Hi All,
I'm new to After Effects (AE)..and very excited about the opportunities available with the puppet tool. I am, however, banging my head against the wall over the issue described below. No doubt my inexperience with AE plays a big role in my frustration. I hope someone can point me in the right direction.
I have a composition that includes a tree trunk and a tree branch, each on different layers. I want to be able to use the real-time puppeting function (where you can deform/move the object over time by holding down the control key while you move a specific puppet pin)...on *both* of these objects (the trunk and branch). I need the trunk to sway side to side and the branch to flutter up and down. (Different types of movements and at differnt tempos.)
Of course, I want the branch layer to always be attached to the trunk layer, which is no problem when using the parenting methods in AE and non-puppeting methods of animating: When I'm animating by changing the position/rotation of the trunk, the branch stays attached and follows the movement of the trunk as expected. But when I'm moving the trunk with the puppet pins using that real-time puppeting method described above, the branch won't obey parenting relationship. It does not follow trunk...just stays where it is.
I've tried merging the branch layer with the trunk layer and then animating the whole artwork with the real-time puppetting but it's very difficult to make the branch dance in a different way than the trunk. I've used the starch tool to kind of isolate the two areas of the artwork but it isn't satisfactory either.
I like the organic feel of using the real-time puppetting method to move the trunk and branch (as compared with the other methods) but how do I keep the branch attached to the trunk and still be able to deform/move each part in drastically different ways?
Thanks much for any help you can offer.