Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/790371
55 Q1 2017 / CINEMONTAGE 55 Q1 2017 / CINEMONTAGE TECH TIPS familiar with how Bezier curves work and popular programs such as Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop and many others already incorporate them. With Bezier handles, splines can be formed into a myriad of complex forms easily and smoothly with relatively few points. When I heard that Bezier handles were incorporated in Moho 12, however, I was a little nervous that they would restrict the way the previous implementation of splines elegantly flowed during animation. I was pleased — and relieved — to find out that this wasn't the case. When modifying a Bezier handle on a shape, Moho continuously readjusts its surrounding Bezier handles to maintain the flow of the curve, even if the other Bezier handles were modified as well. I found this to be one of the most innovative and unique implementations of Bezier curves that I have seen in an animation program. Another impressive new feature in Moho 12 is Smart Warp, which works on both vector artwork and bitmaps. Suppose you have a photograph of someone's head and want to make it talk or make expressions. With Smart Warp, first define key points on the features of the head, such as the mouth, eyebrows, chin, forehead and hairline, then triangulate a mesh from those points. Once that's done, moving the points around will morph the face into all kinds of different expressions. Smart Warp is a lot of fun and opens a world of creative possibilities (see Figure 3). Also included in version 12 is much more realistic motion blur. Previous versions of the software included motion blur but, frankly, it needed improvement. This has been fixed in Moho 12. Now there are settings that allow for precise control of the amount of motion blur you desire in your final renders, and can be applied to any moving asset for a high-quality result. Version 12 of Moho also includes a new Select Switch Window that makes replacement animation easier. This is useful, for example, if you have parts of your character that need to be replaced with other parts. This may include mouths, hands, eyes and so on. It is a common technique in lip-syncing but also has other uses. The Select Switch Window provides a visual interface that allows you to conveniently view and keyframe Switch Layers, saving you lots of steps compared to how it was done before (see Figure 4). WAIT, THERE'S MORE There are lots of other great new features in Moho 12 such as Auto-Freeze Keys which, when turned on, will key all the bones in a rig when any bone is moved. This avoids the problem of floating bones while animating. Pin Bones is another new and useful feature in version 12. Normal bones, such as the one that make up the arms or legs of your character, usually have some length to them, while the new pin bones have zero lengths. In other words, they are single point bones. Pin Bones is useful for a variety of things such as facial controls, complex rigging setups and blobby characters, and can also be used on photographs and bitmaps. The Layers Window, the panel where all the objects that form your scene are organized and presented for easy access, has undergone a major update as well. You're now able to customize the window by rearranging its columns or turning them Figure 3: Smart Warp allows you to create a customizable mesh over your character and distort or animate the character based upon the points of the mesh. Figure 2: Smart Bones is a great way to control various aspects of your character's performance, such as eye and mouth movements.