Bones visibility

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papryg
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon Aug 15, 2022 2:24 pm

Bones visibility

Post by papryg »

I'm trying to follow this excellent tutorial -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QdzlMU ... nel=MoeU33
With my own character. However, this setup is so complicated, I cannot easily see the bones.
For example, they are so thin that they are layering with each other.
Also, "Pin" bones are so small that I cannot even see which bone I selected. Zooming does not help, as bones are always the same size, no matter how your zoom works.

The second thing is that when I select bone and want to move it on the timeline, the second bone that's underneath takes control over the mouse.
Look at the image:
https://freeimage.host/i/HYbdS8F

How can I work easier with this? It seems impossible sometimes.

Thanks in advance,
Patryk
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hayasidist
Posts: 3526
Joined: Wed Feb 16, 2011 8:12 pm
Location: Kent, England

Re: Bones visibility

Post by hayasidist »

Bone size: edit > preferences > layers/objects tab / bone display width > from this dropdown select medium or wide

Selecting bones: you have the option to hide bones: with the Select Bones (default shortcut B) tool active: select the bone(s) you want to hide and click the "shy bone" checkbox . To see them again in the Bones menu: Hide/Show shy bones.

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Getting more adventurous: use coloured bones and this script: https://mohoscripts.com/script/LK_ToggleColorBones to sho / hide bones of given colours.
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Greenlaw
Posts: 9269
Joined: Mon Jun 19, 2006 5:45 pm
Location: Los Angeles
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Re: Bones visibility

Post by Greenlaw »

Coloring the bones can also help improve visibility.

I like to use green and red for left and right side bones, and orange or purple for center bones. Any Smart Bone Dials in my rig are also color-coded accordingly. This makes it easier to tell which bones belong to which side of the character when limbs cross over or when character are in mid turn or completely reversed. I might use a different color scheme depending on the artwork I have which colors are most visible against them.

For me, the Narrow setting (which I think is the default) is too thin and hard to see. I prefer Medium but I can see where I might want use Wide for certain character designs or display resolutions.
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