Question about 360 character designs

[Popa]

I'm looking to replicate what I saw from Greenlaw, the puss in the boots. https://vimeo.com/channels/littlegreendog/269815494
This 360 complete character design looks marvelous! I'm wondering how many drawings are there between front and side turn? Perhaps Greenlaw can share this character with me? I'm only interested how many drawings you made to make that turn look so smooth. Well in all honesty this could also help me with learning how to setup dials since thats on the menu for my course tomorrow. I have no other intention for this art.

@Greenlaw

[Greenlaw]

Hi Popa!

Thanks for asking about my Puss In Boots Moho puppet! That puppet was created for the Netflix series using Anime Studio (Moho) 11. This must have been back in 2015 or 2016, and it was one of my earliest uses of Moho in a major studio production.

(Note: In 2024, Puss is streaming on Peacock. I don't know if the interactive version of 'Puss in Book' is still available.)

The Puss Moho rig was a hybrid of vector art and bitmap images. Specifically, all the body parts were vector drawings, and the stroke edges had a brush texture 'filled' with a bitmap using the Image Texture effect. This made the character look completely like a bitmap painting while having all the flexibility of vector art. This setup let me smoothly animate not just the 360 turnarounds but also the changing angle and perspective of the hat.

The image texture that fills Puss' body is a flattened 'pelt' that slides horizontally through the vector shapes and is controlled by a Smart Bone. The skeleton bones bend the textures as the character performs, even as the texture slides through the shapes. The technique looks most convincing when I animated Puss to really move into the turns. Without the character's acting performance, it just looks like a sliding image, so keep that in mind when animating your character.

I set up the Smart Bone to 'turn' his body 720 degrees so he can easily overshoot the turning motions. You can see how this works in the 'Flamenco style' motion.

The same sliding setup was used with different flat texture paintings for the arms, legs, and tail. I should mention that I got this idea from Victor Paredes. During this period, Victor was kind enough to answer my questions about his Wool Buddies rigs, and I applied some of his ideas here.

This rig also uses Moho's Smooth Joints binding for the arms. This binding method worked surprisingly well even with the texture fill, and it allowed me to animate the elbows with a smooth spinning motion that didn't tear the shape or texture.

This was a unique task because there was no storyboard, and I was given only the audio tracks to interpret the character as I imagined him. There was very little time to create this animation, so I was given an unusual amount of freedom. I guess they really trusted me...but no pressure, right?

Eight or nine years later, I'm still proud of how this turned out. I made 18 lengthy animations within a tight schedule, and the result convinced the studio to let us (the Digital Animation team) use Moho to animate all of the 2D segments for the Boss Baby: Back In Business series.

I hope this answers some of your questions about the Puss puppet.

[Greenlaw]

I meant to answer some of your questions specifically, so here's a quick followup...

I'm wondering how many drawings are there between front and side turn?

Technically, there is only one 'view' drawing for the character, but because body parts are all vector art, I was able to reshape the parts to look like turnaround views I needed (front, 3Qtr, side, etc.) These views were keyframed inside the Smart Bone actions so I could smoothly animate between them by simply turning a dial.

Perhaps Greenlaw can share this character with me? I'm only interested how many drawings you made to make that turn look so smooth...Well in all honesty this could also help me with learning how to setup dials since thats on the menu for my course tomorrow. I have no other intention for this art.

Unfortunately, I can't because the puppet and character are property of the studio.

However...I'll be working on something better later this year that you may find helpful. I can't say anything right now, but stay tuned.

[Popa]

I meant to answer some of your questions specifically, so here's a quick followup...

I'm wondering how many drawings are there between front and side turn?

Technically, there is only one 'view' drawing for the character, but because body parts are all vector art, I was able to reshape the parts to look like turnaround views I needed (front, 3Qtr, side, etc.) These views were keyframed inside the Smart Bone actions so I could smoothly animate between them by simply turning a dial.

Perhaps Greenlaw can share this character with me? I'm only interested how many drawings you made to make that turn look so smooth...Well in all honesty this could also help me with learning how to setup dials since thats on the menu for my course tomorrow. I have no other intention for this art.

Unfortunately, I can't because the puppet and character are property of the studio.

However...I'll be working on something better later this year that you may find helpful. I can't say anything right now, but stay tuned.

You fooled me, I thought this was bitmap. I'm only working with bitmap as I'm a complete newbie when it comes to animation. I will educate myself on vector later down the line.
So from what I understand you mesh warped your 3/4 and side view into that rotation? I believe we can also warp bitmap...? I tried it but its very hard...

I'm going to use this character during many episodes. I'm doing a season over here. I might as well draw the 3/4 and side view from scratch and give the best possible quality since Im going to use this character alot.
I find mesh useful when I want to avoid frame by frame, for example making a distorted face when getting slapped or something.

Just to confirm, I can draw the side and 3/4 view from scratch on new layers (bitmap) and make a rotational dial...?


I want to ask more personal questions if you dont mind. I'm going to try and be polite and not put you on the spot.
Netflix is a huge company. I assume you recieved a flat out pay out, but did you try and get a percentage of that product? And how did they react to it?

This is actualy the reason why I dont inspire to work for a studio... I dont like the flat out pay out.



I'm more of a storyteller than animator. I want to create a studio myself. Currently I dont have the budget to hire animators but this will change in the future.
Can you tell me, on a scale to 10 how happy are you with your salary over the years as animator?

[Greenlaw]

You fooled me, I thought this was bitmap. I'm only working with bitmap as I'm a complete newbie when it comes to animation. I will educate myself on vector later down the line.
So from what I understand you mesh warped your 3/4 and side view into that rotation? I believe we can also warp bitmap...? I tried it but its very hard...

Moho didn't have Mesh Warp layers back then, so this was point animation inside a Smart Bone Action and regular bones deformation. Doing this without custom mesh warp layers was not difficult for this rig, but it depends on the character design. That said, when working strictly with bitmap art, the Mesh Warp layers we have nowadays in Moho is the way to go.

Also, the sliding texture trick I described earlier is possible using only bitmap art. To do this, use the character's body parts as masks. Moho allows you to use vectors or bitmaps as masks. You can even combine the two into a single mask. While you can't use the Image Texture effect with a bitmap mask, you can import the texture directly into a layer and mask that. Tip: Enable Ignore Layer Selector for the bitmap texture...the sliding should only be controlled by the Smart Bone, and this can make it easier to select and animate the other layers.

Just to confirm, I can draw the side and 3/4 view from scratch on new layers (bitmap) and make a rotational dial...?

If you plan to 'hard switch' to different view drawings, I suggest using a Switch Layer. This can be controlled using a Smart Bone Action so you can animate the 'turn' by controlling the sequence of the drawings. You can make this transition look smoother by creating 'smear frames'...in Moho, this can be easily accomplished using the Magnet tool. (BTW, I recommend A. Evseeva's Multilayer Magnet tool. To me, this tool is a Moho essential!) When working 'hard switch' drawings, you might want to control the eyes using remote bones using constraints. This setup avoids the 'jumping' that can occur with the bones when you switch views.

Netflix is a huge company. I assume you recieved a flat out pay out, but did you try and get a percentage of that product? And how did they react to it?

This is actualy the reason why I dont inspire to work for a studio... I dont like the flat out pay out. I'm more of a storyteller than animator. I want to create a studio myself. Currently I dont have the budget to hire animators but this will change in the future. Can you tell me, on a scale to 10 how happy are you with your salary over the years as animator?

At present, I'm an employee of Dreamworks Animation, so I'm paid a weekly salary and an annual bonus by the studio. But I've also worked as a freelancer at other studios. In freelance situations, I'm typically hired as a contractor for my time and expertise, and I reserve the right to use my creations for personal promotion (i.e., demo reels.) Occasionally, I can negotiate additional rights, which depend on the project, the client, and how I feel about my contribution to the production.

This is just my personal opinion, but there's a lot to be said for working at a studio. I've worked at Dreamworks Animation for nine years and at Rhythm & Hues for twelve, and when I was just starting as a professional animator back in the late 90's, I accepted a staff position at a smaller b-movie studio where I gained a broad range of production experience (design, storyboarding, editorial, VFX, animation, practical effects, and even acting!) To me, working at the smaller movie studio was like going to film school AND getting paid for it. Later on, this experience opened doors for me to the bigger studios. I continued developing my skills at the bigger studios and got paid much better for my work. Plus, I got to help shape major productions that were enjoyed by people all over the world.

The downside to working at a large studio is that I've had very little time for personal projects. Creating my own productions has always been my goal, and it's something I think about every day. Eventually, I'll be off on my own and ready for it, thanks to the training and experience I got from working at these studios. Many artists and animators out there succeed in pursuing their own productions, and I hope to be one of them someday.

I'm not saying my path is the best; my journey has been long and somewhat unplanned. But I also stay prepared for opportunities that come my way, which means constantly learning new techniques and producing work no matter the situation. There have also been mistakes and failures along the way, and I always try to learn from them. I'd be lying if I said my career path was without difficulty, but it's also been a lot of fun.

Finally, making good friends and reliable contacts along that way plays a big part in succeeding.

I hope this post provides some helpful insight. Best of luck with your career and projects!