Annapriori wrote: ↑Thu Dec 12, 2019 11:51 am
I cannot import Adobe Illustrator (CC) file to Anime Studio Pro 11. It transfers just some anchor points, but not all layers.
I tried to change AI version 3,5, 8 and also reduce points in AI file - all does not work. I figured out to import PSD (Photoshop) file to ASP, however it imports all layers as image picture, which does not allow e to work with layer binding etc.
Maybe somebody also had such a problem?
FWIW, when I'm creating vector art for puppet rigging in Moho, I think it's better to create the art directly inside Moho. This is what we do for all our vector-based Moho characters at work.
Getting shapes to deform well requires precise point placement, which can only be estimated when using a program outside of Moho. Also, when importing from an .ai file, the point placement will be re-interpreted so it's never going to come across accurately anyway. When using a third party program like Illustrator, SVG is probably the way to go, although unfortunately I think the improvements for translating colors accurately with SVG didn't come till Moho 12.
For non-deforming, art, I think using other programs to draw vector art is fine since the reason to do this is resolution independence, not optimal point placement.
As for binding image layers, we used bitmap art from Photoshop in a lot of our earlier shows. If you look at my first DW demo reel, a lot of the Croods and King Julien stuff was all bitmap art animated in Moho. It wasn't until the later King Julien and Puss In Boots footage that I started experimenting with hybrid techniques, which was a combination of bitmaps painted in Photoshop and vector art created in Moho. (Typically a vector path filled with a bitmap using the Image Texture effect.) These were all done using ASP 11 so it is possible to bind Image layers for characters so they deform nicely.
BTW, Moho 12 made using Image Layers in a character even better by introducing Mesh Warp layers. This feature allows you to create your own meshes so you get
exactly the deformation quality you need, a real game changer as far as I'm concerned. In this case, you're binding the custom mesh to deform the image, and not relying on Moho to auto-generate an arbitrary invisible mesh that might not produce the quality you need. Custom Mesh Warp layers also allow you to use Point Binding, which opens more possibilities for getting good deformations. If you want to work with image layers in a rig, I highly recommend upgrading from ASP 11 to Moho 12 or 13.
(Moho 13, of course, introduced the ability to paint images directly inside Moho. I think this feature is still a little rough for heavy production use but it should steadily improve in upcoming updates.)
Sorry for the somewhat rambling post, but I hope this is helpful.
