Is there a way to keyframe parenting/unparenting???

[doug nash]

As the Subject asks, is there a trick or an expression which can be used to essentially activate or deactivate the parent function at a given time?

Thanks!

[Walter Soyka]

Parenting is not keyframable — but you could split the layer [link] at the point where you want parenting to end (or begin again), then un-parent (or re-parent) the new layer as necessary.

You could also write a series of keyframeable expressions that emulate parenting, but I think this would get complicated quickly.

Walter Soyka
Principal & Designer at Keen Live
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
RenderBreak Blog – What I’m thinking when my workstation’s thinking
Creative Cow Forum Host: Live & Stage Events

[doug nash]

Thanks for the fast reply. I’m already splitting the layers, but with the complexity of the project I’m working on, that’s already getting hairy. That would be a very nice feature for Adobe to consider adding.

I’m so spoiled, working with Cinema 4D all the time, as that program really sets the standard for flexibility.

[Walter Soyka]

[doug nash] “I’m already splitting the layers, but with the complexity of the project I’m working on, that’s already getting hairy.”

Yeah, it gets very hairy very fast. If you have a lot of effects work on those split layers, ft-Effect Instance [link] might help you keep them all in sync.

[doug nash] “I’m so spoiled, working with Cinema 4D all the time, as that program really sets the standard for flexibility.”

Off-topic now, but how would you accomplish dynamic parenting in C4D?

Walter Soyka
Principal & Designer at Keen Live
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
RenderBreak Blog – What I’m thinking when my workstation’s thinking
Creative Cow Forum Host: Live & Stage Events

[Michael Szalapski]

I’m curious about the C4D dynamic parenting aspect as well.

– The Great Szalam
(The ‘Great’ stands for ‘Not So Great, in fact, Extremely Humble’)

No trees were harmed in the creation of this message, but several thousand electrons were mildly inconvenienced.

[Daniele De Luca]

You can unparent a layer using this recursive function, e.g. fix (value, thisLayer)

function fix ( pos , layer ) {
if (layer.hasParent) {
var p=layer.parent;
pos = fix ( pos , p );
var rp = degreesToRadians(p.rotation);
var delta = pos – p.position;
var s = p.scale / 100;
delta = [ delta[0] / s[0] , delta[1] / s[1] ];
rad = Math.sqrt ( delta[0]*delta[0] + delta[1]*delta[1] );
if (delta[1] != 0) ang = Math.atan (delta[0]/delta[1]) else ang = Math.PI/2;
dx = Math.sin (ang+rp) * rad;
dy = Math.cos (ang+rp) * rad;
if (delta[1]<0) {dx=-dx; dy=-dy};
return [dx,dy] + p.anchorPoint;
}
else return pos;
}

[Jordan Santiago]

Hi Daniele,

Is there a downloadable demo of this function working available somewhere?

Thanks,
-Jordan

[Jordan Santiago]

Hey there, just wanted to post another resource in case anyone else is having the same problem.

I was looking for a way to dynamically switch between having one layer be parented to something and then turning it off.
With this tutorial, you can do just that.

https://vimeo.com/48790227

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