New Starter mode is now available!
Character Animator 22.5 (released June 2022) introduces Starter mode to get you started animating now without any prior experience. Update now to the latest version to try this out.
Last updated on
21 June 2022
- Character Animator User Guide
- Introduction
- Creating and controlling puppets
- Rigging
- Behaviors
- Recording and playback
- Export projects
Auto-swap lets you automatically switch between different artwork layers, like the hand or arm positions, like your puppet moves. Thanks to a behavior called Leader/Follower, your character may now have a more customizable, frame-by-frame appearance for specific features while also capturing real-time performance.
What is Auto-swap?
The automatic switching of artwork frame by frame is Auto-swap. It swaps Set Triggers automatically to switch the puppet's movements to different positions. No matter how you drag the puppet movement, it will always appear in a suitable artwork format. You have to apply the correct tags and behaviors, and Auto-swap will automatically switch between different artworks aligned with your movements in the camera.
Why use Auto-swap?
Switches different artwork
Auto-swap automatically switch between different artwork layers, like hand or arm positions so that they are oriented in the right position. The artwork can be of any number.
Leader/Follower behavior
While using Auto-swap, you have to be familiar with Leader/Follower as it is used in conjunction with Auto-swap. The process helps the character to have frame-by-frame look.
Swap Artwork group
Adobe Character Animator doesn’t have the logic to swap and show one piece of artwork or artwork movement at any given time. Auto swap helps create a swap set of the leading artwork group, allowing one artwork to show up at a time.
Foreshortening and deformations
This feature allows some previously difficult-to-achieve features, such as foreshortening, pose-specific deformations, and squash-and-stretch, depending on the type of art submitted to Auto-swap.
Controlling Movements
Auto-swap lets you automatically switch between different artwork layers, like hand or arm positions, as your puppet moves. This allows your character to have a more customized, frame-by-frame look for certain elements mixed with real time performance capture, thanks to a new behavior called Leader/Follower.
Before you proceed
Before you start using Auto-swap, get familiar with the concept of Leader/Follower behavior and how to add tags will help you understand how Auto-swap works. For more information on these concepts in Character Animator, see:
How to use Auto-swap?
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Create a group with independent content inside.
In your original PSD or AI file, create a group including your artwork in multiple positions. For example, a Left Arm group filled with ten different possible arm and hand positions.
Make sure the contents are all independent by adding a + in front of each layer name.
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Add the Leader/Follower behavior to your top-level character.
Add the Leader/Follower behavior to the root of your character, alongside your normal behaviors like Face and Eye Gaze.
Try it yourself
Here are some Auto-swap examples that you can download to try out this workflow. A project showing four examples of the Leader/Follower behavior and Auto-swap: holding a sword with two hands, holding a coffee cup with one hand, a unicycling robot, and a fire-breathing dragon snake.