Realistic Basics - Character Animation with Background Duik Bassel Script and Expression
Hello everyone, this is your instructor, Choi Ji-won
In this session, we will cover character animation with a background
and discuss Duik Bassel script and expressions
We will explore these topics in detail
Today's lesson will first cover
installing the Duik Bassel script
and practicing its functionality
to use scripts in After Effects
for creating rigged animations
Secondly, we will practice creating a walk cycle animation
to make the animation more realistic and polished
focusing on creating high-quality rigging animations
Installing Duik Bassel Script
First, we need to install the Duik Bassel script
before we can use it
So, open your web browse
We need to access the website
so follow along with me
Type http://rainboxlab.org/tools/duik/ in your browser
Here, we need to find where we can download it
Click on the Download button in the middle of the page
When you click Download, you will see Your contribution
For those who wish to, you can make a donation
But for now, click Done! Take me to my download
Clicking this will take you to the next page
Here, you will see options like Duik Angela, Duik API, and Old versions
We need to download the old version
You will see a line that says Starting with Bassel.2,
all versions are available on Github
Click on this option
If you scroll down, you will mostly see Duik Angela
But here, we have Duik Bassel.2 Update 30
Click on Assets below it
You will see a file named Duik Bassel
Click on it to download
If you click it, it will say that the download has been completed
Double-click the file to extract it
Extract the files to your desktop
Inside this folder, go to Script UI
Select both files inside
Since we will use them both, press Ctrl + C to copy
Go to Local Disk (C:) - Program Files - Adobe
Then navigate to Adobe - Adobe After Effects 2023
and go further into Support Files
Inside Support Files, find Scripts
Inside Scripts, go into ScriptUI Panels
Here, paste the copied files
I already have them, but you should paste them here
We have one more step
Copy Duik Bassel.2 by pressing Ctrl + C, then go to Local Disk (C:)
Navigate to Program Files - Adobe
Then go to Adobe After Effects 2023 - Support Files
Paste it inside Scripts - ScriptUI Panels, and the installation is complete
Implementing Rigging Animation
First, let's import the AI file and start working
Press Ctrl + N
Name it Flower Woman
Since we are animating, set the duration to 5 seconds
Too many features can slow down performance
Inside Flower Woman, press Ctrl + I
You should see the Flower Woman AI file
We will import this AI file
Double-click it, and set the import type to Footage
Do not select Create Composition
When you double-click, you will see Footage
Instead of Merged Layers, choose Choose Layer
Select and import Right Arm, Body, Head, Left Leg, Right Leg, Left Arm, and Background
You need to import them one by one
I have imported them all You should now see Right Arm
Select Right Arm immediately
Go to Import - File, and bring in Body
Then press Ctrl + I again and import Head
Next, import Left Leg
Then, import Right Leg
Now, import Left Arm
Finally, import Background
As you go through Import, bring in all layers like this
I don’t have any unnecessary files
You should have created the Flower Woman composition
Right Arm, Body, Head, Left Leg, Right Leg, and Left Arm
Check that everything has been imported correctly
We will be doing a lot of work in the timeline today
So, focus carefully to follow along
Before using Duik Bassel, we will set up Puppet Pins
Click Right Arm first and select the Puppet Pin Tool
Place four pins at the shoulder, elbow, wrist, and hand
After placing those four pins, let's apply Puppet Pins to the Body
Place pins on the neck and waist
and leave the Head as it is
Next, we are going to place pins on Left Leg
Place pins on the hip, knee, and ankle
Do the same for Right Leg
Place pins on the hip, knee, and ankle
Now, select Left Arm
Place pins at the shoulder, elbow, wrist, and hand
Leave the Background as it is
Now, we have placed all the Puppet Pins at the joints
Next, go to the Window menu
Scroll down to find what we downloaded
and you should see Duik Bassel 2.jsx
If it's not checked, click on it to enable it
If it’s already checked, that means it's enabled
so make sure it is checked
This will make the Duik Bassel panel appear
Ensure that it is running properly
Once the panel appears, we will proceed with rigging
In the Rigging section, you will see a middle section
The middle section is called Links & Constraints
You need to click on it
Do not click anything else—just this
First, we will create controllers
We will use Add Bones and Auto-rig & IK
This will create bones and controllers
Here’s how we will do it
Let's start with the Right Leg
In the Timeline Panel, select Right Leg
Once selected, you will see the Puppet Pins we placed
There should be a Mesh Let's open it
Expand Deform, and you will see three Puppet Pins
Press Ctrl and select all three
Select the three pins for hip, knee, and ankle
With these selected,
go to the Duik Bassel panel and click Add Bones
Now, a bone structure has been created for the leg
You can see the bone structure in the Composition Panel
It appears as pins placed on the leg
Make sure to check if it has been applied correctly
You will see a pushpin-shaped icon
If it's not visible because it is behind something
Click the Solo button to make it visible
You can use this to check if it's correctly applied
Next, after creating the bone structure
We need to create a central controller
For the three bones we just created
You will see three Puppet Pins labeled B
Select all three
Hold Ctrl and select them in order
Let’s select them in this order: ankle, knee, and hip
Just follow this sequence
Selecting in the order of ankle, knee, hip will make it easier to manage
Once selected, make sure all three
you must select the ones before the # symbol
With them selected, click Auto-rig & IK
Now, you will be able to see that a controller is generated
Check the Composition Panel
In the Timeline Panel, you will see a C indicating the controller
You will see the controller displayed
Now, the controller has been created
We will now apply the same process to the left leg, left arm, and right arm
following the same steps, let's do it again
We just finished the right leg
Now, let’s open Left Leg
Go to the Left Leg AI file, then navigate to Puppet to Mesh1
Expand Deform, and you will see three Puppet Pins
Select all three and create Bones for each of them
Clicking Add Bones will generate the bones
At the same time,
three bones will be created in the Left Leg
Select them in order and click Auto-rig & IK
Now, a controller has been generated for the Left Leg
Controllers will always appear at the top
So now, this controller is linked to
both the Right and Left Legs
If you've done this part correctly, now let's do the arms
We will start with the Right Arm
Expand Puppet - Mesh and you will see four Puppet Pins in Deform
Hold Ctrl and select all four in order
Click Add Bones, and four bones will be created for the Right Arm
Now, select all four bones in order again
Generate the controller
Click Auto-rig & IK, and you will see the Right Arm Controller appear at the top
Now, we have created three controllers
What's next? It's the Left Arm
Open the Left Arm, then navigate to Puppet - Mesh1 - Deform
Select all four Puppet Pins in order
Click Add Bones again
You will see four bones appear immediately
Select all four bones in order again
Click Auto-rig & IK to create the controller
We've created a lot of controllers so far
Now, we have finished rigging the main moving parts: both arms and legs
We should also add rigging to the Body
Since we have limited time
Go to Puppet - Mesh1 and then Deform
How many did we make earlier? We made 2
Select both 2 Puppet Pins
Hold Ctrl and select both
Then click Add Bones
Now, two Bones will be created for the Body
Hold Ctrl and select both bones
Finally, click Auto-rig & IK
Check if the body controller has been created
We quickly set up the controller
Since there are so many files,
It might be confusing
If you get confused, take your time and review each step
We have repeatedly used Add Bones and Auto-rig & IK
to create controllers
Keep this in mind
Now, we will work around the central controller (C)
We will use this central controller
to connect other parts of the model
so that they move naturally together
We will begin this process now
What you have to press is
the Create Controllers icon which looks like a hand icon
Click on this icon
This means we are creating a new controller
A list of different controllers will appear
Select the fourth icon
Once selected, in the Composition Panel
a similar icon will appear
At the same time, in the Timeline Panel,
you will see Body Puppet Pin 2 created
Now, where is the central part of the body?
At the pelvis, all the joints meet
Move the controller to the pelvis
in the Composition Panel
Make sure it is positioned in the center
To avoid confusion, rename it in the Timeline Panel
Let’s name it Pelvis
Name it C_Pelvis
Now, using the Pelvis as the center
we will check the bones in the body
In the body section, there is a neck bone
In the two body layers, click Solo
to check where the neck pin is located
Select this pin and parent it to the Pelvis controller
We are connecting it to the Pelvis so it moves smoothly
Next, find the waist bone in the body layer
and connect it as well
The waist bone in the body
should be connected to the Pelvis controller
Next, where is another major joint?
The shoulders in the arms
Let's start with the Right Arm
Open the Right Arm layer
You will see a pin selected at the top
Click Solo to check if it's correct
If this is the shoulder, we will connect it
Once you finish the Right Shoulder, do the Left Shoulder
From the four bones in the Left Arm
find the shoulder pin
Once you find it, click Solo to check
Parent it to the Pelvis Controller
Now that we've connected it to the Pelvis, where else should we connect?
We’ve already connected the shoulders, body, and waist
Now, let’s connect the hip area to the legs
We previously placed a pin on the left leg’s hip area
This one seems right. Connect it to the pelvis controller
Now it’s linked to the pelvis
Since we did the left leg, let’s do the right leg
Let’s check if it's the correct pin, no, that’s not it
Ah, here’s the correct hip pin
Once you find it, connect it to the pelvis
and the main joints in the skeleton should move together
To ensure everything moves with the pelvis,
we must link the controllers properly
That’s why we connected everything to the pelvis controller
Now, we don’t need to touch the bones anymore
That’s because everything will move using the controllers
First, let’s focus on the controllers
From the top, let’s only check layers 1 to 6
We need to set the position values for these controllers
Here’s how we’ll set them up
Let’s open the Duik Bassel panel
Inside the Duik Bassel panel,
click on Settings
Inside Settings, find the third tab, labeled User Interface
The User Interface is currently set to Standard
Click on it, and you’ll see Rookie as an option
Most people will have it set to Rookie mode
Switch it back to Standard mode
Click Apply Changes to confirm
It will switch to a different view
If it doesn’t change, click Back
to return to the original screen
Now, go back to Rigging mode
Click on Rigging in the Duik Bassel panel
Select the controller layers
How many are there? select all 6 of them by holding Shift
Once selected, go to the middle section of Rigging
Click Links & Constraints
Scroll down in the panel
and find the Zero button, click it
Now, all position attributes will
be set to zero
Now, we’ll create a walk cycle animation from here
Let’s start with the right leg, expand the C_RightLeg layer
Collapse the Contents section for now
In Transform, add keyframes for Position and Rotation
Start at 0 seconds, then move frame by frame
We’ll set keyframes every second since the animation is 5 seconds long
Let’s add four keyframes
First, slightly adjust the position values
Move the rotation and position values together, and when you adjust them
you’ll start to see how the movement should look
From here on,
instead of numerical values,
you’ll need to adjust the pins manually
Make sure the movement looks natural
It’s easier if you animate both legs together
Let’s expand the left leg as well
Set Position and Rotation keyframes at 0 seconds
Adjust them so the movement feels smooth
Copy and paste these keyframes
From this point, watch carefully with your eyes
and create a walking movement
Then, copy and paste the motion
At the mid-step, the foot should slightly move back
Move it back a little more here
Click the keyframe indicator and adjust the movement
If one foot moves back, the other should move forward
Keep adjusting the walk cycle like this
Can we add another step? Yes, we can
Now, we have created a walking motion
Now, let’s animate the arms to match the legs
In Transform, add keyframes for Position and Rotation for the arms
set Position and Rotation keyframes for the right arm too
When the right arm moves, don’t adjust the Y-axis
As the right arm moves back, the left arm should move forward
Then, when they move back again, the right arm moves forward
When moving forward, the left arm should rotate backward
If you set Rotation to 1
Actually, don’t set Rotation to 1, keep it at 0
For a natural look, let’s move the right arm forward first
Make sure it looks smooth
Now, repeat this motion
Adjust the design until it looks fluid
Since the arms are done, let’s add a bit of movement to the torso
Collapse the Contents section for the torso
In Transform, add keyframes for Position and Rotation
At 0 seconds, make a slight upward motion
Move slightly forward, and when lifting, move slightly backward
Repeat this cycle
The body should also have a slight movement
The animation might stutter a bit
We need to loop all keyframed movements
To do this, hold Alt and click the Position stopwatch
As we did before, type loopOut("pingpong")
You must add this expression
Copy it as we’ll use it repeatedly
Press F9 to create smooth motion
Do the same for Rotation, hold Alt and click
Paste the expression, apply Easy Ease, and the motion will be smoother
Again, Alt + click on Position, paste, and apply Easy Ease
Alt + click Rotation,
add loopOut("pingpong"), and apply Easy Ease
This step must be repeated
Alt + click Position - loopOut("pingpong") - Easy Ease
Repeat Alt + loopOut("pingpong") - Easy Ease
For the left leg, Alt + click Position - loopOut("pingpong")
Select everything and apply Easy Ease
Final step: Alt + click Position - loopOut("pingpong")
Then, Alt + click Rotation - loopOut("pingpong")
Finally, select all and press F9
Now, the motion looks much more natural
Let’s animate the background Where is it?
The background is on the last layer
Expand the background layer
We will only modify the Position value
Add one Position keyframe
Move it forward along the X-axis
Make sure it moves forward until the animation ends
Adjust the X-axis Position
To create a scrolling effect, it should move backward continuously
Let’s preview how it looks
It’s a bit too fast
To slow it down, we need to adjust the values
Match the background speed to the walking speed
Modify the Position keyframes
Make sure it syncs with the character’s walk cycle
For the background, Alt + click Position
Apply loopOut("pingpong") to create a seamless loop
Now, our flower woman is walking smoothly on a flower path
To make human movement more natural
you need to adjust the small details
Modify the Rotation values for the pinned joints
If you animate the face and neck too
the animation will feel even more lifelike
If you add too many effects, the software might lag
So, try to keep your animations short
A shorter duration is better for performance
This is a smart workflow
That wraps up our practice session
Today, we used Duik Bassel scripts to create
a fully rigged character animation
We also created a walk cycle animation
and used expressions
to generate looping movements and background motion
It might seem a bit complicated, but by following each step carefully
using the Duik Bassel script
we structured the skeleton and rigged the character
to create more detailed and natural animations
I hope this lesson helped you understand the process
Now, let’s summarize what we’ve learned before wrapping up
Thank you
Installing Duik Bassel Script
Installation http://rainboxlab.org/tools/duik/
Download: Duik Bassel.2 Update 30
Move the downloaded files to: Program Files - Adobe
Adobe After Effects 2023 > Support Files > Scripts > ScriptUI Panels
Rigging Animation Implementation
Import AI files as Footage (Choose Layer)
Apply the Puppet Position Pin Tool on individual layers
Links & constraints Use "Add Bones" to create a skeletal structure
Apply "Auto-rig & IK" to generate controllers
Create controllers Move the new controller to the body's center, pelvis area
Parent the major joints' bones to the pelvis controller
Walk Cycle Animation
Activate Position & Rotation keyframes in the Transform settings of each controller layer
Adjust the puppet pins in the Composition Panel to create smooth Position and Rotation values
Apply Expressions and Easy Ease to ensure fluid, looping motion