- Modules
- Master Controllers
- Introduction to Master Controllers
Introduction to Master Controllers
T-HSCP-002-001
Toon Boom Harmony allows rigging artists to create simple to very advanced character rigs, breaking down the body parts into various drawings and parenting them using hierarchies of transformation and deformation nodes. These character rigs, or puppets, are then animated using the Transform tool, creating a series of keyframes of the various coordinate, angle, scale, and skew parameters linked to these nodes.
To speed up the animation production on intricate rigs, a master controller can be added allowing to control many parameters at once. Master controllers are not exclusive to puppet rigs, but it is the main production context in which they would be used. One interesting scenario would be to apply the controllers on a rotating rig, also known as interpolating rig or 360 rig. The master controllers will not be added to the rig by the rigging artist, but by a technical person such as a programmer or technical director.
The Master Controller is a node allowing the user to create and link callback functions to actions from the Transform tool, capable of generating controls in the Camera view. The callback functions are written in JavaScript using the Toon Boom standard scripting interface.
It works by scripting the generation of on-screen widgets and the effects they have on the functions to which the position and parameters of elements, pegs, deformers and effects are associated when the user manipulates them. This allows you to create elaborate controls with very specific purposes in animating parts of a character model or other elements in a scene.
Therefore, with the master controller scripts, animators will be able to quickly pose characters by grabbing visual controls, handles, points or sliders, allowing actions such as rotating the head, waving an arm, swapping expressions or following a focus point.
You can more specifically look into:
Controller methods
- Show
- Hide
- OnFrameChanged
Widget signals
- Drag
- ValueChanged
Time Estimated 10 mins
Difficulty Level Advanced
Topics List
- Introduction to Master Controllers
- Creating a Master Controller
- Creating Master Controller Widgets
- Setting the Properties of a Master Controller Widget
- Updating an Element's Attribute when Manipulating a Master Controller Widget
- Linking Attributes Between Master Controller Widgets
- Updating the Attributes of a Master Controller Widget
- Connecting Master Controller Widgets to Nodes
- Applying the Coordinates of a Master Controller Widget to Nodes
- Applying the Coordinates of a Master Controller Widget to Deformers
- Controlling Nodes Connected to a Master Controller
- Referring to the Master Controller Node
- Master Controllers Examples
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