Intro To Adobe Character Animator

[@AgileWaters]

WOW! Just...WOW!!! Thank you so much! I've been spending thousands (no joke) on having gig workers do this for me and I have Adobe sitting right here. THANKS!!!

[@wednesdaydessauer9393]

I've been using Ch for years. I just watched this as part of my prep for a noob workshop I'll be hosting: Apparently I'm still learning too! Thank you for such a clear overview. This is probably the best video for anyone starting out in the app.

[@SumacPath]

You’re the most amazingly awesome tutor in the multiverse. This is totally awesome. Thanks for your time and talent in walking through Character Animator. You’re truly a talented instructor. ✨💯👍🏽

[@mdderrek9280]

exactly!

[@jeffamcavoy]

I've watched almost all of your other videos and this just helped me put all the pieces together in the right places. Thank you!

[@Catchiemusic]

Arguably the best, most thought through tutorial and tutor I have listened to - excellent stuff!!

[@subpatch]

I've played with this software in the past and I've wanted to use it for a cartoon but I realized I had to just quit messing around and do some serious learning. I'm nearly in tears at how many features it has and I can't thank you enough for this tutorial! I can't wait to go through the rest of the playlist and starting making some new cartoons!

[@mibevan]

Now this is what I hoped you were going to do. Start fresh and give a new tutorial with updated details. What will you think of next

[@chaosloveBronson]

Omg this helped so much. The tutorials adobe had weren't that good for my learning style and I was super frustrated but now I understand it enough to play around

[@pugflavatv6414]

This is so helpful thank you so much , I had no direction until I watched this video. It changed my world !!!!!!!!!!

[@DaveTheTurd]

Honestly, I've been an Adobe Suite subscribed forever, and I never knew this app existed. I can't tell you how amazed I am, and excited to use this. I have a play I wanted to do a test animation of, and have been dreading the amount of time it was going to take... using this app, I can see not only is it going to take a tiny fraction of the time/effort I imagined, but looks like it will be incredibly fun. If it works well, I have so many old scripts in my archives that I can bring to life.... thank you immeasurably.

[@peacefulsystem]

Awesome! This is the best intro video I have found. Thanks so much. I subscribed because of this one.

[@MyTruckingSkills]

i am looking forward to your new rigging tutorial. That was a great refresher. Thank you for everything you do.

[@사일런트silent]

Much thanks from South Korea! I'm new to Ch and this is the best video to understand key features. Now I'm moving on to next video to make my own character! Thanks!!

[@Smiley-o3k9f]

Thank you so much. after installing it a while back, i just never could figure it out what it can do but thanks to you, You got me superb interested in Adobe Ch Animator for the first time !

[@Lilygrover91]

What a timing; from today itself, I was going to start learning about the recording part as my puppet is almost complete and you posted this!

[@laviestes4150]

Thx to the Adobe Character Animator team, this app is awesome!

[@waynewrz]

Great opening walk through. And your Lego tree house is great.

[@jeekakrishna]

This software is my source of happiness. I wish Adobe offer this as a standalone subscription instead of entire Adobe CC

[@F3ND1MUS]

It does

[@jerwilliamsmith]

You're a fantastic teacher! Thank you for posting this.

[@Erikalyne83]

I'm french and I don't understand all the words you said but your video is so complete and so good that I understand how to use Adobe character, thanks a lot🙏🤗☺️

[@ereiamwyrdraven]

Finally someone that makes easy/understandable tutorials :)

[@elvismutua2277]

i've been always been wanting to start an animated series but i had zero experience with blender and after effects but with this knowledge i can see my own youtube channel comming soon...........this is a an awesome software

[@kennywilsonca]

OMG!! I didn't know about the history panel. The headaches that would have saved on my last project. Thanks for this Dave. :D

[@harmonice859]

I've got to say, you could not be any clearer in your tutorial. I was never lost at any stage of your guide; and because of you, I've caught on to ACA in one go. Well done!

[@zilliongadzillion]

I've enjoyed using this software since the first beta - but I'll watch this video carefully if only to enjoy the enthusiasm in your voice!

[@ahmed.ibrahim.]

Thank you very much. This is a great introduction to the program.

[@itsORcinneo]

I can't wait for the updated Rigging video!!! This one was great!!!

[@massoud0803]

Incredibly good training. I will always come back. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. Thanks very much.

[@avyudayakhanal7203]

Hello Dave, Thank you so much for this video. I am from Nepal, quite interested in visal animation since my childhood. But because of the lack of proper learning institutions and other limitations, i can't learn good training. Please keep updating about visual animations. Thank you so much.

[@dinamikaralk7525]

Oh my God! You are a great teacher. I am much more motivated because of you. Thanks for everything.

[@arts.maimounah]

Informative, easy-to-understand tutorial, thank you, brother 👍

[@SootyHunt]

This is an awesome Tutorial.... Just waiting for Animate to finish downloading.... Will then run the program with this vid playing on my iPad next to my iMac.... Very informative, simple to understand which is Perfect for people like myself..... Thanks !!!!

[@aro-aro-aro]

Thank you so much. For this fresh tutorial. I was wondering where to start on your playlist. :) Great job.

[@mhpb639]

@21:00 How do you export the character without a background? I am struggling to find this information. I see @40:00 how to export to other Adobe products, but I am trying to take my character into another program and there is a black background that continues to appear.

[@okaysamurai]

Make sure that if you choose a background in Character Animator using the background icon, that it has a transparent icon in the corner (the top 4 in a row). And transparency will only work in Premiere or After Effects. If the problem persists, please upload a video or screenshot of your issue to adobe.com/go/chfeedback and we'll try to help you out.

[@randadavis784]

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU - these are so helpful for Adobe Creator newbies!!

[@babaganoosh1969]

Man glad you're doing well.. haven't seen you since the Atmosphir days

[@okaysamurai]

Doing great thanks! Love hearing from Atmosphir users, hope all is well with you too!

[@dabacosm]

Thank you for demystifying this program for me! This was great!

[@rockyy.mp4]

Love this video. Super simplified some stuff that I had worked hours to figure out

[@whoozie]

I like dave's teaching style because he knows what he's doing....he goes straight to the point always🔥

[@bobodonnell]

Great video. Can you point me to a video to teach how to add an object to the hand….like a microphone? Thank you for any advice.

[@okaysamurai]

I'll definitely show this in the future, probably the next rigging tutorial I do - for now, check out Sirr on okaysamurai.com/puppets - he has a stick that can appear in his hand with triggers.

[@astarakimedia4790]

@@okaysamurai yes pls, im also waiting for this tutorial, i wanted to add an object like a cell phone, to do a mobile conversation video, maybe you could show us both 🎤 and a cell phone tutorial, thanks in advance

[@Mercureye]

Hi and thank you for this tutorial, you are doing an amazing job! I watch your video with translated subtitles but I can learn because you are a very good teacher. Thank you for what you offer! ^^

[@LF24281]

Your video has helped boost my confidence so much. Thank you!!!

[@seeheargames]

Looking forward seeing a long videio on rigging thank you for what you do

[@JoGarciaMov]

This is my very first day with Character Animator and this video help me a lot!! Tomorrow I will check your Intro to Rigging video...Thanks a lot for your very useful tutorials!! :D

[@nbharati3d]

thank you! you are a great trainer, crisp and clear. appreciate if you can share some use cases where this program has been used (or can be used) in making fully animated short stories.

[@okaysamurai]

Thanks! Check out some of the community spotlight examples: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aXTRfmeYp8mMkM0

[@bairfreedom]

This is just waaay too cool ! I didn't even know this was a thing till I got my student package for learning adobe photoshop and I saw this as part of the creative cloud software package.

[@mikew8071]

Great video, Okay Samurai. Thank you for this!

[@joannesmith4391]

Love this series!! Just getting started but I'm blown away by how much this tool has evolved in the last 2 years! One question about calibration - if you need to wear glasses, should you take them off while that process is happening?

[@okaysamurai]

Thanks! Many people on the team wear glasses and in general we find it should still work well as long as your face is well lit. If you notice any issues with pupil or eyeball tracking, you could try without to see if it improves anything, but in our practice this hasn't been a major issue thankfully!

[@leenapande4670]

This was so helpful. Detailed and to the point. Thank you so much.

[@goldsithneyband]

Brilliant tutorial! So well thought through and presented!!!

[@corbinanderson8895]

Excellent up and running tutorial. Appreciated.

[@deannadarcel]

great video. how do you adjust the volume on the audio track?

[@okaysamurai]

Next to the name on the timeline audio track there is a blue volume number you can adjust.

[@deannadarcel]

Thanks!

[@sharysa1]

amazing. perfect. Whatever I say is still not enough😍

[@CodingWithPixelFix]

Thanks mate! This is a great tutorial. I am really excited to watch the rest and to start playing around with Ch and work on my new hobby 🙂.

[@JustMamba]

Just wanted to pass this along to someone. I record with an interface and within a daw or obs you can downmix your stereo input to mono, or just record straight in mono. Most interfaces are default stereo and it records left or right but within these other programs they get converted to mono. I was just wondering if anyone knew a way to use another program to convert the live feed to mono before going into character animator. That or if there is any future updates to help fix this. Im having a ton of fun with the program. I can record in fl studio and import and be fine but I cant record live because the sound is only picked up on a left or right channel.

[@okaysamurai]

Hmmm not sure...if the problem persists, please post to the official forums at adobe.com/go/chfeedback so potentially more of the community can take a closer look.

[@shaadhahmed7176]

I've learned all about Adobe Charector Animator. Thank you for the very usefull video.

[@tesfayesusyimenu3292]

It is simply amazing how so many important points you covered in less than an hour!

[@flo.motion]

Hey Dave! Thanks a ton for the tutorial! Makes it really easy to understand and follow along! Question: Do you have any experience or best practices if I want to use a character in a Zoom or Teams Meeting? Keep up your great work!!

[@okaysamurai]

Check out my co-worker Dan - he has some great tutorials on doing this for Mac or PC! kzbin.info/door/Z78iYeX8pvRR5M63N121hA

[@nicolasalejandromontenegro2229]

Woah, great video mate!

[@CemeteryRiotAnimation]

GOAT Samurai. Thank you, Dave.

[@PartridgeTV]

Wow, we've just tried making our own head puppet following your video dated a year ago. This is a nice updated tutorial version.

[@Fraxys]

Thank you for the tutorial it makes it clear for this animation tool.

[@JoshCARTOONSnet]

Adobe Character Animator is a wonderful software... For me, it's the best there is for live action Animation... Please can the following be added in the next update: Can a z position be added to the transform behavior so certain object can be placed in front of others layers that are above. 2. I would love it if there is a way to switch off live action, so the characters don't keep bouncing out out of were one initially placed them anytime you record. This would make it possible to pick the Dragger from were it was last place and continue. It will also help with the triggers, as it's not possible to know triggers made in a particular frame without scrubbing through the timeline. 3. I would also love it if the layer picker is not only triggered by the arrow key, but can be configured to any key. Thank you so much... Really love the work you put in... Your tutorials helped me get into this software...

[@okaysamurai]

For 1 - Agreed this would be great! For now you can dynamic link and use After Effects to do this kind of thing. For 2 and 3 - yes, both of those would be nice to have, thanks for the feedback!

[@NekonataVirino]

You make it look so easy. Having just purchased CC to on my nice new computer I bought in order to use this software specifically - am literally tearing my hair out with frustration at trying to follow along. Maybe i’ll get there eventually but at the moment i want to throw things at the wall.

[@okaysamurai]

What part(s) are you stuck on?

[@NekonataVirino]

@@okaysamurai I think what’s got me is because I have ADHD etc I get kind of literal about following and about what I see or don’t see, so when you open your version you see things like puppet maker on the home screen whereas I don’t and i don’t know where to find it (hunting around on drop down menus is not intuitive when you expect a big area) and it totally throws me, - maybe because i am neuro-divergent or maybe just because i am old and slow. it takes me about five or six goes of trying to copy exactly what you do to try (and some screaming that this doesn’t work) to eventually get the same effect. I know this is a long tutorial but it’s kind of going to fast to watch then follow. I keep missing the throwaway lines that something is different on PC than on a Mac.I’ve got the tutorial playing on my iPad and the computer set up in front of me as I tried to follow along, and literally I kind of need to stop the video every 15 to 20 seconds but that’s almost impossible so I keep watching and re-watching in two minute chunks and eventually I kind of get there but it is so hit and miss that it’s doing my head in. I get the wrong button to click or when i try to drag something it doesn’t drop on the right place, or the double click is in the wrong place and nothing happens because i need to be in a different space about three millimeters over on the screen or something - and on and on. I’m going to try to persevere for a bit longer to see if I can echo what you’re doing but if not and i can pin down exactly where my specific point of failure in an action is I will definitely get back to you. (I still think your stuff is awesome)

[@okaysamurai]

Thanks for the explanation! Yes, I'm a fast talker - one thing that might help is clicking the gear icon over the video and changing playback speed to be slower - that might help it go at a pace that works a little better for you.

[@NekonataVirino]

@@okaysamurai - i have you on .75. Any slower and the words slur too much to be meaningful. Sigh

[@bariseroglu]

You really make our work easier, thanks a lot for this brief video

[@AllanM444]

what a killer tutorial! thank you so much bro!!

[@mohamadasaad1659]

Very very cool, thank you for what you do and provide simple and easy ways to move the character Thank you for everything I always you wish success

[@SLSmartMind]

This is was really HELPFUL!!!

[@abdelkhila]

Hi Okay Samurai, I am a k-12 teacher . I have no background in animation, but I am willing to learn. I came across your channel. I would love to learn how to make short stories for my French students using Adobe Character Animator or any other easy product you might suggest. The stories would be silly and super short since I would be teaching a foreign language through animation ( Ex: There is a man. He has a dog, but he wants a cat. He goes to the pet store, but there are no cats. He goes to to Planet Catmania and adopts 5 cats, etc). The story itself is just a vehicle for teaching frequently used vocabulary in context. I would love to be able to also write or insert script sorta of like writing on a white board. As a matter of fact I am debating between Adobe Character Animator or making hand Drawn animation on a white board with Stop motion, etc. Any suggestions would be much appreciated. I looked at your playlist and could not find a tutorial where you describe step by step how to have different characters, settings in the same story. Thanks a bunch! I Hope to hear back from you :)

[@okaysamurai]

Awesome! Yes I think CH would be great for this. The most in depth multi-character tutorial I have is this one: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jJmmfHdrq9Frapo, but that does involve some After Effects work. For the sake of simplicity you may want to look into Starter Mode or Puppet Maker as easier ways of getting started recording and/or making custom characters.

[@abdelkhila]

@@okaysamurai Thank you so much for your prompt reply!!! One last question please. I just finished watching the intro tutorial. Could I record writing on a white board for example and import that say to add to Chloe's timeline ? Or better yet, could I add speech bubbles to Chloe's scene. I will watch the other tutorial your mentioned ( maybe the answer is there ;) ) > Thanks again kindly! Abdel

[@okaysamurai]

Yes, so in that case I would record Chloe in CH and do the dynamic link stuff into Premiere or After Effects like I talk about in this intro video to overlap her above the whiteboard. That should work great!

[@abdelkhila]

@@okaysamurai ​ Thank you So So MUCH!!! I will watch the other video and let you know how my project goes in the next few weeks. I really appreciate your feedback and kindness for taking the time to reply. ♥

[@ls4k_kids]

This video helped me bunches. Thanks 😊 Now if I can only figure out why NDI won't download on my computer for live steaming 😮

[@DREVY82]

Awesome job as always

[@live2love111]

omg i could feel my brain grow!! ty!! so helpful!! ❤

[@catscratchtheatre]

wonderful overview! thank you!

[@chanchalm1234]

The method of teaching the real subject without wasting time is very commendable. Enjoy every detail.👍👌

[@nothingbutproductswithgilq2342]

This will be very helpful for upcoming projects. Thank you

[@allyncia]

Thank you, so much! This was truly everything to get started. I did find real time recording with my rodecaster as an audio interface workable yet, the sound still needs help even with my amazing shure and neuman mics. I need to figure out the best latency and I could not get the ASIO driver to work. Maybe I better just pre-record a track and then animate the character to that. Just as I labored through the process of rigging with Duik in AE, I see a lot of transfer of that experience to how I can custom create in Ai and Ps to import into Ch. Really, I just want to make my character animation with speech a bit faster for weekly fun posts and future work projects. I love all the videos and templates and puppets I'm finding too. This is amazing and thanks for how well these videos break down the set up. Once I get something posted, I will definitely tag Okay Samurai and Adobe Character. Back to it! I'll start simple as possible. I'm still newbie to animation since last year :). Thanks so much!!!

[@kimberlyramirez151]

so glad I came across this tutorial, thank you

[@voodooaudio9488]

I hope those geezers at adobe pay you for doing all these awesome tuts. It's way beyond any of their crappy "official" tutorials

[@musicvisualsproductions4869]

Thanks alot. This was great! Question....when importing the audio voiceover, can it be with music so that the puppet will only lip sync the voice and not confuse with the background music playing?

[@okaysamurai]

The music will also trigger the lip sync, so your best method is to do a temporary track of you singing or saying the lyrics along with the music via your headphones, so the lip sync will only pick up your voice. Then mix it back with the original music track.

[@musicvisualsproductions4869]

@@okaysamurai thanks so much

[@musicvisualsproductions4869]

@@okaysamuraiI understand. Thanks. One more question..it seems the custom puppet and others when selected and their heads are at a slant and not looking directly "at the camera", there is a way to turn their heads or no?

[@musicvisualsproductions4869]

specifically the cowfolk

[@okaysamurai]

No, I believe those characters were drawn in a 3/4 view so that's all there is.

[@atPhan-xc6jk]

Sir, your lecture is very good, it helps me a lot

[@alexeremia]

Hi, thanks for this grate tutorial. Pls, can you help, i don't see the body icon in the top right corner where the camera and the mic are. Pls, how can i enable this function so i can fully animate the puppet. Thanks.

[@okaysamurai]

If you don't see the icon, you either a) have an older version and need to update, or b) are in Starter mode and need to click the word "Starter" in the upper right corner to change to Pro mode.

[@rele2207]

I have another question: Is it possible that the characters can also cry? I just found the laughing one right now with key 2. Great video and support dear Okay Samurai! Thank you very much :)

[@okaysamurai]

Some characters like Tull the Cat from the homepage do have crying triggers. Usually this would be shut eyes + sad mouth set + some kind of tears cycle layers animation.

[@Universal_Cymbol]

Amazing overview. Thanks so much.

[@ExUnoInAeternum]

GREAT tutorial. If I might ask, your audio is fantastic. Great mic or do you augment it in post?

[@okaysamurai]

Thanks - both I think! I use a CAD audio u37 mic, and in Premiere Pro I use the essential sound panel to set my voice to "Dialogue > Balanced Male Voice," and usually turn on Repair to get rid of some background noise.

[@namansachdeva1244]

amazing explanation and easy to understand

[@kidscodera3043]

Dear Dave , at time stamp 43:10 which is dynamic link , you have shown that importing the video into premier pro. As soon as you take the scene on time line puppet gets visible with transparent background. But in my case even though I have selected a transparent background in Adobe character animator i still get black background of puppet in premier pro. Is this some specific Export option ?

[@okaysamurai]

The only reason this should happen is if you picked a black background from the background icon / selector inside CH. I would try selecting a bright color and see if that comes through to PR - if it does, then you just need to make sure you don't have a background. If it doesn't, then something is wrong with dynamic link. If the problem persists, please upload a screenshot or video to the official forums at adobe.com/go/chfeedback so we can take a closer look.

[@SATSMATHS]

Thank you. I am a complete beginner . At 13.47 you are clicking on transform under behaviours etc to move anchor points and also to scale your character . My behaviour panel is under Rig unlike yours which is found in the record section . So when I copy what you do I can’t see it in action . I can transform and scale but to see the results need them to click back into record . Can you help ? Thanks 😊.

[@okaysamurai]

So the behaviors actually show up in both Rig and Record - so you can set them in either place, but most people will fiddle with the parameters in Record mode instead of Rig so they can see it in realtime. If you want to save record paramaters back to Rig mode, click the little guy/arrow icon at the top right of the Record properties panel.

[@tiagoschool]

Awesome. Greetings from Peru.

[@miawhispers]

Hey are we aloud to use characters for commercial use for sales or put on KZbin channel ? Does it have to be my own character ? I just don’t see anything about licence information. Great tutorial!

[@okaysamurai]

Yep, you can use these characters however you want.

[@miawhispers]

@@okaysamurai wow thanks for the quick response . I just thought I would get copyright strike if used then on my KZbin . I’m planning on creating my own character once I got through your tutorials 😁💗

[@thinkingahead6750]

I am watching this thinking I could make use of it, well done. One question : one side of my face is paralysed and I don't want that to appear. Do you know how the face tracking will deal with it? Smiling is a particular problem with the left side being permanently down and the right side turning up into a smile. Thank you for your help.

[@okaysamurai]

In general I think you should be okay. Personally, I don't use the webcam triggered mouths like smile and surprised, I use manual keyboard triggers for any extra mouth shapes I want. And for things like pupil & eyebrow movements, even if just one moves it should track for both by default. If you do run into any issues please let us know at adobe.com/go/chfeedback!

[@thinkingahead6750]

@@okaysamurai It will be a month or so before I can get organised to try it. I'll let you know how it goes.

[@joesquadcoptervideos2067]

Are there any plans to ever have anything for CA on iPad? Something I think would be cool that would require less processing power is an app that would allow you to play with your puppet without animating, like a puppet posing app. I just think it’d be cool to test out my psd puppets without needing to get on the computer

[@okaysamurai]

We have heard this request a lot, I agree - it would be awesome. Nothing to report today but never say never...

[@KahleGeronimoJackett]

Thank you for putting this together!

[@V4EandS]

Nice! I hope my laptop can work on this adobe animation.

[@magnasquadYT]

I just purchased Animate. I don't see New Project. The options are open project and Import Puppet. What should I do?

[@okaysamurai]

You are in Starter mode - in the upper right corner where it says Starter, click it and change it to "Pro" mode.

[@magnasquadYT]

@@okaysamurai Thank you!

[@Cececejay]

Love the tutorial😊 i have tried to create my own character (a dog) but the head detaches from the body and floats around when i move my head on the camera. How do i prevent that ?

[@okaysamurai]

Check out kzbin.info/www/bejne/baHKnpKrabueh80si=kv6MzLf_aIr_Uf9q&t=180.

[@dhruvrajsinhjadeja-vfxarti3085]

Awesome teacher you are sir :)

[@storytimewithpoppop5390]

How do I get the words on the screen the way you show it now?

[@okaysamurai]

For subtitles and graphics I use Adobe Premiere Pro or After Effects.

[@storytimewithpoppop5390]

@@okaysamurai That is awesome news. Thank you very much

[@mizahperver]

Hi, very good narration. Simple and effective, thank you so much at the first place. But my version of this software is 3.4. So I don't see any puppet icon next to microphone and camera so, does it mean that I cannot move my body regardless of whatever characters I chose?

[@okaysamurai]

Yes, body tracking was added later. The latest version (2023) does have it.

[@worldfitness5624]

Thank you for the great puppet training. I do need some help: PLEASE!!!! When I record my puppet in full body mode. The video audio drags and makes distorted noises i.e pops and hums and slows the video recording down.

[@okaysamurai]

Oh wow, hmmm - I wonder if that is a hardware issue trying to keep up with the demands of body tracking. Does your system match the requirements here: helpx.adobe.com/adobe-character-animator/system-requirements.html ? If the problem persists, please upload a video of what's happening to the official forums at adobe.com/go/chfeedback so we can take a closer look.

[@worldfitness5624]

@@okaysamurai Thank you that was the issue...

[@stephaniegartmann569]

Hello wow this is awesome! I have a kid's book with a publisher and am looking to see how to get it animated.