Puppeteering Behavior Settings

After you have defined the controller type and mapping relations in the Define Controllers page for the eye accessory, you are able to define the puppet behaviors of poses and materials when you puppeteer the eye accessory with the Controller.

The layout of the Define Puppet Behavior page is as shown below:

* Please refer to the The Relation Between Builder and Controller section for the mapping chart.

Defining Extreme Movements for Axes - Eyelid, EyeBlink, Eyeball and Expression

By defining the maximum postures toward different axes, the eye accessory can thus be driven to defined positions when you use Controller to puppet it.

1. Select the eye accessory.
   
2. In the Modify panel, click on the Edit Animation Layer button in the Animation section to show the Edit Motion Layer panel.
   
3. Make sure the settings are correctly set in the Define Controllers page.
4. In this Define Puppet Behavior page, click on the tabs to separately define the elements behaviors driven by the controller (in this case, the Eyeball tab is picked).
   

   Note:

   Whether the controllers in different tabs can be edited or not is determined in the Assign Node(s) for Controller Handles button of the previous Define Controller page. You must also activate the Enable Expression box to enable the controller in the Expression tab.

5. The number points around the compass are the axes for the Controllerto move toward to elicit a predefined accessory behavior.
   
6. Click one of the numbers (take 2 for example) to switch it to editing mode.
7. Click the R or L button beside the Quick Select Handle Target label (in this case, the L is clicked).
   

   Note:

   The right or left tree can be determined by setting the left and right roots in the Assign Accessory Root(s) step in the previous Define Controllers page.

8. The structure of the eye will be automatically loaded into the Edit Motion Layer panel.
   
9. Select the highlighted bones that control the eyeball and rotate it to the ideal maximum angle along the same direction of the number button.
   

   Note:

   You are allowed to use Move or Rotate tool to translate the bones. But you CAN NOT scale the bones. Activate the Show Bone box to highlight the bones whose status can be adjusted. Although you may adjust any accessory bone, only the status of the highlighted bones will be kept at step 11. Whether or not specific bones are highlighted is determined by the Assign Node(s) for Controller Handles button in the previous Define Controllers page. Material status can also be set up at this step.

10. Click on the other button of the R and L and repeat the same steps for the other eye so that the two eyeballs rotate to the same direction.
    
    
11. Click the Apply button to keep the angle.
    

    Note:

    Apply: Keep the defined bone and material status of the accessory. Reset: Retrieve the original status of the bone and material under controlled. Clear: Remove the data of the number and leave the editing mode. Cancel: Abort the procedure and give up the editing result.

12. Repeat the same steps for the rest of the numbers (including the center one, which is not numbered).
    
13. Click the Preview Mode button to start the Controller-simulation mode.
    
14. Drag the green dot to different axes to view the puppeteering results.
15. Select another tab (in this case, the Eyelid, EyeBlink or Expression) and repeat the same steps to define the behaviors of the accessory driven by the controllers inside.
16. Click the OK button.
17. Make sure the eye accessory is selected and click on the Add button at the bottom of the Content Manager to add this eye accessory to the custom library.
    
    This eye accessory is now ready for being applied to another character and being puppeteered via the Controller.

Defining Material Changes to Axes - Iris Size

In addition to the translate and rotation data that is able to be set and kept by eye accessories, material data can also be adjusted and saved in them. You can thus create material animations by using the Controller. In this case, we use the Iris size as an example.

1. Select the eye accessory.
   
2. In the Modify panel, switch to the Texture Settings section.
3. Make sure the settings are correctly done in the Define Controllers page.
4. In the Define Puppet Behavior page, click on either the Eyelid, EyeBlink or Eyeball tabs (in this case, the Eyeball tab is picked).
   

   Note:

   The Iris Size slider in the next step displays only when these three tabs are selected.

5. Click the A button beside the Iris Size label to switch it to editing mode.
   
6. Click the R or L button beside the Quick Select Handle Target label (in this case, the L is clicked) to quickly select the target eye.
   

   Note:

   The right or left tree can be determined by setting the left and right roots in the Assign Accessory Root(s) step in the previous Define Controller page.

7. Shrink the iris by adjusting the UV settings (Offset, Tiling and Rotating) of the eye.
   

   Note:

   Although you may adjust any material of the eye by picking certain materials from the Select Material drop-down list, only the adjustments of the object's materials that are highlighted by the Assign Node(s) for Controller Handles button in the previous Define Controllers page can be kept. Bone translation and angle status can also be set up at this step as long as you have correctly enabled the boxes of the bones via the Assign Node(s) for Controller Handles button in the previous Define Controllers page.

8. Click on the other button of the R and L and repeat the same steps for the other eye.
   
   
9. Click the Apply button to keep the texture results of the irises.
   

   Note:

   Apply: Keep the defined bone and material status of the accessory. Reset: Retrieve the original status of the bone and material that are under controlled. Clear: Remove the data of currently edited number and leave the editing mode. Cancel: Abort the editing procedure.

10. Repeat the same steps to B and Center axes (set the center to be the initial sizes of the textures).
11. Click the Preview Mode button to start the Controller-simulation mode.
    
12. Drag the green dot of the Iris Size slider left and right to preview the puppeteering results.
13. Click the OK button.
14. Make sure the eye accessory is selected and click on the Add button at the bottom of the Content Manager to add this eye accessory to custom library.
    
    This eye accessory is now ready to be applied to another character and have its material modified in real-time via the Controller.