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Null Object / Layer Size?
So a couple quick questions.
When I create a Null Object, it always is at a certain size… 100 x 100 pixels, I believe. But often, I want the actual null to be smaller or larger to help me visualize (I’m using it mostly for rigging characters) or just to avoid taking up tons of space.
But when I resize it to anything else using the Scale property, it messes up the scaling of the child objects. For example, if I scale a box down to 10 x 10 and then link something, its scale now shows it at 1000% x 1000% even though it is the same size.
Sometimes this even changes rotation properties in odd and undesirable ways.
Anyhow, is there another way to resize the Null Objects without creating this problem? Or to just get around it in the first place?
Thanks!
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6 Replies
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Oh. 🙁 Any suggestions?
Seems like an odd oversight that they’re always that same size. It’s often fine, but sometimes something smaller or larger would be nice.
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Create a solid as your null, whatever size you want. You can turn off the opacity. Another option(and probably a good idea, regardless) would be to right click the layer and turn it into a guide layer–this will prevent it from rendering.
Solids were the null layers, before AE put nulls into the program.
Johnny Cuevas, Editor
Thinkck.com“I have not failed 700 times. I have succeeded in proving that those 700 ways will not work. When I have eliminated the ways that will not work, I will find the way that will work.”
—THOMAS EDISON on inventing the light bulb. -
This might be a solution:
First rescale your master null (i mean your actual null). Then create a second null at the same position with your master null and make it the child of the master null. Then parent your other layers to this second null (not to the master null).
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Being able to change the appearance of a null sounds like a great feature request. In Cinema4D you can have nulls be all kinds of sizes and shapes regardless of their scale. Remember, folks, the more people who file the same feature request, the more likely that feature will be to be implemented.
– 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.
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Yeah – don’t think there is anything you can do about the null size besides un-parenting, scaling the null, then re-parenting – but I’m not sure if that would even be worth it.
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Thanks, everyone!
Was able to accomplish what I wanted by using a Guide Layer. The shape within it was just a rectangle, which I’m able to re-scale to my heart’s content without scaling the entire layer if I don’t want to.
Nulls are still good for when I just need a quick point in space, though.
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