Difference between revisions of "Content Dev:CTA Hair"

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Revision as of 20:33, 11 February 2018

Introduction

Basic structure for the hair accessory.

In the past, the hair existed alongside with the body in the form of front and back side pieces. Thus, there was a limitation in the way that the back hair piece would intercept into the character's body, particularly, if it was lengthy. In response, the CTA3 Power Tools 4 and 5 Hair and Beard systems introduce the new extrapolated composite accessories with the following features:

• No structural limitation.
• Dynamic motion support.
• Supports anchor points.
• User can recombine the pieces.

Basic Workflow

Steps:

1. Structure the design and overall project.
2. Prepare the artwork for the hair pieces.
3. Import the pieces into CTA.
4. Create the animations for the individual pieces.
5. Save the motions in the Action menu.
6. Set individual Color IDs.
7. Save the parts as (*.ctProp) - the hair components are now complete.
8. Assemble the hair.
9. Set the anchor points.
10. Save the hair as (*.ctAcc) - the hair is now complete.

Introduction to the Tools

Software	Version	Range of Use
Adobe Illustrator	CC and up	Primary drawing application.
Animate CC	-	Conversion of images to (*.swf) format.
CTA 3	3.2 and up	Creation of dynamic composite props. Setting Accessory location points.

Sample Files

Source Material Creation

Precautions for Source Image Creation

• Plan out the assembly of the overall image structure. Pay attention to its feasibility and re-usability and test regularly during the creation process
• Consider the feasibility of combining individual moving pieces. Reserve image portions for motion and fixed areas. Test often as you go.
• Determine the overall style and color scheme.
• If one wishes to set the Render Style for the final stage, try to combine the pieces of the same color by using the Pathfinder or Shape Builder Tool to avoid potential problems.

Animations for Composite Hair

The Action Menu for composite props takes all of the motions with same names and combines them together to trigger simultaneously. Therefore, one must pay special attention with the Motion Clip on a per part basis:

1. Make sure that the motions that belong together have the same name.
2. Make sure the combined motions match in size and scale.
3. Make sure the combined motions match in length, otherwise parts of the same motion will have pauses during playback.
4. Individual motions will be listed on the bottom column and can freely play on its own.

The following table is the motion specification for Reallustion Power Tools 4 & 5. You can follow the naming convention and animation lengths below.

Reallusion Power Tools 4 & 5 Motion Specification
Motion Name	Frames	Motion Name	Frames
Walking	19	Breeze	20
Running	20	Frustration_Start	16
StrongWind_Start	10	Frustration_End	16
StrongWind_Loop	10	Exclamation_Start	14
StrongWind_End	10	Exclamation_End	12

Hair Attachment Points

Different types of component parts need to attach to their respective places:

Accessory Type	Fixed Position	Note
Hair	Face	Need to be attached to the image and not to the bone so that will move with the face while puppeteering.
Mustache	Nose	First attach to the nose then attach to the parent for proper puppeteering.
Beard	Mouth	First attach to the mouth then attach to the parent for proper puppeteering.

Asset Creation Workflow

Component Creation

Composite Accessories can have many components and the drawing of the components happen on a piece by piece level. Therefore, it is wise to test out the composition of the pieces during the drawing process to prevent unforeseen issues.

Structural Design

Reallusion Power Tools 4 & 5 hair structure

Component Creation

• Make sure that the style and linework are complementary when the components are put together.

Avoid oversimplification because the parts will tend to merge into a blob. Avoid too much detail, otherwise the final assembly may become too complicated and messy. You should test as you draw.

Importing the Components into CTA

The import process for the artwork for the hair is the same as for the prop:

Article: CTA Prop

Basic summary of the workflow:

1. Move the drawings into Flash and export a (*.swf) file.
2. Import the (*.swf) file into CTA.
3. Set the location of the image at (0,0,0).
4. Save the image as a Prop.

Hair Composition and Settings

Basic Steps

1. Create Motions.
2. Save as Motion Clips.
3. Save to the Action Menu.

Example of all the hair pieces in motion.

Simple Tutorial Video

Motion Creation (Limitations & Specification)

• Currently, scaling a prop does not influence its translation. Therefore, it is best to avoid using translation to prevent unforeseen issues with scaling. Use the move and rotate deform tool instead.
• CTA Composer does not support mirroring. Symmetrical object must be made for both sides.
• The composite Action Menu combines all the of the motions with the same names to fire them off simultaneously. Motions names must match exactly alphanumerically and in capitalization in order to be considered the same.
• The length of the simultaneous motions clips should be the same.

Motion Creation Suggestions

• Avoid animating the fixation points of the individual components, otherwise, separations may occur.
• Make sure the motions are insync -in the same directions according to the situation at hand.
• Pay special attention to the rhythm of the motions. It is recommended to keep the motions timed differently so as to look more natural -especially for small objects which can carry more atypical animations.

Hair Composition and Settings