Rigging Gurus-- How Was This Done???

[fgreen]

In this toon-eye-rig, the bank rotation of a null distorts the eyes and eye sockets giving the character a really cool doofy personality. If you still have the content from LW 7 you can load up the libsync scene in the Endo-sliders folder. I've also included a stripped down version in the attached zip file.

To see how it should work, load the sample rig (lipsyncFromContentEdited in the zip) . You can select the null, EyeS_Target, located in the forehead. Rotating the bank on this null causes both the eyeballs and eye sockets to deform-- basically using bones to morph the character's facial expression around the eyes. Very Cool.

In the other file (rigTesting), I've tried to set up a simple character the same way. I rotate my null, n_eye_bMorph, also located in the forehead and only the eye sockets displace. I can't figure out how the eye ball bones are connected to the null. These bones are named eye_bMorph_R and eye_bMorph_L in my rig.

There is an expression on these bones in the z scale channel. I think I'm using the same expression in the same way, but am not that experienced with expressions-- I'm just getting into them.

I've also searched all the bones, nulls, objects and motion settings in the sample rig, but can't figure out what I am missing to get the eye balls to deform along with the sockets

Can any of you rigging gurus help shed some light on this? It is a really cool effect and I'd love to be able to use it. Thanks in advance!

[nickdigital]

In the NewTek rig the bones that move the eyes are also parented to the muscle bones that control all those brow movements.

In your rig the bones that control the eyes aren't parented to the muscle bones. That's why your brow moves but the eyes don't.

[fgreen]

Hey Nick, thaniks a bunch. I'd be embarassed to admit how long I struggled with this, and yet missed that link. In hindsight it now makes perfect sense that the base eye bone that controls the shaping of the eyeball into a toon-styel oval should be parented to the bones that deforms the eye sockets-- thus forcing the eyeball into the socket shape. I probably should have named the bones and nulls the same as in the demo rig to make it easier to compare. Anyway thanks again.