want to do this in a separate project and rename the bones and actions before bringing them back into your master project. This will avoid any conflicts that could arise from having bones with the same name (Moho won't let you do that,) and other potential errors.

(Actually, making errors is a good way to learn too. I've certainly made plenty of mistakes in Moho over the years, and I still do. I just try not to make the same mistakes over again.) :D

BTW, you can flip a bone inside an Action to mirror a limb to simulate a turn for the limb. This works because your doing this on a frame later than 0. Note that is just one trick you can try, and there are many ways to rig/animate an arm turn. Some tricks better for certain characters than others, and the way to learn which trick is best is to try them out and discover what the advantages and disadvantages are.

Good luck!

Still gonna make that video...and now it may be more accurate. :)
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Hoptoad
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Re: Export and Import Actions

Post by Hoptoad »

Thanks for adding more information. On my "learning puppet," I actually managed to get duplicated SBAs for the puppet's arms working, but I don't know how I did it. There were a lot of steps because I was experimenting, so I lost track of what I had done. Afterwards, I tried to get the legs working, but couldn't. Oh well.

Thanks for the tip about flipping a bone inside an Action. There are a lot of nifty things that Actions can do that I still need to try.

I made a walk cycle this morning (I posted it to my Share Your Work). Once I've already animated something, can I make an Action from it? Or do I have to start a new walk cycle to make a walk-cycle Action?
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synthsin75
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Re: Export and Import Actions

Post by synthsin75 »

Hoptoad wrote: Fri Jun 25, 2021 6:34 pm Once I've already animated something, can I make an Action from it? Or do I have to start a new walk cycle to make a walk-cycle Action?
With an action open, you can right-click the mainline and insert a copy of it's keyframes.
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Hoptoad
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Re: Export and Import Actions

Post by Hoptoad »

Hey, it worked! Thank you.
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