How to Sync Rope Movement with Characters’ Hands in a Tug-of-War Animation ?

[tifacloud7]

Hello everyone

I’m animating a tug-of-war scene with two characters.
Each character is in their own bone layer and fully bound to their rigs.
The rope is a separate layer (not part of either bone layer).

What’s the best way to make the rope move in sync with the characters’ hands, so that when they pull, the rope reacts accordingly?


Thank you very much for your help!

[slowtiger]

Just from the cuff of my sleeve I'd duplicate the characters, make all their assets invisible (or delete) so only the animated rig remains, add bones to the front hand and rope artwork, and a target bone for the other character's hand.

[tifacloud7]

Just from the cuff of my sleeve I'd duplicate the characters, make all their assets invisible (or delete) so only the animated rig remains, add bones to the front hand and rope artwork, and a target bone for the other character's hand.

Thanks for your reply, slowtiger
Just to confirm, do you mean something like my drawing, where characters A and B each have their own bone layer, and the palm and rope are placed in a separate C bone layer?

If so, how can I make A and B’s movements connect with layer C?
Is there a way for one bone to control A, B, and C together, or does it have to be adjusted frame by frame ?

[slowtiger]

I think you have to adjust one of the two hands manually, since the 2 characters were rigged independently. But others may have different suggestions.

It all depends on your scene. If it's a short rope like in your sketch, I'd include it in one character's rig, animate the tug, then animate the other character, following the hand movement.

Or you could put them both in the same layer, animate the rope tug first, and have the characters follow (using an inverted rig which starts at the hands).

[tifacloud7]

I think you have to adjust one of the two hands manually, since the 2 characters were rigged independently. But others may have different suggestions.

It all depends on your scene. If it's a short rope like in your sketch, I'd include it in one character's rig, animate the tug, then animate the other character, following the hand movement.

Or you could put them both in the same layer, animate the rope tug first, and have the characters follow (using an inverted rig which starts at the hands).

Got it, thanks a lot for your explanation
I really wish there were a way to control multiple bone layers at once QQ.
Hope this feature might be possible someday—thanks again!