Designing your character
This book will not go into the art of character design in depth. It’s a vast topic that goes beyond what we’re covering in this book, but there are some simple guidelines to follow if you do plan to design your own characters. Even if you have someone else design your characters, you may find that their way of dealing with layers doesn’t quite fit the way Character Animator thinks. That means you may have to go in and adjust the layout before you can move over to the rigging phase.
Figure 3.1: A concept sketch of the character we will be animating
If you decide to design your own character, here are some tips to keep in mind:
- Draw all facial features on their own layers. This includes eyes, eyelids, and mouth poses.
- Create groups or folders for layers meant to trigger an animation. This includes things such as mouth poses, eye blinks, head turns, and hand poses.
- You can create toggle-able props...
