{"id":10893,"date":"2017-06-12T14:21:33","date_gmt":"2017-06-12T14:21:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/graphicmama.com\/blog\/?p=10893"},"modified":"2022-06-28T09:41:09","modified_gmt":"2022-06-28T09:41:09","slug":"create-adobe-character-animator-puppet-photoshop","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/graphicmama.com\/blog\/create-adobe-character-animator-puppet-photoshop\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Create Adobe Character Animator Puppet in Photoshop"},"content":{"rendered":"

Who said you need\u00a0to have drawing skills to make your own perfectly good and unique functional puppet for Adobe Charterer Animator? If you are sick of Illustrator tutorials<\/a> and want to learn how to create Adobe Character Animator puppet in\u00a0Photoshop<\/strong>\u00a0specifically, then tutorial is for you. If you are still unsure what this whole “puppet” buzz is about, check out this article<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Today, we will show you how to turn yourself into an awesome Adobe puppet by using your selfies and your Photoshop skills. Ready to create lots of fun videos with yourself as a protagonist? Cool, let’s begin!<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0Selfie session.<\/strong>\u00a0Time to\u00a0get crazy, people!<\/h3>\n

Use your\u00a0smartphone, tablet, or another device of your choice to make a series of selfies.\u00a0These photos will\u00a0determine the overall look\u00a0of your future puppet.<\/p>\n

\"create\"\"Here are 5 super handy tips before<\/strong> you roll your sleeves to shoot:<\/p>\n

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  • Make yourself a\u00a0list of the facial expressions<\/strong> you’ll have to make for your puppet. This will help you stay focused and will eliminate the risk of skipping an essential pose.<\/li>\n
  • It’s recommended that you photograph\u00a0the facial expressions corresponding to the postures the software\u00a0requires. Furthermore,\u00a0you can experiment with even more\u00a0crazy faces<\/strong> to boost the fun factor of your puppet.<\/li>\n
  • Try to keep your head in the same position<\/strong> as much as possible in all your selfies.<\/li>\n
  • For the best results, keep your face well illuminated<\/strong>. Direct light is recommended. It will make your facial mimics the most expressive.<\/li>\n
  • Use green screen<\/strong> behind you\u00a0to crop your head in Photoshop way more easily.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

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    The facial\u00a0expressions that we did were in accordance to the software’s requirements. Remember that you will later have to name<\/strong>\u00a0your own mouth expressions\u00a0by following this same list (Ah, D, Ee, F, L, etc). This way you will allow Character Animator\u00a0to detect them correctly when you animate your puppet.<\/p>\n

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    2. Photo hunting<\/strong>\u00a0for your puppet’s body and accessories.<\/h3>\n

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    The fun with learning how to create Adobe Character Animator puppet in\u00a0Photoshop\u00a0doesn’t stop at making crazy faces in front your camera, no! Release your wildest imagination to come up with unique ideas and make your puppet super cool and fresh.\u00a0Here at GraphicMama we love having fun and mocking ourselves, so we picked a couple of baby photos to use for the puppet’s body, and a pen as an accessory.<\/p>\n

    Make sure your photos are royalty-free<\/strong>.\u00a0We recommend that you use the services of a specialized website for premium or free stock photos<\/strong>. Otherwise,\u00a0carefully check the licence of the photos you are using or simply make your own photos for the body and accessories.<\/p>\n

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    3. Heat up your Photoshop<\/strong>\u00a0and take out the scissors.<\/h3>\n

    Once you are ready choosing and shooting\u00a0pictures, it’s time to open up your Photoshop. We are starting off the actual building of your puppet.\u00a0At this point it’s essential to\u00a0equalize the light\u00a0levels<\/strong> of the different photo shots\u00a0and also\u00a0even out\u00a0the color saturation<\/strong>, so your puppet looks good in the end.<\/p>\n

    What you have to do is cut out all needed visual elements<\/strong> from your photos: face, eyes, eyebrows, accessories, body, etc. Also, have in mind that you will have to equalize\u00a0the element sizes<\/strong>, e.g.\u00a0all head positions should be proportional with one another.<\/p>\n

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    4. Time to build your puppet! Arrange and name<\/strong> your PSD layers.<\/h3>\n

    At this point you will put the final touches of your soon-to-be puppet<\/strong> in Photoshop before sending it to Character Animator. This step is vital\u00a0for the software, so it can detect your puppet parts\u00a0correctly.
    \n\"\"<\/p>\n

    In order to successfully create Adobe Character Animator puppet in\u00a0Photoshop, you should arrange your layers and name them by following Character Animator requirements. Make sure\u00a0your visual elements<\/strong>\u00a0fall into the folder<\/strong> they belong.\u00a0<\/strong>Also, if you have a background, you should remove it. Alright, now we are ready to move on!<\/p>\n

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    5. Import<\/strong> your PSD into Adobe Character Animator.<\/h3>\n

    If you arranged and named your file correctly, Character Animator will\u00a0automatically detect which elements correspond to your specific mimics. The software will instantly start animating your puppet by mirroring\u00a0your camera movements.
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    6. Let’s shake it!\u00a0<\/strong>Adjust the body behavior.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    Use the software tools and functions to make the body move. In our case, we made the hands and legs draggable with the mouse while the neck is fixed. At this point, you can also add key triggers with the keyboard for specific actions, e.g. hold the pen. You don’t need to record\u00a0the body movements while you animate the head. You can later blend the video layers together and adjust them via the timeline.<\/p>\n

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    7.\u00a0Mastering the timeline.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    Let us clarify first that once your puppet is well adjusted and the software recognizes all its parts, everyone can\u00a0animate it<\/strong>! The software wouldn’t need your face in particular to detect the camera facial expressions. This means, you can create Adobe Character Animator puppet in\u00a0Photoshop by\u00a0using someone else as a model,\u00a0<\/strong>or have someone else animate your own puppet for you.<\/p>\n

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    Secondly, you don’t need to do the head animation, the body movements, and the voice-over at the same time. Record them separately and use the timeline tool to adjust\u00a0the different layers<\/strong>\u00a0so they can blend together and shape the final animation.<\/p>\n

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    8.\u00a0Export<\/strong> and voila!<\/h3>\n

    Character Animator gives you\u00a0the options\u00a0to export the outcome\u00a0as a gif or a video by using Adobe Media Encoder<\/strong>. The choice is yours but it also depends on where you will use the final result. We’ve made two different puppet animations and exported\u00a0them as videos. Scroll down to check them out.<\/p>\n

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    Final results:<\/strong><\/h3>\n