shift wrote:What different methods and best practices are there for reusable body turns in Anime Studio? Do you use switch layers, vector key framing, a mixture or smart bones? Any tips and examples you can give would be appreciated.
All those methods have their place. It depends on what kind of body turn you mean. Does it have to be smooth interpolated? Does it have to cover 360 degrees or a smaller range?
If by "reuseable" you mean easy to duplicate, then the key is starting with the simplest base construction and reusing common parts like hands, mouths, eyes. As general advice, I'd start with the
Character Wizard which can generate a 5-view template from which you can customize your rig. This is the fastest way to get started imo.
If you must have smooth interpolated 360-degree turn, the best one is selgin's:
Basic full body turn video tutorial
Some users have hinted at special turnaround rigs in development, but these have not been released yet and (I'm guessing) not easily customized. My own modest attempt at this is
here. Keep in mind that whatever method you use, the rig will tend to be complex and time consuming to build. This can be factor if you have a large cast of characters.
You'll use the 3/4-front-view most of the time. It's like the 80/20 rule; you'll spend 80% of your time on the parts of the rig that will be on screen 20% of the time.
Check out ddrake's work for effective use of limited turning. Impressive stuff.