Art from other software vs. native Moho

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o0Ampy0o
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Joined: Fri Jul 18, 2014 6:01 am

Art from other software vs. native Moho

Post by o0Ampy0o »

It is probably dependent on the exact wording but a search did not produce the information I was looking for.

With the current drawing tool improvements, I am wondering whether it is best to use native AS/Moho art vs. utilizing imported art from other software when creating characters?

I am experiencing performance issues drawing in Moho. If everything is converted when importing art from Illustrator or Photoshop I will just draw elsewhere and use Moho to rig and animate.

Is the imported art converted in such a way that you can then manipulate the art inside Moho if needed?

Are there any major disadvantages to using imported artwork from other software?

Thank you
obtusity
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Re: Art from other software vs. native Moho

Post by obtusity »

As in most topics, I do not think there is a "best", there is a trade-off of benefits and features.

Drawing in Moho can give you better control over point placement and a better understanding of how vectors are controlled during animation.
The improved freehand drawing tools give better line smoothing and point reduction, and pressure-controlled variable-thickness vector lines.
It is really worth getting to know the Moho toolset because, even if you end up using imported art, knowing the tools will give you advantages in tweaking the content in Moho.

Drawing in other vector software can give you different tools (e.g. Boolean vector operations) or a more familiar environment but at the price of some features (e.g. the aforementioned variable-thickness vector lines) or control.
Drawing/painting in raster/bitmap/pixel software can give you better texture control (and again, a familiar environment) but at the price of vector scaling and editability advantages.

And, of course, you can use these in combination, you are not limited to "there can be only one". One of the forum gurus (was it Greenlaw? my apologies for not remembering the original poster) at one stage mentioned a project where they were using bitmap-based characters with Moho vector switch mouths.

The great thing is that Moho enables you to use the workflow and tools you choose. It provides you with a capable system of its own, but does not hinder you using other complementary tools in your workflow.

Edit: As for your "can imported art be manipulated in Moho?", yes (with conditions):
SVG imports very well as vectors which can be maipulated like Moho-created vectors, but I think may currently import as a single combined vector layer (a limitation of the SVG format itself, which supports groups but does not support layers), you might then have to spend some time separating out vector shapes onto separate layers for animation.
Multi-layer PSDs are somewhat variable depending on the originating program (PSDs from some software, or with some export settings, will import as a single flattened layer, while with other settings or software it will import as a multi-layer bitmap character ready to rig and use).
PNGs can be treated as solid individual pieces or deformed with bones (e.g. limb images which can be bent at the joints), and/or masked with vector shapes.
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Greenlaw
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Re: Art from other software vs. native Moho

Post by Greenlaw »

obtusity wrote:And, of course, you can use these in combination, you are not limited to "there can be only one". One of the forum gurus (was it Greenlaw? my apologies for not remembering the original poster) at one stage mentioned a project where they were using bitmap-based characters with Moho vector switch mouths.
That was probably me but it's fairly common to mix software and techniques--you should do whatever is quickest and easiest to get the desired result. It typically depends on the style of art and animation your going for.

Bitmap allow you to have a more 'hand-crafted' look, which is why we usually rely on it where I work. But Moho's vector tools can do a pretty good simulation of natural media, and since vectors are editable in Moho and tend to be more efficient, I like to use them for elements like eyes, mouth and hands--pretty much anything that I may need to morph or generate many variations of. I also use vectors for outlines and fill them with bitmaps. For example, a vector torso with a texture fill in the shape. This way, I can get nice deformations in the shape without pinching the texture in odd ways. As a matter of fact, earlier this year, I set up one character than had a full wraparound texture in a vector--by sliding this texture within the vector body, I was able to smoothly turn the character 720 degrees (i.e., 360 in either direction.) (I'll call it out when the TV show it appears in is broadcast.)

Bitmaps can also allow you to work in a photoreal style too, if that's your preference.

Some downsides:

- You can't directly edit bitmaps in Moho so you'll need to work in another program to revise the art.

- Bitmaps can take up a lot of RAM and take longer to render. I routinely use 2k and 4k textures for characters at work and these animate and render easily, but we have pretty beefy computers there. I think if I tried to do this at home, it would drag my computer to knees. Depending on your gear, your mileage may vary.

- Before Moho 12, the big disadvantage with bitmaps was that you couldn't really create corrective Actions for them like you can with vector art, and the internally generated meshes could be too low res for nice deformations. But now that we have Triangulate 2D Mesh and Smart Warp, this no longer a limitation. So, if you don't have Moho Pro 12, this might still be a 'downside'.

If computer memory and processor power is a concern, I think it's generally better to stick with vectors, and maybe reserve bitmaps for background art. But you shouldn't feel that limits you to simple cel looks. In my first ASP short, I was able to get nice shading effects using only vectors and native fill effects. And if you watch the Cartoon Saloon presentation that came out a couple of months ago, you can see that it's possible to get beautiful painterly looks with Moho vectors too.

If you're going to use vectors, I think it's better to stick with Moho's Add Points and other path editing tools. This is still the best way to get clean, efficient, and nicely deforming paths from Moho. It may seem awkward if you're not used to drawing that way, but it's really not bad once you get the hang of it. (Note: it helps a lot to import your designs as templates to trace over.)

IMO, the Freehand and Blob tools have seen a lot of improvement in recent releases but it's still too quirky for important drawing and animation tasks, especially if the drawings are going to be deformed by bones. (Hopefully, more improvements are on their way because I think the tool is almost there.)
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