Anime Studio Bone Rigging Tutorial from www.CartoonLearning.com

[TheGodzgamer]

hi i need help please i have got my character and i put bones in it where i need them and there binded to the right parts but when i move them the whole character comes apart and starts to move can you help me please

[CartoonLearning]

@TheGodzgamer If the whole character comes apart they're not bound correctly. I have 2 tutorials on my channel that cover that exact problem.

[Drtok022]

Thank you very much.

[CartoonLearning]

@Drtok022 No problem.

[CartoonLearning]

@CjD115 My bone tutorials cover your issue. Try looking again.

Have you created a bone layer?

Have you put your character layers in the bone layer?

Are you on frame zero?

[JebRiti]

I have a question. When I set the bones, and I move them, they end up moving other body parts surrounding them. I already set their bone strength low, so I don't know what to do. Can you help me please?

[CartoonLearning]

@JebRiti I CAN help. Watch my bone rigging videos. I don't ever use the bone strength because I bind the bones to their individual vector layers.

[JebRiti]

@CartoonLearning Also, when I try to animate the body part to move, it seems to shrink then go back to normal length. What's happening?

[CartoonLearning]

@JebRiti Are you sure you're not scaling it instead of rotating or manipulating it?

[XOneGameR]

@JebRiti I have an idea. You need to connect your bones , to the main pelvis bone. for instance: delete all of you bones that you create , probably you already mess up the connection. Now, first create pelvis bone, when this is done make sure that your pelvis bone is selected, the create main body bone. then for legs and arms, make sure that main body bones is selected before creating any arm/legs bones. This mean, that main body bone will be connected to your arms and legs. same for the head.

[midgman01]

On the startup file in anime studio pro 6, the bones have parameters on how far they can move in either direction. How do you setup those parameters?

[CartoonLearning]

@midgman01 Select the bone layer. Then, at the top of your screen you'll see "Bone Constraints." Under that you can set the angle constraints min/max. A fast way to check it as you go is to click in the box and scroll your mouse wheel. As you scroll you should see the bone angles change in real time.

[Donjeur]

I have created a character. All the layers are in a group folder I assume you must do this to keep the body parts together...now bone rigging won't work...can lay the bones over the body parts but they won't bind...

[CartoonLearning]

@Donjeur No, you don't need to put all the layers in a group folder. Anime Studio Debut doesn't even have group folders. You should try watching my other videos on bone rigging.

[Kehira318Angel]

HELP!!! is there a way to merge shapes on different layers? The bones are moving without the layer as well (there are multiple bones on one body part like the tail for a cat). please help, i'm actually loosing sleep from this.

[CartoonLearning]

@Kehira318Angel You can cut and paste. If you really want to merge them, you could line up a couple of the vector points from each of the shapes and hit "space" to merge them, but why would you want to?

If you can't figure out how to fix your cat from the videos I have posted on my channel, then you may want to check out my animationtrainer course. It's designed to be more thorough for beginners.

My channel is listed under the title of this video.

[EzriaLove]

i have an image layer but tracing isnt workin and this isnt working and im confused :P

[CartoonLearning]

@EzriaLove Or, maybe it's all working as it's supposed to, and it's like you said - you're confused :)

What can I help you with?

[EzriaLove]

@CartoonLearning okay so first of all i got an image out but i cant find automatic image tracing and i got the boes to link by now but it only lets me do manipulate and it dosent really work it makes everything all distorted :P its my second day with this prgram so i have no idea whats going on

[CartoonLearning]

@EzriaLove You do know that only Anime Studio 8 can trace images, right? If you have Anime Studio 8, then click on the image layer so it's highlighted in the layers panel, then click the "draw" tab, and "Trace Image" should be enabled for use. Click it to proceed.

Also, make sure you look at all the videos on my YouTube channel. I have 2 videos dedicated specifically to character distortion from bones.

Lastly, don't beat yourself up on your 2nd day. Animators spend years in college.

[akabanewtube]

this program sucks i make a caracter complicate and i cant put two bones in the fucking arm switch

[Wick3dFreakWhiskey]

Well this work with 'IMAGE'?

[PointBaron]

In response to your question at the end of the video: HELL YEAH. ;)

[Erin101Green]

Thank you so much! I've been trying to figure out how to work the bone tool for so long. Thanks!

[stupify62]

can u do a side view tutorial? im having trouble with the side rigging and layers

[loesote]

Short and easy, as all tutorials should be, thanks man! :D

[EpicProportions21]

most helpful tutorial ive found about this

[xxbaine20xx]

simple & useful tutorial.... thanks

[PARKERx87]

Useful tutorial, specially for the newbies, thanks.

[CJandMP]

i cant click the binding tool. its just grey

[CartoonLearning]

@CJandMP A # of things can cause this. Are you trying to bind a layer that's in a SWITCH LAYER, BONE LAYER, or GROUP LAYER? Only the top layers can be bound. Are you on a frame other than frame zero? Are you in beginner's mode?

[apeeling]

Great thanks! Now I see why my bones were not binding correctly!

[Hyroyan98]

How do u make objects in one layer move foward or backward?

[CartoonLearning]

@Hyroyan98 Ask this on my website in the FAQ's section, and I'll answer it. This isn't the place for it since no one will find it here if they're looking for it.

[Hyroyan98]

OH!! THANKS A LOT!!! i've been trying to figure this one out for a while!

[LetsplayBlueWolf]

what's a vector Layer

[CartoonLearning]

@LetsplayBlueWolf Images can be made in jpeg, bitmap, psd, vector, and other formats. A jpeg has a set amount of info in it, like 5 million pixels, for example. If you increase the size, it gets grainy. A vector doesn't. It contains information like where the points are in the picture, how thick line width is, colors, etc. If you increase the size, all the information contained within increase along with it, so you can increase indefinitely, and it's still clear.

...continued...

[CartoonLearning]

@LetsplayBlueWolf Anime Studio is built to support vector layers, making rendered cartoons very clear and professional looking. A vector layer is just a "slice" of the picture, like a tree in the foreground, or maybe even leaves on a tree.

[DarkClanMem]

Thank you,sir! For this beautiful tutorial,finnally showing what i NEED!!! thank you so much..

[CartoonLearning]

@DarkClanMem No problem.  Thanks for the compliment.

[bb8497]

IS THIS FREE?!

[CartoonLearning]

@bb8497 The software's not free. There were some deals about a week ago where you could get Anime Studio Debut 7 for like 13 bucks, though.

[cartoonseany]

HELP! Well its not very big, but i think it'll be very useful for someone who's good at anime 6 to answer.You know the red line that stops the bone from moving, well i can't get it to appear, its so annoying, is yhere a tool or something,HELP!

[CartoonLearning]

@cartoonseany The line only appears when you set bone limitations. Select the bone, click "Bone Constraints," and check "Angle constraints."

[JULm3]

I have a BIG problem!

How can I put only a part of an arm in foreground? Like a t-shirt an an arm. There where the shoulder is, the arm must be behind the t-shir. But the rest of the arm must be in front of the t-shirt. For example when he is clapping or something like that.

[CartoonLearning]

@JULm3 You'll have to split the arm into multiple pieces, not rigged by bones, and manipulate it around its origin points using the rotate layer tool. Place your upper arm behind your character's shirt, and put your lower arm and hand above the shirt in the layers tree.

The other way is to make your shirt in multiple vector layers (as seamlessly as you can), and put the middle layers of the shirt under neath your lower arm in the layers tree.

[xzSTEVExz]

thanks 

[ThePENELOPE3]

thanx a million dat really helped alot i had no idea how 2 do it

[PharaohYami2]

When I try to bind a layer to a bone the box where the bind button is all grayed out, why is that?

[CartoonLearning]

@PharaohYami2 Are you on frame zero like you need to be? Are you on the layer in the layer tree like you need to be? Is the layer one of many switch layers? If it is, you don't bind the individual switch layers; you bind the parent folder.

[MALOJBADBOY]

thnx

[MrElmarees]

thx man !!!

[XNinjaOnline]

i made my character im having trouble using the bones i put them on and then i try to move them then it screws up. could you help me?

[CartoonLearning]

@XNinjaOnline How many bones are you putting in each layer? How does it screw up?

-Eric

[XNinjaOnline]

@CartoonLearning

well thats the thing i dont know how many bones to put in, i draw the character fine but i dont know how to use the bones correctly with my drawing. once i put in the bones and minuplate them they swirl up or mess up my whole character. could you please make a youtube tutorial how to draw the character and put in bones correctly.

[CartoonLearning]

@XNinjaOnline If you don't kow how many bones to put in, then you're not following the tutorials I've already made. You need to start at the beginning and learn the fundamentals. Animation isn't about being able to draw a good character. A good character that isn't rigged correctly is useless. You need to follow the tutorials.  How many layers does your character have? My good characters have hundreds; my South Park style have at least 50 layers, just for a head on view.

[CartoonLearning]

@XNinjaOnline Are you going to my website for tutorials, or are you just staying on YouTube? Please leave your questions on my website from now on, so I'm not limited to how many characters I can type in a response.

[3000marco1]

thanks my man now i can start animtion

[NathansPhase2012]

Umm.. you didn't show how to make the bones. is this an existing skeleton or did you create the bone layout yourself?

[CartoonLearning]

@NathansPhase2012 Did you watch the whole video? That's exactly what I did at 3:37 into it.

Of course, I could probably make a tutorial that shows everyone how to rig an entire character. If you would find that helpful, go to my website and leave a reply on the bone rigging tutorial page. DON'T LEAVE YOUR REPLY HERE, PLEASE.

-Eric

[jemmaNkremma]

I don't have the time to draw vectors, so I import .png files into Anime Studio (Debut 6). When I add the Bone layers, it does what you mentioned in the video- the character gets warped. So I tried binding the Bones to the image layer, but now the bones simply move the whole image instead of moving the individual body parts. Do I need to break up the single-layer image into different layers for each body part? If so, how can I do that?

[CartoonLearning]

@jemmaNkremma Are you saying your character is only one layer? You'll always get warping.  Pay close attention to how many layers I've used in this sample character and what the body parts look like; that's why I posted the pictures of him. If you're only on YouTube, leave and go to MY website where the complete tutorials are posted. They should help.

-Eric

[jemmaNkremma]

@CartoonLearning Thanks so much!

Well now I've created multiple .png files, where I've split up the body parts, then imported each file into separate layers in Anime Studio.

Besides that, I followed everything that you did in this video.

However, when I select the layers for each body part, I cannot select anything in the Bone section of the Tools, so binding the bones is impossible.

What am I doing wrong? (Sorry for asking so many questions, but I can't find help anywhere else.)

[CartoonLearning]

@jemmaNkremma You need to create a BONE LAYER and drag each of your IMAGE LAYERS into your BONE LAYER. Once they become part of it you'll be able to select an IMAGE LAYER, then select the BIND LAYER TO BONE tool, then select the appropriate bone.

I don't mind answering questions. Thanks for using grammer that I can understand :)

-Eric

[QuazzyOsborne]

Why wont it bind? How do you break up the parts like that?

[CartoonLearning]

@QuazzyOsborne What do you mean, "Why won't it bind?"

I break up the parts by using multiple vector layers.

-Eric

[NateZivin]

How to you get the bone to be the main bone?

[CartoonLearning]

@NateZivin make it first. Every bone made in sequence will then become the child of each previous bone.

[NateZivin]

@CartoonLearning Awesome. Thanks

[CartoonLearning]

@NateZivin One more tip: Let's say you start with the pelvic bone and make that your main bone. Then, you make your left thigh its child, then the left tibia its child, then the left ankle, then left foot foot. Now, you must use your BONE SELECT TOOL to select the pelvic bone again before adding the right thigh bone, otherwise your right thigh will be the child of the left foot.

-Eric

[drnekodr]

I'm trying to rig a tail on a cat... what would be the best way to go about it? separate the tail into segments or do it in one piece?... trying both and its just not working.

[CartoonLearning]

@drnekodr Since a tail should be wiggly (assuming cat, not dog), I would do one piece with several bones and use the bones' influence field to manipulate the tail. Let me know if that doesn't make sense.

-Eric

[drnekodr]

@CartoonLearning thanks! I kinda figured it out by accident but your video helped!

[StevePrestonTV]

thanks for all the help and nice videos and also this video helped me alot with bone rigging

[CartoonLearning]

@StevePrestonTV No problem, man. Thanks for the nice comment.

[kw0409]

It's first tutorial where I can learn well how to add a bones.

Greatings from POLAND :)

[CartoonLearning]

@kw0409 Thanks for the complement.

-Eric

[ravneet10]

Thanks So much, I really needed help with this, and I found it.

[hitmanimation]

nice video great advice check out my creations using this amzing piece of software thanks

[bazilbrush]

great help thanks

[ChristiansCartoons]

Big help!

[CartoonLearning]

@ChristiansCartoons Thanks for the comment!

[Musicalman519]

ive looked for a few, and this helped me out the most!!

thanks for this!

[CartoonLearning]

@Musicalman519 No problem, man! I've been slacking on getting these out, but if you need any others, let me know.

[Musicalman519]

@CartoonLearning no thanks i think im good, i had a problem with the bones. I made it all squishy and bendy like it was at 3:58

[DavinDaGeek]

Good video man. I love it. =)

[CartoonLearning]

@DavinDaGeek Thanks!