Animating snake-like motion

[Michiel]

maybe check out this article: https://www.dv.com/columns/columns_item.jhtml;jsessionid=1MZWIH51ETQ10QSNDBCSKH0CJUMEKJVN?category=Motion+Graphics&subGenre=&articleId=170100038

if you scroll down to the “slinky effect” you can see how to create a sort of snake like effect with multiple crosshairs following one “leader” by using expressions. If you substitute the crosshairs of the article with sort of circular segments of a dragon body, and subsitute the “leader” with your dragon head and parent the bodyparts to some of the following segments, I think you could create a pretty cool flowing dragon.

[Mike Clasby]

If you go with the follow the leader and you don’t want the layers to colloapse when they arrive at their destination you might look at Dan’s expression page:
https://www.motionscript.com/mastering-expressions/follow-the-leader.

Another way to go is to construct the basic dragon is go to Dan’s tut “Animating a Walk-Cycle” (Click on his had above then scroll down).

Then precompose that and the use Distort > Wave Warp on the Precomp (all properties to new comp) layer. It’s easier to see what your doing if you drag the old comp by the tab off to one side so you have both the comp and precomp windows are open at the same time, then any changes in the precomp can be seen in the comp without so much clicking around. Anyway, by animating the wave height in the comp (low>higher>low), while at the same time animating the position in the precomp, gives a pretty nice slinky effect. Sounds confusing but it’s not really.

[Cory]

if you add thease expressions to all layers in your dragon but the Leader (probably the head). and cread a solid Titled “Dragon Control” and add the slider effect to it. now your body parts will follow the motion of the head of the dragon. you can adjust the follow distance with the slider on the dragon control layer(by the way you should make this layer invisible) .

Position expression:
thisComp.layer(index-1).position.value_at_time(time-thisComp.layer(“Dragon conrol”).effect(“Slider Control”)(“Slider”))

Rotation expression
thisComp.layer(index-1).rotationY.value_at_time(time-thisComp.layer(“Dragon conrol”).effect(“Slider Control”)(“Slider”))

Note:this teqnique was taught to me By Ben Ungren, a toutorial contributor on creative cow, he taught this to me in his after effects cource At brigham Young University. He, however, learned this from some one else. I’d like to give credit but i have no Idea who to.

[Cory]

One thing I forgot that may seem self explanitory, You need to animate the head with key frames. and the body parts need to be in order from head to tail. this is because each layer will follow behind the one on top of it (index -1).

[Nate Biehl]

This expression worked perfectly for me. I’m making a centipede. Thanks

Anyone know how to make the following segments maintain their distance when the lead segment stops instead of converging on the lead segment’s final position? I need the centipede to stop moving and then start again. I could time remap it to freeze, but then I have to deal with motion blur, etc. Any way to do it within the expression?

Motion Graphics Designer
Warm Springs Productions
Missoula, Montana