BAO Bones
  • leroy francoisleroy francois
    Hi Markus and everyone,

    both Bones and Puppeteer have been updated, for Both Mac and Windows (version is 1.0.2).
    Have fun!

    François
  • Markus ReumannMarkus Reumann
    Hello again!

    Thanks for the update, works now. Brief question: is it possible to only manipulate a finger of a hand without putting the finger onto an own layer? So I can animate only the finger still attached to the hand (which is not supposed to move)? Thank you!
  • leroy francoisleroy francois
    Yes, you can parent effects onto the same layer.
    So, for example, on the same layer, you can have an arm, a hand linked to this arm, and fingers linked to this hand.
    You can have a look at the Rigging tutorial for details:



    Cheers,
    François


  • Markus ReumannMarkus Reumann
    Thank you. But what I've meant is if I can put the aequivalents of puppet pins onto the rest of the hand to keep it in position, so I still got only one layer for finger and hand together- so I don't have to cut the finger (and have a visible border) and have a better warp from the finger to the hand? I hope it's understandable :)
  • leroy francoisleroy francois
    Sorry, but it's difficult to answer... ;-)
    Please open a support ticket and send me an .aep file?
  • Markus ReumannMarkus Reumann
    Thank you for your help! Nice piece of software, gonna buy it now. It's fast, as promised ;)
    You should probably make a brief tut for the file you made for me - this works very nicely..
  • leroy francoisleroy francois
    Glad you like it!
    I'll try to make a new tuto.

    Cheers,
    François
  • Rune JacobsenRune Jacobsen
    Hi,

    This looks very interesting, but two questions;

    1) Say you have a number of rigs that you want to use in several scenes; Is it simple to do the rigging once, and then import the necessary rigs (layers?) into each "scene comp", while retaining full animation flexibility?

    2) Do you know if this would be easy to use alongside with bq_HeadRig, also on aescripts, especially considering question 1?

    Thanks, this looks great! 
  • leroy francoisleroy francois
    Rune Jacobsen said:
    This looks very interesting, but two questions;

    1) Say you have a number of rigs that you want to use in several scenes; Is it simple to do the rigging once, and then import the necessary rigs (layers?) into each "scene comp", while retaining full animation flexibility?

    2) Do you know if this would be easy to use alongside with bq_HeadRig, also on aescripts, especially considering question 1?

    Thanks, this looks great! 

    Hi,

    1) You can select and change the source of each instance whenever you want. So yes, you can prepare rigs and apply them to different sources. Of course, if for example legs are longer, you'll need to adjust selection parameters...

    2) In my opinion, the easiest way to use Bones with bq_HeadRig is to have the head in a precomp, and use this precomp as source for Bones. I'm not a bq_HeadRig user, but if you have hard times using them together, just open a support ticket and send me your file, I'll have a look at it, see if we can optimize the rig.

    Hope you'll like it!
    François
  • Shahar FleisherShahar Fleisher
    Hi! How do I control a character from outside the comp?
  • leroy francoisleroy francois
    Hi!

    Bones is controlled by point parameters (Distortion points).
    You can add expressions to these parameters and control them as you wish, from inside or outside the comp.

    Cheers,
    François
  • Lloyd AlvarezLloyd Alvarez
    Shahar Fleisher said:

    Hi! How do I control a character from outside the comp?

    BAO Plugins said:

    Hi!


    Bones is controlled by point parameters (Distortion points).
    You can add expressions to these parameters and control them as you wish, from inside or outside the comp.

    Cheers,
    François

    You can also use Joysticks n' Sliders to setup the rig: https://aescripts.com/joystick-n-sliders/
  • Shahar FleisherShahar Fleisher
    Is there a way to "Un-bend at end"? In case I don't want to separate the feet from the legs...
    Thanks
  • leroy francoisleroy francois
    Shahar Fleisher said:
    Is there a way to "Un-bend at end"? In case I don't want to separate the feet from the legs...
    Thanks
    Hi Shahar,
    you cannot directly "un-bend at end" (I've tried to include it, but it didn't give good results).
    The best way to un-bend at end is to make an IK chain. This way, you have better control on the bending.
    You can have a look at this tutorial
    You'll see, it uses no seperate foot. The 2 Bones use the same source.

    Cheers,
    François
  • guillaume lenelguillaume lenel
    Hello François,
    Is the actual trial version up to date ? 
    Because I downloaded it today and it seems to be the 1.0 version.
    Once extracted, the main folder is named 1.03 but the folder inside says 1.0, and inside AE the 'infos...' tab of the plug says 1.0 too.

    Anyway, on this trial version, i have the same bug on AE2014 and AE2017 : the plug seems to works during the set up, but when i start to manipulate via pupetter, suddenly, the UI of AE do not respond anymore (not a general freeze, just the comp display which seems to be inactive.) I have to restart AE to have it active again.

    My windows 10 and my nvidia video card driver have last updates possible...
    Thanks if you can check it,
    I hope it will work soon, it seems to be a really nice tool !
    Guillaume

  • leroy francoisleroy francois
    Hi Guillaume,
    yes the actual version is up to date. Main version is 1.0, 1.0.3 is just the update records.
    Can you open a support ticket and send me your file? (no sources needed)

    Cheers,
    François
  • guillaume lenelguillaume lenel
    BAO Plugins said:
    Hi Guillaume,
    yes the actual version is up to date. Main version is 1.0, 1.0.3 is just the update records.
    Can you open a support ticket and send me your file? (no sources needed)

    Cheers,
    François
    Ok thank you Francois !
    I submitted the ticket with the 2017 project.
  • leroy francoisleroy francois
    Thanx, I'll check it as soon as possible.
  • stef reutestef reute
    Hi françois
    same problem for me … OS X sierra + AE CC 2017 + Bones 1.0.3
    it crash the display while animate without any warnings, that just stop the refresh 
    and forced to hard relaunch AE to get the display back … and again … and again …
    it is very annoying, i bought your plugin for a special work and i need to finish it…
    i try different things for isolate the pb (cuda, openCL, metal, hard acceleration… on or off) but no clues
    let us know. thanks.  
    Stf/.
  • leroy francoisleroy francois
    Hi Stef,
    sorry about it. I'm working on it and hope I can provide an update soon (hopefully today)

    Cheers,
    François
  • leroy francoisleroy francois
    Hi Chris,

    I'm following one track now, but I have to make more tests before I release it.
    The difficulty is that on my side I don't get any crash, so I'm searching half-blind, that's why it takes a bit of time...
    The plugin does work on Mac (I've tested it on several different machines), only some specific configurations seem to cause troubles. You're part of the unlucky ones, sorry about it.

    Cheers,
    François
  • ben tohben toh
    Good day,

    I've been playing around with the plugin and using cc2014 it crashes will invoking the plugin once i drag to the layer. However using cc2015.3 the plugin works great.

    I have a major issue tho. It seems there is a slight drop shadow or black edge over the layers. Is that suppose to be correct? All the layers like head arm and leg have this dark line at the edge except the body layer.

    I am planning to get this plugin once i am able to solve this.

    Regards.
    Ben.
  • leroy francoisleroy francois
    Hi Ben,

    I'm working on an update that should fix the bug on CC 2014.
    And about the 'drop shadow', you can remove it by changing the "Alpha blending" from "Saturate" to "Premultiplied". And in fact, next update will have "Premultiplied" as default setting.

    Cheers,
    François
  • ben tohben toh
    Good day Francois,

    Thank you for the prompt reply yes i found that setting in 'Render parameters'. Looking good now!

    Last question: The viewport will sometimes hang and just showing the composite layers even if all the layers are turn off. I have to create a new comp + new layer or restart AE or just wait for the viewport to come back live again. Not sure if anyone here faces this problem.

    Regards.
    Ben.
  • leroy francoisleroy francois
    About your last question, next update should fix it too.
    The problem can come from web browsers open at the same time than AE (it depends on machines and web browser's version though...).
    So, while I'm finishing the update, you can try to close your web browser when you work on AE, it should work better.

    Cheers,
    François
  • leroy francoisleroy francois
    Hi everyone!

    a new update is available.
    Now, in v1.1, 'Parent effect' parameter will only show effects indices, not their names anymore. Sorry for the inconvenience, and I hope I can put it back in the next update.

    3 more changes:
    _Alpha mode default value is now Premultiplied, to avoid the 'drop shadows' Ben Toh described.
    _'Keep original bend' default value is now 100% as most of you seem to need it at this value.
    _Puppeteer points now appear in the UI, not only the circles. This improves Puppeteer's speed. Points and circles can be offsetted, but if you click in the circle, points will immediatly go to the right place.

    Hope you'll like it!

    Cheers,
    François
  • ben tohben toh
    Hi Francois,

    This update is a lot less buggy and the viewport is working now. However as you said the indices is not accordingly to the names anymore and hopefully u can put it back for the nxt update. Purchased it. Thank you.

    B.
  • leroy francoisleroy francois
    Hi Ben,
    glad to hear it works better!
    I'll keep working on the names, I like it better too, but I have to find a workaround...
    Cheers,
    François
  • Steve MiceliSteve Miceli
    I have the trial version on a MAC with the latest Adobe AE version (2017), but I do not see the 'Parent Parameters'  ... are they missing from the trial version ?
  • leroy francoisleroy francois
    Hi Steve,

    the 'Parent parameters' appear only if you have several 'Bones' instances on the same layer (cos' you can only parent one Bone to another).
    And it will never appear on the first instance, as it can be parented only to a Bones instance upper in the effects stack.

    And by the way, I'm happy to tell you a new update is coming, with 'Parent effect' names back as they should. I'll update it before tonight. :-)

    Cheers,
    François
  • Steve MiceliSteve Miceli
    Thanks François,

    In the Video "Bones Tutorial: Rigging" it looks like each layer has the Parent Parameters, and I want to link the arms and legs to the body like in the video, but I can't find the parent parameters to link my arms and legs to the body... how is that possible ?
  • leroy francoisleroy francois
    Hi again Steve,

    the parameters should appear. Are all your Bones instances on the same layer?
    Anyway, you can try with the new version (1.2) I've just uploaded it.
    Parameters will look exactly the same as in the video.

    Cheers,
    François
  • Mia MateescuMia Mateescu
    Hi Francois,

    I'm trying your plugin and I find the rigging part awesome so far. However, I can't figure out the animation part. I'm just learning After Effects, so if my question is stupid, I apologize in advance. I was looking for a way to keyframe the movements, but after watching your tutorials and looking through all possible options, I still can't figure this one out. Your help is really appreciated!

    Thanks,
    Mia 
  • leroy francoisleroy francois
    Hi Mia,

    this is not a stupid question at all! :-)

    I guess you're using the Puppeteer tool, and this one is not keyframable. It is only a User Interface, that allows you to manipulate several Bones at a time.

    Now, when you animate, keyframes should be set on each Bones instance (most likely the 'Distort 3' parameter).

    Note that if you keyframe one Bone, you can modify it via Bones directly and/or Puppeteer. But the keys will always be on the Bone itself. It means that you can remove or re-apply Puppeteer whenever you want, as keyframes are stored in Bones, you won't loose anything.

    I'll try to make a tutorial.

    Cheers,
    François

  • Kevin HallKevin Hall
    Hello!

    Could you please tell me what benefits I get using this over the free DUIK plugin?

    Tanks
    Kev
  • Mia MateescuMia Mateescu
    Hi Francois,

    Thank you for your answer, I understand now. I thought that Puppeteer was supposed to be some sort of master control but I wasn't able to keyframe it! I got the animation working now, using the separate bones, Distort 3 Points, just as you said. 

    I love the fact that, although I am working with a PNG and not a vector, I can see no distortion or blurring on the body parts as I move them, which is amazing! I'll keep playing with your plugin for a few days and it's most likely that this will be my Christmas present for this year. :) 

    I tried Duik and found it to be more complicated to work with than this one and also own Rubber Hose but it doesn't give me the same degree of flexibility Bones does (just in case others are wondering why your plugin is better). The movement flows so natural with very little effort! 

    Anyway, thank you for your fast support and for this awesome plugin! 

    Cheers,
    Mia
  • leroy francoisleroy francois
    Thanks Mia!

    And here's the tutorial I made to clarify the use of Puppeteer with keyframes:

    Cheers,
    François
  • Mia MateescuMia Mateescu
    Just one more question. I quickly exported the short animation I created with Bones and, on the video, there are some sort of guides visible (attaching an image: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwmpN3Y1qrFjcjQ2YndocHZkNkk/view?usp=sharing). Is this some sort of a watermark because I am using the trial version, or did I miss something (again!)? :)

    Thanks,
    Mia
  • leroy francoisleroy francois
    Yes, this is the watermark of the trial version.
  • Mia MateescuMia Mateescu
    Thank you! No cause for alarm then. :)
  • leroy francoisleroy francois
    Kevin Hall said:
    Hello!

    Could you please tell me what benefits I get using this over the free DUIK plugin?

    Tanks
    Kev

    Hi Kevin,

    this is a good question!
    In fact, this is the first question I asked myself before spending a lot of time developping this tool. ;-)

    The first thing is the distortion. DUIK relies on the 'Puppet tool' for distortions.
    And as you probably noticed, Puppet mesh is automatic, you cannot define it, and of course cannot change it over time.
    With Bones, the mesh is defined to fit joint bending, and you can modify it whenever you want. You can even use masks to get very accurate distortions.

    The second thing is it doesn't require straight arms or legs. With Bones, you avoid the hard work preparing and unbending your layers in Photoshop.

    The third thing that pushed me writing it, is I needed an entirely keyframable plugin. With Bones, you can switch the IK mode from Automatic to Manual whenever you want, you can even keyframe Parenting, Selection points...

    And finally, the simplicity! I wrote the plugin for an animation feature film, and we need to animate a lot of characters.
    With Bones, you can control a whole character on a single layer, and you don't need extra Nulls or controllers.
    This keeps compositions tidy and light, and as it doesn't rely on expressions, it is really fast.

    Just give it a try! :-)

    Cheers,
    François
  • Mia MateescuMia Mateescu
    Hi again Francois,

    It seems I'll be pestering you for a while, sorry for that! 

    I am trying to parent facial features to the character so I can animate them separately. The same would go if I wanted to put an object in his hand, I'd need that separately and not included in the rig. I have tried to parent them to the body bone, on Distort 1 Point. While they move along with the character, as soon as I parent them, they are displaced (for example I ended up with the mouth at the bottom of his neck). When I tried to parent the mouth on the head bone, Distort 3 Point, I ended up with it above the head and not moving along with the character. What am I missing?

    Thanks,
    Mia
  • leroy francoisleroy francois
    Hi again Mia,

    no worry ;-)
    Can you open a support ticket and send me your file (no sources needed)?
    It'll be easier for me to reply.

    Cheers,
    François
  • Filippo MarchettiFilippo Marchetti
    Hello, i am a big fan of your work and i have purchased Mask Brush in the past, and thinking about Mask Avenger.
    Does this plug-in offer additional functionality compared to duik?
    Thank you very much.
  • leroy francoisleroy francois
    Filippo Marchetti said:
    Hello, i am a big fan of your work and i have purchased Mask Brush in the past, and thinking about Mask Avenger.
    Does this plug-in offer additional functionality compared to duik?
    Thank you very much.
    Hi Filippo,

    thanks for your comment! :-)


    But anyway, for an experienced user like you, I think the best way to see what's the benefits compared to DUIK is to try it. All the features are available in the trial version. The only difference is you get a watermark.

    Hope you like it!
    Cheers,
    François
  • Filippo MarchettiFilippo Marchetti
    BAO Plugins said:
    Filippo Marchetti said:
    Hello, i am a big fan of your work and i have purchased Mask Brush in the past, and thinking about Mask Avenger.
    Does this plug-in offer additional functionality compared to duik?
    Thank you very much.
    Hi Filippo,

    thanks for your comment! :-)


    But anyway, for an experienced user like you, I think the best way to see what's the benefits compared to DUIK is to try it. All the features are available in the trial version. The only difference is you get a watermark.

    Hope you like it!
    Cheers,
    François
    I'll surely try it.
    I adore your plugins.
    One day i'll own them all.
  • Filippo MaisanoFilippo Maisano
    Hello, I'm testing the demo on OSX 10.11 AE CC 2017
    everything works but is not fast as in the demo videos, every time I move a bone there is a little lag of time (and I can see the blue loader bar)
    Is it something related to the demo or is there something to set in the preview panel? Thank you.
  • leroy francoisleroy francois
    Hi,

    the trial is very slightly slower (because of the watermark), but this is almost not noticeable...
    If there is a lag, it can come from several things:
    _if you use very large layers.
    _if you have other OpenGL applications running at the same time than AE (Web browser, screencast recorder...), cos' they also use the graphic card and they can fight for priority.
    _if you're using 'Fast preview' or 'Adaptive resolution' mode. Though they can accelerate AE itself, they also force the plugin to re-render when resolution changes.
    _if you just started your computer and / or AE. Sometimes, the graphic card is busy at the beginning of the starting process and it creates bottlenecks.

    I cannot tell you for sure which one of these, as it can vary a lot from one computer to the other, depending on updates of softwares, graphic cards, web plugins...

    Hope you can enjoy it at high speed soon!

    Cheers,
    François
  • leroy francoisleroy francois
    Hi everyone,

    A new version (1.3) is available with a new feature: 'Add Child'
    Tutorial:


    Enjoy!
    François
  • Steve RutherfordSteve Rutherford
    I have a problem following the rigging tutorials. Whenever I add a second instance of the bones effect to a layer it is missing the following options Mesh, Points, IK and source.
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