I downloaded ver 1.1.1 and am still getting problem w/ joystick. I also tried switching the framerate and got same error message. I'm using AE CC version 13.7.1.6
AhHA! I figured it out. I missed that you have to have the poses on each frame without extra frames between. I.e. Frame one (origin pose), frame 2 (pose 2), frame 3 (pose 3), frame 4 (pose 4), frame 5 (pose 5).
I downloaded ver 1.1.1 and am still getting problem w/ joystick. I also tried switching the framerate and got same error message. I'm using AE CC version 13.7.1.6
I just downloaded the trial and am playing around with it. It seems to work fine if I've just keyed properties other than path shapes, but when I make a joystick out of shape layer path animations, it doesn't do anything. No errors or anything- it just snaps to the origin pose and doesn't budge when I move the controller.
I see that you recently added path animation functionality, but I'm wondering if I'm having this problem because the trial version wasn't updated to include that, or is there something else I'm missing? Please let me know if it's just an older version for the trial. If that's the case I'll buy the real deal ASAP. Thanks!!
Watch the tutorial here on path shape rigging. When you rig paths, you must click the"Update Path Shapes" button whenever you adjust your joystick's position. Paths cannot be modified with expressions the way other properties can, so the real-time feedback you get with those properties isn't possible.
I just downloaded the trial and am playing around with it. It seems to work fine if I've just keyed properties other than path shapes, but when I make a joystick out of shape layer path animations, it doesn't do anything. No errors or anything- it just snaps to the origin pose and doesn't budge when I move the controller.
I see that you recently added path animation functionality, but I'm wondering if I'm having this problem because the trial version wasn't updated to include that, or is there something else I'm missing? Please let me know if it's just an older version for the trial. If that's the case I'll buy the real deal ASAP. Thanks!!
Hello! Thanks for this, looks great. Im just playing around with the trial currently, but having a little issue staright away. When I create a joystick I just get the Origin layer and not the controller that you seem to get in the tutorial video. If you could help me out that would be great!
Hello! Thanks for this, looks great. Im just playing around with the trial currently, but having a little issue staright away. When I create a joystick I just get the Origin layer and not the controller that you seem to get in the tutorial video. If you could help me out that would be great!
Thanks! Olly
It's likely that Joysticks 'n Sliders wasn't installed correctly. You must copy both the Joysticks_n_Sliders.jsxbin file and the Joysticks_n_Sliders_assets folder into your ScriptUI folder. The assets folder contains presets that the tool needs to access in order to build your controllers. If it can't find the presets, it will fail in the way you've described.
Have a look at the instructions pdf for installation help. Let me know if this helps.
Hey Mike, absolutely loving these tools, great job. I'm using some time-remapped keyframes as part of my rigging and having some problems with it. When I create a joystick to control the time remapping it works just fine when I move around my joystick. The problem occurs as soon as I set a key on my joystick. Something gets confused and the time remapped layer breaks. It's as if it wants to continue playing forwards or it loses it's place according to the keyframes I set before binding. If I don't set keys and just play with the joystick it looks perfect but the keys seems to break it.
Is this a known issue or am I doing something wrong?
Hey Mike, absolutely loving these tools, great job. I'm using some time-remapped keyframes as part of my rigging and having some problems with it. When I create a joystick to control the time remapping it works just fine when I move around my joystick. The problem occurs as soon as I set a key on my joystick. Something gets confused and the time remapped layer breaks. It's as if it wants to continue playing forwards or it loses it's place according to the keyframes I set before binding. If I don't set keys and just play with the joystick it looks perfect but the keys seems to break it.
Is this a known issue or am I doing something wrong?
Many thanks and keep up the awesome work - Cam.
Hi Cam,
When the time remapped layer breaks, do you get an expression error, or does it not behave correctly when you scrub through the timeline?
When you first enable time remapping, make sure you go to the end of your layer and delete that end keyframe. If you don't do that, the time remapping will be added as an offset to your rigged time remapping, throwing things off when you scrub through the timeline. Does this solve the problem?
Hey Mike, absolutely loving these tools, great job. I'm using some time-remapped keyframes as part of my rigging and having some problems with it. When I create a joystick to control the time remapping it works just fine when I move around my joystick. The problem occurs as soon as I set a key on my joystick. Something gets confused and the time remapped layer breaks. It's as if it wants to continue playing forwards or it loses it's place according to the keyframes I set before binding. If I don't set keys and just play with the joystick it looks perfect but the keys seems to break it.
Is this a known issue or am I doing something wrong?
Many thanks and keep up the awesome work - Cam.
Hi Cam,
When the time remapped layer breaks, do you get an expression error, or does it not behave correctly when you scrub through the timeline?
When you first enable time remapping, make sure you go to the end of your layer and delete that end keyframe. If you don't do that, the time remapping will be added as an offset to your rigged time remapping, throwing things off when you scrub through the timeline. Does this solve the problem?
-Mike O
Ahhhhhh, silly me, I forgot about the keyframe at the end of the time-remapped layer, you nailed it! Thanks so much for the speedy reply.
Hi mike, I think I've got the same problem than Vanessa.
I saw your last tutorial about path shapes, but when I clic on "update Pathshapes" nothing happened. I followed exactly step by step (even the color and the same form ) but nothing happened.
I'm having a few problems when the script, I can unbind a joystick but when I try to bind to the existing joystick it isn't listed in the dropdown menu and I get an error that reads, "There is no pre-existing joystick in this comp to bind to".
Similarly when I try to move the joystick to a parent comp there are no options available in the dropdown menu and I get an error that reads "This comp must be nested in another first".
I feel like there must be something small I'll missing but I can't figure it out. Any ideas?
I'm having a few problems when the script, I can unbind a joystick but when I try to bind to the existing joystick it isn't listed in the dropdown menu and I get an error that reads, "There is no pre-existing joystick in this comp to bind to".
Similarly when I try to move the joystick to a parent comp there are no options available in the dropdown menu and I get an error that reads "This comp must be nested in another first".
I feel like there must be something small I'll missing but I can't figure it out. Any ideas?
Hi Steve,
What version of After Effects are you running? After Effects CC (version 12) has a bug that doesn't allow scripted dropdown lists to dynamically update. If that's the case, you'll notice a refresh icon in the upper-right of the UI next to your setup tools. Clicking that should populate your dropdown menus to have the correct information.
I'm having a few problems when the script, I can unbind a joystick but when I try to bind to the existing joystick it isn't listed in the dropdown menu and I get an error that reads, "There is no pre-existing joystick in this comp to bind to".
Similarly when I try to move the joystick to a parent comp there are no options available in the dropdown menu and I get an error that reads "This comp must be nested in another first".
I feel like there must be something small I'll missing but I can't figure it out. Any ideas?
Hi Steve,
What version of After Effects are you running? After Effects CC (version 12) has a bug that doesn't allow scripted dropdown lists to dynamically update. If that's the case, you'll notice a refresh icon in the upper-right of the UI next to your setup tools. Clicking that should populate your dropdown menus to have the correct information.
Hi Mike,
I'm running After Effects CC 2014 (Version 13.0.0.214)
I don't see any option to refresh in the UI, is there another way I can tell it to refresh?
I'm having a few problems when the script, I can unbind a joystick but when I try to bind to the existing joystick it isn't listed in the dropdown menu and I get an error that reads, "There is no pre-existing joystick in this comp to bind to".
Similarly when I try to move the joystick to a parent comp there are no options available in the dropdown menu and I get an error that reads "This comp must be nested in another first".
I feel like there must be something small I'll missing but I can't figure it out. Any ideas?
Hi Steve,
What version of After Effects are you running? After Effects CC (version 12) has a bug that doesn't allow scripted dropdown lists to dynamically update. If that's the case, you'll notice a refresh icon in the upper-right of the UI next to your setup tools. Clicking that should populate your dropdown menus to have the correct information.
Hi Mike,
I'm running After Effects CC 2014 (Version 13.0.0.214)
I don't see any option to refresh in the UI, is there another way I can tell it to refresh?
In CC 2014, clicking on any of your dropdown lists should prompt them to refresh themselves. If this is not working, you can open up a support ticket and attach a project you are working with, so I can try to recreate the problem on my end.
I can't find how to add multiples sliders on a single null object (the one generated when clicking create slider).
Best,
Nico
Hi Nicolas,
The number of sliders created on your null object depends on the number of sequential keyframes you have on your rigged properties. If your property has two keyframes, it will create one slider. Three keyframes will create two, and four will create three, etc. All of your properties you are rigging must have the same number of keyframes. If a property is missing any keyframes, J and S will set up your sliders for the minimum number of properly set-up poses.
I'm having a few problems when the script, I can unbind a joystick but when I try to bind to the existing joystick it isn't listed in the dropdown menu and I get an error that reads, "There is no pre-existing joystick in this comp to bind to".
Similarly when I try to move the joystick to a parent comp there are no options available in the dropdown menu and I get an error that reads "This comp must be nested in another first".
I feel like there must be something small I'll missing but I can't figure it out. Any ideas?
Hi Steve,
What version of After Effects are you running? After Effects CC (version 12) has a bug that doesn't allow scripted dropdown lists to dynamically update. If that's the case, you'll notice a refresh icon in the upper-right of the UI next to your setup tools. Clicking that should populate your dropdown menus to have the correct information.
Hi Mike,
I'm running After Effects CC 2014 (Version 13.0.0.214)
I don't see any option to refresh in the UI, is there another way I can tell it to refresh?
In CC 2014, clicking on any of your dropdown lists should prompt them to refresh themselves. If this is not working, you can open up a support ticket and attach a project you are working with, so I can try to recreate the problem on my end.
I wasn't able to get the dropdown lists to refresh at all but I think I managed to fix it by updating After Effects to the latest 2014 build. Thanks for your help anyway.
I'm having a few problems when the script, I can unbind a joystick but when I try to bind to the existing joystick it isn't listed in the dropdown menu and I get an error that reads, "There is no pre-existing joystick in this comp to bind to".
Similarly when I try to move the joystick to a parent comp there are no options available in the dropdown menu and I get an error that reads "This comp must be nested in another first".
I feel like there must be something small I'll missing but I can't figure it out. Any ideas?
Hi Steve,
What version of After Effects are you running? After Effects CC (version 12) has a bug that doesn't allow scripted dropdown lists to dynamically update. If that's the case, you'll notice a refresh icon in the upper-right of the UI next to your setup tools. Clicking that should populate your dropdown menus to have the correct information.
Hi Mike,
I'm running After Effects CC 2014 (Version 13.0.0.214)
I don't see any option to refresh in the UI, is there another way I can tell it to refresh?
In CC 2014, clicking on any of your dropdown lists should prompt them to refresh themselves. If this is not working, you can open up a support ticket and attach a project you are working with, so I can try to recreate the problem on my end.
I wasn't able to get the dropdown lists to refresh at all but I think I managed to fix it by updating After Effects to the latest 2014 build. Thanks for your help anyway.
Glad you were able to get it working. I'll keep a note of this. This isn't something I'd be able to fix since I can't test on deprecated builds of After Effects.
Having issues when I come to create a joystick it allows me to do so, but I do not end up with a joystick I get a new empty layer but can seem to do anything with this? any suggestions would be great
Having issues when I come to create a joystick it allows me to do so, but I do not end up with a joystick I get a new empty layer but can seem to do anything with this? any suggestions would be great
Hi darren,
It's likely that Joysticks 'n Sliders wasn't installed correctly. You must copy both the Joysticks_n_Sliders.jsxbin file and the Joysticks_n_Sliders_assets folder into your ScriptUI folder. The assets folder contains presets that the tool needs to access in order to build your controllers. If it can't find the presets, it will fail in the way you've described.
Have a look at the instructions pdf for installation help. Let me know if this helps.
Hello, we're working with JnS and it's absolutely amazing, not to mention it's super fun! Great job!
We only have a few problems:
-all of sudden, on a project, we aren't able to update the animated shape layers from outside the comp containing them, it's a parent comp containing the joystick.
-again on another comp, the shape layer won't update and says "No properties in your selected layers are ready to be connected to a joystick."
although... it's a shape layer that worked perfectly fine until a little ago...
We're in the middle of the project so we need to know whether this is solvable! Thanks,
The error message you mention occurs when attempting to create a joystick or rebind a layer to an existing one. For that, you must have layers selected that you intend to rig. To update PathShapes, you must have a controller selected, such as a joystick or a Slider null.
As for updating path shapes, double-check that your work area in/out points are covering the correct part of your timeline. You should also be able to go into the comp from the parent comp and select the controller (the one that is controlled in the parent comp) and Update Pathshapes with it selected.
If you're still having this problem, please open up a support ticket here:
From there you can upload an .aep which I can test on my end so I can help you further. If there is something not working correctly with J and S, I'd like to fix it.
Hello, we're working with JnS and it's absolutely amazing, not to mention it's super fun! Great job!
We only have a few problems:
-all of sudden, on a project, we aren't able to update the animated shape layers from outside the comp containing them, it's a parent comp containing the joystick.
-again on another comp, the shape layer won't update and says "No properties in your selected layers are ready to be connected to a joystick."
although... it's a shape layer that worked perfectly fine until a little ago...
We're in the middle of the project so we need to know whether this is solvable! Thanks,
I seem to be having a bit of trouble with UI sliders, when I create them for multiple sliders they get mixed up, and I end up having one slider controlling several properties while the others don't do anything. This seems to be because every UI slider layer gets created with the same name "Slider Control" and the expressions point to the same one instead of each going to the right place.
They work just fine without being turned into UI Sliders.
Is there a way to rename sliders without having to dig in the code? It's quite possible I'm just being dumb here and missing something.
I'm on AECC 13.7.2.3 and have the 1.1 version of the script.
I seem to be having a bit of trouble with UI sliders, when I create them for multiple sliders they get mixed up, and I end up having one slider controlling several properties while the others don't do anything. This seems to be because every UI slider layer gets created with the same name "Slider Control" and the expressions point to the same one instead of each going to the right place.
They work just fine without being turned into UI Sliders.
Is there a way to rename sliders without having to dig in the code? It's quite possible I'm just being dumb here and missing something.
I'm on AECC 13.7.2.3 and have the 1.1 version of the script.
Thanks!
Luis
Hi Luis,
The slider Control effects in your slider null can and should be renamed to something unique and descriptive before creating your UI sliders. It won't break anything.
The UI sliders should take on the names of your slider controllers in your slider null. Under the hood, your rigged properties are connected to your slider effects by stacking order in your Slider Null. When you create UI sliders, your slider effects are connected to your UI sliders by layer name.
I seem to be having a bit of trouble with UI sliders, when I create them for multiple sliders they get mixed up, and I end up having one slider controlling several properties while the others don't do anything. This seems to be because every UI slider layer gets created with the same name "Slider Control" and the expressions point to the same one instead of each going to the right place.
They work just fine without being turned into UI Sliders.
Is there a way to rename sliders without having to dig in the code? It's quite possible I'm just being dumb here and missing something.
I'm on AECC 13.7.2.3 and have the 1.1 version of the script.
Thanks!
Luis
Hi Luis,
The slider Control effects in your slider null can and should be renamed to something unique and descriptive before creating your UI sliders. It won't break anything.
The UI sliders should take on the names of your slider controllers in your slider null. Under the hood, your rigged properties are connected to your slider effects by stacking order in your Slider Null. When you create UI sliders, your slider effects are connected to your UI sliders by layer name.
Hi is ther a way to copy whol rig in single composition ? like this ?
//edit i found workaround this problem by duplicating whole composition and moving contorler to master composition
That works! I should point out that the controls in your master composition are connected to your rig via expressions. If you like keep iterations of your work in the same project, you should use something like True Comp Duplicator on your master composition to make sure your expression connections get properly updated to work with the new duplicate. https://aescripts.com/true-comp-duplicator/
Hello everyone! I have made a small update to Joysticks 'n Sliders. Now when updating pathShapes, they will update even if they are indirectly controlled by your selected controller. If you have paths rigged to sliders and those sliders rigged to a joystick, you can update those path shapes by selecting either the slider null or your joystick.
Hi, probably a stupid question but is there a way to rig precomps? or just shape layers.
Hi Graham,
I'm not sure I understand the question. You can rig pretty much any animated property beyond just shape layers including precomps. If you're asking about rigging properties of nested layers within a precomp, you can create and set up your controllers within the precomp, then move those controllers to the parent comp using Move to Parent Comp.
I'm using AE CC 2015.3 and when I create a joystick I get no control joystick, just an empty shape layer. Any tips on what's going on here?
Thanks
It's likely that Joysticks 'n Sliders wasn't installed correctly. You must copy both the Joysticks_n_Sliders.jsxbin file and the Joysticks_n_Sliders_assets folder into your ScriptUI folder. The assets folder contains presets that the tool needs to access in order to build your controllers. If it can't find the presets, it will fail in the way you've described.
Have a look at the instructions pdf for installation help. Let me know if this helps.
I did almost the same thing from the tutorial. But it keeps saying no properties in your selected layers are ready to connected to a joystick. Please check the following link for photo. Let me know how to solve this prob. Thanks.
Your keyframes must be exactly 1 frame apart in time. It appears that yours are spread out over about 1.5 seconds. Other than that, it all looks ready to rig!
joysticks aren't meant to live inside switch template comps. Switch template comps are meant to be roadmaps that you create to instruct your joystick which assets should be displayed according to your joystick position.
After I move a joystick to a parent comp (and the joystick turns red) is there a good way to "unmove it" back into the original comp?
I moved a joystick for my characters' head into the parent comp, but now I want to move the head comp into another AE project file so I'd like to return to full control of the joystick inside the head comp before moving it into another project.
I hope that makes sense. Thanks again for making J&S!!
After I move a joystick to a parent comp (and the joystick turns red) is there a good way to "unmove it" back into the original comp?
I moved a joystick for my characters' head into the parent comp, but now I want to move the head comp into another AE project file so I'd like to return to full control of the joystick inside the head comp before moving it into another project.
I hope that makes sense. Thanks again for making J&S!!
Hi Ben,
There is no function in J&S to move your controller back to a child comp. What is likely the best workaround is to is to select your red joystick in your child comp and unbind. Then you can select your layers and Create a new Joystick. You should be able to copy/paste the position keyframes from your parent joystick to your new one if you'd like to save the animation.
After I move a joystick to a parent comp (and the joystick turns red) is there a good way to "unmove it" back into the original comp?
I moved a joystick for my characters' head into the parent comp, but now I want to move the head comp into another AE project file so I'd like to return to full control of the joystick inside the head comp before moving it into another project.
I hope that makes sense. Thanks again for making J&S!!
Hi Ben,
There is no function in J&S to move your controller back to a child comp. What is likely the best workaround is to is to select your red joystick in your child comp and unbind. Then you can select your layers and Create a new Joystick. You should be able to copy/paste the position keyframes from your parent joystick to your new one if you'd like to save the animation.
Love the new script, its going to make animating so much more fun.
i seem to have run into a big problem though.
I go and create the keyframes required to make the poses, but when i go and then create a new joystick, instead of giving me the joystick i just get a empty layer that doesnt do anything. ive tried multiple times but it hasnt seemed to of worked. Ive installed it correctly too, so im very confused.
Love the new script, its going to make animating so much more fun.
i seem to have run into a big problem though.
I go and create the keyframes required to make the poses, but when i go and then create a new joystick, instead of giving me the joystick i just get a empty layer that doesnt do anything. ive tried multiple times but it hasnt seemed to of worked. Ive installed it correctly too, so im very confused.
Any help would be great.
Thanks
This does sound like an installation problem. You must copy both the Joysticks_n_Sliders.jsxbin file and the Joysticks_n_Sliders_assets folder into your ScriptUI folder. The assets folder contains presets that the tool needs to access in order to build your controllers. If it can't find the presets, it will fail in the way you've described.
If you have installed it correctly and are still having this problem, open up a support ticket and send over the aep file that is giving you problems. I can try to recreate the problem on my end.
Small update to Joysticks 'n Sliders today. It won't affect anyone currenly using the licensed version. I've included some error handling to check for correct installation, and a fixed a bug for users registering on their first session. It would sometimes require an After Effects restart, but now it should work right out of the gate. Current version is 1.2.1!
Great Plugin! Mike I was troubleshooting the Switch Template yesterday and I thought I would mention a tip, because I was having an issue. If you are sorting clips by 'Source Name' instead of 'Layer Name' in you main timeline the Switch Template will not function properly (because the naming convention for me was labeled incorrectly). I would make sure that you are sorting your layers by 'Layer Name' before you bind the Switch Template. Cheers!
Great Plugin! Mike I was troubleshooting the Switch Template yesterday and I thought I would mention a tip, because I was having an issue. If you are sorting clips by 'Source Name' instead of 'Layer Name' in you main timeline the Switch Template will not function properly (because the naming convention for me was labeled incorrectly). I would make sure that you are sorting your layers by 'Layer Name' before you bind the Switch Template. Cheers!
Good point Patrick,
Switch Templates work by matching layer names. For this reason, it's always a good practice to give every layer in your comp a unique name. And any layer in your switch template or corresponding layer in your main timeline should not be renamed after they are rigged.
The layers in your switch template don't even need to be the instances of the same source. They can be nulls or text layers with the same names as the layers in your main comp.
The number of sliders in a Slider Null depends on the number of pose keyframes created after your origin pose. If you have already bound your poses to your Slider null and wish to add more sliders, unbind your slider null, and add more poses to your layers. Once you rebind to your Existing Slider Null, your slider null will now have new sliders for your new poses. Your sliders are assigned to your poses by stacking order, so rearranging them will mess things up. My mouth rigging tutorial shows the process of adding more sliders to the same null as you build more complexity into your rig.
Thanks!
Olly
I saw your last tutorial about path shapes, but when I clic on "update Pathshapes" nothing happened.
I followed exactly step by step (even the color and the same form
Any solution about that ?
In CC 2014, clicking on any of your dropdown lists should prompt them to refresh themselves. If this is not working, you can open up a support ticket and attach a project you are working with, so I can try to recreate the problem on my end.
Thanks,
like this ?
I did almost the same thing from the tutorial. But it keeps saying no properties in your selected layers are ready to connected to a joystick. Please check the following link for photo. Let me know how to solve this prob. Thanks.
I moved a joystick for my characters' head into the parent comp, but now I want to move the head comp into another AE project file so I'd like to return to full control of the joystick inside the head comp before moving it into another project.
I hope that makes sense. Thanks again for making J&S!!
Love the new script, its going to make animating so much more fun.
i seem to have run into a big problem though.
I go and create the keyframes required to make the poses, but when i go and then create a new joystick, instead of giving me the joystick i just get a empty layer that doesnt do anything. ive tried multiple times but it hasnt seemed to of worked. Ive installed it correctly too, so im very confused.
Any help would be great.
Thanks