Now that you're familiar with Character animators for workspaces,
time to create a project, import a puppet, and
get familiar with some important panels and terms.
All right, once you've launched Character animator,
you'll want to create a new project.
You can do this from the home workspace or
by going to File and selecting New Project.
Let's call this one magnus.
Next, it's time to import a Puppet
by going to File and Import.
For this lesson, go to the Project
Files folder and bring in magnus puppet.
Notice that magnus will now show up in
the Project panel, but we can't see him.
So drag magnus on down to the Timeline panel
to behold his penguinness in all of its glory.
Back at the project panel.
This panel is the repository of all your media assets.
A given project might include
multiple puppets, scenes, voiceover recordings,
sound effects, or background graphics.
The Project panel is also where you'll get your
organizational groove on press Return to rename Files and
create folders by clicking this button right here.
Another important feature of the Project Panel is that
by selecting different files in this panel, you bring
up the properties for that given asset.
For example, if you're looking to change the frame rate
for a scene or adjust a face property for a
puppet, selecting these files from the Projects panel will pop
up the associated properties for that asset.
lastly, if you select a puppet in the Project panel,
a humble yet powerful Edit original button pops up.
We'll use this feature a lot as it
allows you to alter the look of your
character without having to reimport the source file.
Okay, snuggled up next to the
Project Panel is the History panel.
This is a record of every step you've
taken in the selected project, which brings up
a key difference between Character animator and almost
every other app in the universe.
Character animator essentially autosaves every step.
yep, you can close the app at any time, and
it will never ask if you want to save.
And when you reopen Character animator, it will
always start right where you left off.
If you did want to periodically save at some benchmark
step in your editing progress, this Save New Version button
will help you jump to key moments in your history.
Okay, to the right, we have the Scene
monitor where you preview your character and recordings.
You've got timecode on the bottom left, playback in
the middle, and your zoom options on the right.
Typically, it's a good idea to set your zoom to fit
so you can see the entire video frame and composition.
sliding onto the right, we have the Camera and
mic panel, where you can reset the pose of
your character if it gets a little bit goofy.
And this is also where you enable your webcam
and microphone to capture your facial movements and voice.
One hot tip on this panel turning on your video
camera takes up a ton of computer power, so be
sure to turn this feature on only when needed.
zipping on back to the left.
The triggers panel is where you can view any
keyboard triggers that you have created for your puppet.
These could be things like replays, such as
wave animations, or popup graphics like heart eyes.
And at last, at the bottom, we find the timeline panel.
This is where you'll do all of your
editing, including traditional trims and cuts, but also
some edits that are unique to character animator.
buddied up with the Timeline panel is the controls
panel, which will include any triggers you've designed for
your puppet, as well as any properties you want
to add and control with sliders.
So now that you know how to
import a puppet, start a scene and
some basic navigation around the record workspace.
Fire up the next video and let's cover
the basics of puppet anatomy and rigging.