Making layers out of body parts

[kraal]

honestly your photoshop skill level is not up to the output you are wantimg....... copy and paste puts it in a new layer

[evanfotis]

I first tried with the pen tool and make a selection to my right foot but i couldn´t find where to have my foot as a layer...how do i do that in photoshop?
usee pen tool to dissect each body part into a separate layer. Head, torso upper L&R hands&legs
, lower L&R hands& legs, even ancles and wrists if you want details.
So you create all these separate paths. Covert each to selection (right click or thru the paths palette) and ctr+J ( make new layer via copy). So now you have each body part on a separate layer.

And finally the last doubt is what tecniques should i use so that my animation wont look like a marionette?

Animating all these is better done in After Effects than in PS. Especially if you want realistic movement with easy easy in/ou in the trajectories.
Animating realistically is a whole new chapter, the best you can do is trial & error, or get a bunch of books on animation.

You will use the clone tool for mending the hidden in photo parts of each bodypart which will be revealed while animating..

Good luck

[FabioM]

So far i´ve only cut the layers like you said.

I will do the animation in AE but

You will use the clone tool for mending the hidden in photo parts of each bodypart which will be revealed while animating..

That´s what i´m worried about. I´ve tested moving the layers in PS rotating them and they don´t look so far our of their parent layer.

In cae that happens i will need to correct the layers in PS and then go back to AE to complete the animation? Is that the workflow rule to do this kind of animation?

[evanfotis]

That´s what i´m worried about. I´ve tested moving the layers in PS rotating them and they don´t look so far our of their parent layer.

In case that happens i will need to correct the layers in PS and then go back to AE to complete the animation? Is that the workflow rule to do this kind of animation?
You can either clone in PS or AE which supports motion cloning tools.
Depending on the complexity of your project use either solution.
When you import a psd in AE as a composition, and later on, you make an alteration in a PSD layer, within AE find the layer in the project palette and click reload. It will automatically update. You should not change layer names though, 'cause AE will not recognize them, in which case, you'd have to re-import the new layer.

[FabioM]

Thanks for your help

Cheers

[berniebernie]

And, since you'll be animating as a "doll", odds are your animation WILL look like a marionette. I don't think it would shock anyone, however.

[FabioM]

I forgot to tell that i must use parenting between layers. I guess in this case my animation wont look like a doll.

I have two more questions:

How do i connect layers so that they can be parent and child layers?

Should i for example make the left shoulder a parent and then the left hand and forearm as childs?

[evanfotis]

Parenting or not it is more likelly than not, that it will look like a marionette, unless you are master animator..
You have to parent using inverse kinematics principles. Hand to arm to torso, head to torso, leg to thight to torso etc.
You can also use nulls to adjust movements.
Another option in AE is the puppet tool.

[FabioM]

Ok, it looks like i´m getting into this kind of animation but i have a quick question.

Since i will have to loop the animation during 4 seconds for my project i just need to add an expression in After Effects called LoopoutDuration and then set it´s duration for 4 seconds?

For example the expression in AE is this: loopOutDuration(type = "cycle", duration = 0) then set it´s duration to 4.

I might set it to 3 seconds since the first second is to animate the layers manually.

[berniebernie]

Yes.

You can also copy cut paste parts of compositions if you don't have that many repeats, or even copy paste cut keyframes.

[evanfotis]

since you're well into AE territory, i'd suggest moving or continuing the thread to the AE subforum from now on.

[FabioM]

Well i´ve got into a little doubt about looping.

I´ve done two seconds of manual animation but now how do i loop the other 2 seconds (since the animation has to be 4 seconds) ? Do i put the expressions in the last keyframe of every layer?

Do I need to loop all the steps made by the character during the 2 second animation?

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