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Pin Object to CC Sphere
I have created an Earth in After Effects using a flat world map image and the CC Sphere effect and I am trying to find some way to “pin” a point to the Earth so that it moves with the rotation always marking a specific location. How hard would this be to do and what would be the best method to accomplish this?
This video kind of shows what I am trying to to do at the 35 second mark. I apologize for the poor quality, but this is the best example I could find.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zzf-K8g46C8Some contents or functionalities here are not available due to your cookie preferences!This happens because the functionality/content marked as “Google Youtube” uses cookies that you choosed to keep disabled. In order to view this content or use this functionality, please enable cookies: click here to open your cookie preferences.
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6 Replies
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See if it helps.
The sphere is already reacting to the camera, so just animate that. If you change the radius inside the effect you have to offset the pinned objects position also.
Cassius Marques
http://www.zapfilmes.com -
I can’t open the file you attached.
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Sorry, I didn’t realize that was a RAR in the zip file. It’s the RAR that I can’t open. I’m on a mac if that makes a difference. Should have mentioned that from the beginning.
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there are many free apps to open .rar files on mac… just hop on the mac app store.
but when you say ‘pin’, if you just want to stick a 3d layer to the surface of the sphere, you can build a pretty simple rig.
- start with cc sphere on a layer
- add a null and name it ‘centerNull’ and make it 3d.
- add another null, name it ‘pinNull’, make it 3d and parent it to centerNull.
- set the z-position of pinNull to be the negative of the cc sphere radius (i.e., if the radius is 200, set the z-positon to -200)
- twirl down the cc sphere layer’s properties to reveal the rotation properties for the cc sphere effect.
- select centerNull and type ‘r’ to reveal the rotation properties. option click the x-rotation property and use the expression pickwhip to link that to the x-rotation property of the cc sphere effect and add a minus in front of that expression.
- do the same for the y-rotation and the z-rotation, but for z, do not add the minus.
now if you rotate the sphere values, the pinNull should appear to stick to the surface. parent another 3d layer to the pinNull modify the position and rotation to line the pin up as needed, and it should do the same.
if the pin needs to rotate behind the cc sphere layer, make that layer 3d and it should move behind it.
Kevin Camp
Art Director
KCPQ, KZJO & KRCW -
Hello!
I’m trying to make a pac-man head with sticky tooth with 2 CC spheres (head and jaw). But I can’t find a way to open its jaw properly when I turn the head (thanks rotation order).I tried your file with the pinned null. I think to put an expression on rotation Z too but I don’t understand all of yours…
(Btw, on your file I think you invert X and Y on NCAM)
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