How to make a snake creeping

[Víctor Paredes]

Ok, it's just a re-use of Mike Clifton's technique which is somewhere here in the forum.
A friend ask me how to make a snake creeping but without using bones conventionally, it was too hard and slow to animate, because snakes follow an invisible path.

Here is my answer, you must to create several horizontal bones. then in frame one rotate them to create the path. The snake layer (a vector layer inside the bone layer) must be moved from one extreme of the bone chain to the other. The body has to have several points to move smoothly.



Here is a little .anme example
http://www.mediafire.com/?zmzmw1umjln

PD: I'm thinking about head deformation and have some ideas, but I have to test them.
PD2: The idea came when I saw the water glass of elbramstol, see the thread here.

[heyvern]

I can't wait to see what you come up with about the head distortion. I've been sitting here... for about 10 minutes... just staring at the screen and thinking about how to keep the head from distorting and STILL follow the bone "path".

... I drooled all over my keyboard and still can't think of anything.

.....

OH! I think I got it!. Ha! It just popped into my head and is very simple. You are much smarter than me with this stuff. I will wait and see if you come up with the same idea.

p.s. I couldn't keep the head "smoothly" connected to the body though. Kind of tricky.

-vern

[Víctor Paredes]

I think we get the same conclusion:
Inside the bone layer, make a group or bone layer and put the head inside, then move the group layer just like the body, from one extreme to the other (I use crashcore copy and paste generic layer for all the stuff like this). but, just like you, I can't get a smooth union between neck and head. Maybe if with a script we could make some head points get the distortion of the parent bone layer it would be possible.

[realsnake]

Very nice trick I tried to make a Snake in Anime style, only took 2 minutes

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?n1naqnqjh3y

http://img531.imageshack.us/my.php?imag ... 736bm1.flv

[slowtiger]

I just needed several minutes to get my mouth closed again. How does that work? I just built it myself, and it works perfectly, but I can't explain why it works!

Great stuff. Really great stuff. Thx for sharing.

[synthsin75]

viewtopic.php?t=1443

Here's the thread where LM explains the magic. Great inventive uses for the technique, both Selgin and Enbramtsol.

I think we get the same conclusion:
Inside the bone layer, make a group or bone layer and put the head inside, then move the group layer just like the body, from one extreme to the other (I use crashcore copy and paste generic layer for all the stuff like this). but, just like you, I can't get a smooth union between neck and head.

I got the head to stay attached. Just had to move the group layer's (with the head in it) origin underneath the head. Apparently since this is a layer warping effect, the origin makes a difference.
Here's the file.

[toonertime]

a novice question:

How does one make all parent bones, and stop the
parent-child automation that occurs when making
bones?

[Víctor Paredes]

How does one make all parent bones, and stop the
parent-child automation that occurs when making
bones?

Press Enter after adding each bone. If there is no bone selected when you add a bone, the new bone won't be child of anyone.
Another option: I'm not sure if this can be done with default LM tools, but using the add bone tool, if you hold Alt and click anywhere, the selected bone will be deselected.

[synthsin75]

That's odd. I just noticed something about that file I posted. In the vector layer of the snake's body, only the vector points get warped by the bone field. The layer translation is still a straight line between the two keyframe points. The group layer with the head however, which I copied the layer translation value from the body vector layer, has a curved path between the keyframes that follows the bone field.

That's what causes the head to come away from the body.

Very odd that the group layers path is warped just as the points are on a vector layer.

[Víctor Paredes]

I got the head to stay attached. Just had to move the group layer's (with the head in it) origin underneath the head. Apparently since this is a layer warping effect, the origin makes a difference.

Synth, I did exactly what you did, but probably I couldn't explain it well
What I mean with smoothness between head and neck is that, as the points of head and the rest of the body aren't inside the same layer, they are cutted in some moments.

In the vector layer of the snake's body, only the vector points get warped by the bone field. The layer translation is still a straight line between the two keyframe points. The group layer with the head however, which I copied the layer translation value from the body vector layer, has a curved path between the keyframes that follows the bone field.

I suppose it's what Mike says about the different way in which vector behaves.

[synthsin75]

Oops, I didn't notice that. Here's a fix for that. http://www.mediafire.com/?mmyz3jm5mie

[Víctor Paredes]

Oops, I didn't notice that. Here's a fix for that. http://www.mediafire.com/?mmyz3jm5mie

hehe, it's a very clever solution. But I suppose it will be limited for complex characters. For example, if the snake would have some shading (not the effect, but in the drawing) it will be difficult to wedge the head with the rest of the body. I think we could release some joint points of the head group layer to be controlled by the parent bones, just like the rest of the body, if there would be a way to do that this problem (and several around the forum) would be solved.

[synthsin75]

http://www.mediafire.com/?oocyyxmykzy

Well here's a solution for this case, but you're right about more complex characters.

[TheChewanater]

I tried to apply a similar technique for a rippling effect that could probably be achieved in a much easier but less fun way.

Download

[realsnake]

is there any advance rig. IK tutorial available on forum?