Offsetting Part Motion

In the following example, you will see how to offset the motions of a specific part to generate a waving-right head motion to the music.

1. Make sure that your actor has been applied with a voice in Talk or Listen modes.
2. Click the Auto Motion Settings button on the tool bar to display the panel.
3. Click the Reset button to return to the default settings which will remove the actor's reaction to the audio.
4. Switch to the Parts tab and select the Head Rotate button.
   
5. Adjust the parameter value for the Head Rotate (the higher the value, the stronger the head rotates):
   
   • Swing (CCW/CW): Increase the value to make the head tilt right.
6. Select the Head Move button.
   
7. Adjust the settings for the Head Move:
   
   • Down/Up: Decrease the value to make the head move down.
   • Left/Right: Increase the value to make the head move right.
   The actor's head move in a linear fashion and rotate to the bottom right at the same time.

   Note:

   Please refer to the Parts Movements for Auto Motion Settings Panel section for more information about the relationship between the movements and the sliders.

8. Increase the Offset value in the numeric field besides the Left/Right slider.
   
   This step postpones the move-to-right motion for the head (unit: frame).

   The Theory of Offsetting

   The auto motion is auto-generated in accordance with the settings in the Auto Motion Settings panel. Essentially, motions merely react to the peaks of the sound wave (The higher the peak is, the stronger the motions are). However, sometimes you may need the motion to be anticipated, or follow-through so that the reaction motions from each part of the actor can happen at different times. The purpose for this is to generate the sensation of an irregular motion that doesn't seem as mechanical and artificial.

9. To make the head motion more vivid, adjust the Head Rotate parameters:
   
   • Down/Up: Decrease the value to make the head rotate down.
   • Left/Right: Increase the value to make the head rotate right; also add the Offset value to make the head start to rotate right a little bit later.
10. Click the Preview button to play back and view the motion in the preview pane of this panel in advance.
    * Please note that you can adjust the value during the preview playback to see the real-time result before applying.
11. Click the Apply button if you are satisfied with the result.

The example in the previous section may appear a little stiff due to the fact that the actor is only moving its head. By using the Offset (follow-through) effect, you can set the shoulders and body to move at a different time than the head, which creates a nice wave movement style starting from the head to the body.

Shoulders Movements

1. The actor from the previous section merely waves its head.
2. Click the Auto Motion Settings button on the tool bar to display the panel.
3. Switch to the Parts tab and select the Left Shoulder part.
   
4. Adjust the parameter values for the Left Shoulder:
   
   • Left/Right: Decrease the value to make the shoulder move left; also increase the Offset value to make the shoulder start to move left a little bit later.
   • Down/Up: Decrease the value to make the shoulder move down; also increase the Offset value to make the shoulder start to move down a little bit later.
   • Back/Front: Decrease the value to make the shoulder move backward.
5. Select the Right Shoulder part.
   
6. Adjust the parameter values for the Right Shoulder:
   
   • Left/Right: Increase the value to make the shoulder move right; also increase the Offset value to make the shoulder start to move right a little bit later.
   • Down/Up: Increase the value to make the shoulder move up; also increase the Offset value to make the shoulder start to move up a little bit later.
   • Back/Front: Increase the value to make the shoulder move forward.

Body Movements

In order to make the actor more lively, the body also auto moves according to the voice.

1. Select the Body Move button.
   
2. Adjust the parameter values for the Body Move:
   
   • Down/Up: Decrease the value to make the body squash and bounce; also increase the Offset value to make the body start to squash a little bit later.
   • Left/Right: Increase the value to make the body move right; also add the Offset value to make the body start to move a little bit later than the head.

   Note:

   Please refer to the Parts Movements for Auto Motion Settings Panel section for more information about the relationship between the movements and the sliders.

3. Click the Preview button to play back and view the motion in the preview pane of this panel in advance.
   * Please note that you can adjust the value during the preview playback to see the real-time result before applying.
4. Click the Apply button if you are satisfied with the result.

Although the motion of the head and body in the previous example appears more vigorous, the expression on the actor's face doesn't really express that he's happily dancing along to the music. By using the anticipation skill, you are able to set the auto motion to occur earlier than the voice to make the animation even more dynamic.

Anticipation

1. The actor from the previous section moves without facial expressions.
2. Click the Auto Motion Setting button on the tool bar to display the panel.
3. Select the Upper Eyelids part.
   
4. Adjust the settings for the Upper Eyelids:
   
   • (L) Close Eye: Increase the value to make the left upper eyelid close.
   • (R) Close Eye: Increase the value to make the right upper eyelid close.
   When the actor's head moves to the right, the upper eyelids closed. However, the eyes will be wide open when it comes to the strong beats.

   Note:

   Please refer to the Parts Movements for Auto Motion Settings Panel section for more information about the relationship between the movements and the sliders.

5. Decrease the Offset to negative values in the numeric fields beside the (L) Close Eye and (R) Close Eye sliders.
   
   This step advances the upper eyelids closing motion, which cause the actor close the upper eyelids before it starts to move to the right (unit: frame).
6. With the same concept, individually select the Lower Eyelids and Cheeks.
7. Adjust the parameter values for the Lower Eyelids and Cheeks to generate a cheerful smile when it comes to the weaker beats of the voice:

   (L) Raise Lid, (R) Raise Lid: Increase the values to make the lower lids raise; also decrease the Offset values to make the raising motions start a little bit earlier than the strong beats.	(L) Droop/Raise Edge, (R) Droop/Raise Edge: Increase the values to make the cheeks raise; also decrease the Offset values to make the raising motions start a little bit earlier than the strong beats.

Follow-through

When it comes to the strong beats of the voice, the actor's expressions are ideally to be set to the strongest. Therefore, by setting the parameter values of the facial features, combining with the Offset values, the actor can have a smile for the weaker beats and a joyful expression for the stronger beats.

1. Select the Eyebrows part.
   
2. Adjust the parameter values for the Eyebrows:
   
   • (L) Lower/Raise Brow, (R) Lower/Raise Brow: Increase the values to make the brows raise; also add the Offset values to make the brows to raise to the stronger beats.
3. With the same concept, individually select the Left Eyeball, Right Eyeball and Jaw parts.
4. Adjust the parameter values for the Left and Right Eyeballs and Jaw to generate a happy appearance when it comes to the stronger beats of the voice:

   (Same settings for the left and right eyeballs) Left/Right: Increase the values to make the eyeballs look to the right at the stronger beats.	Move Down, Move Left/Right: Increase the values to make the jaw move down and to the right; also add the Offset values to make the motions start a little bit later for the strong beats.

   Note:

   Please note that you can adjust the settings in the Global tab if the motion result is too weak or strong (in this case, the Smooth value is increased).

5. Click the Preview button to play back and view the motion in the preview pane of this panel in advance.
   * Please note that you can adjust the value during the preview playback to see the real-time result before applying.
6. Click the Apply button if you are satisfied with the result.