[Jeff Hinkle]

Thanks everyone for the responses but there’s a new wrinkle: Putting aside the best format to use for the movies, I can’t get them to stay linked in the mogrt. They always show up (on every machine but mine) as “missing footage” color bars. I found online how to unpack the mogrt and looking through it and the report file, it says all the files were collected, and Reveal in Finder shows them linking to the unpacked Footage folder, but they show up as missing footage items on any other machine. The stills are all fine, it’s just the video files that show as broken links. If I repack the unpacked mogrt, I can load it into Premiere (no thumbnail appears) but not add it to the timeline.

Really hope I’m overlooking something basic because this seems like something that should just sorta work when you export a mogrt. All software is on the exact same versions.

—
It is easier to destroy than to create.
More fun, too.

[Jeff Hinkle]

[looks at his ineffective 25 lines of code
looks at Mr. Ebberts’ working 3 lines of code
weeps]

Doesn’t do exactly what I need but gets me enough of the way there I can probably puzzle out the rest. Knew I should have paid attention in Algebra class.

Thank you much! Very appreciated.

—
It is easier to destroy than to create.
More fun, too.

[Jeff Hinkle]

This tutorial might be of help:

https://photoshoptrainingchannel.com/place-anything-perspective/

—
It is easier to destroy than to create.
More fun, too.

[Jeff Hinkle]

When you import your layered PSD into AE, choose Composition instead of Composition-Retain Layer Sizes. That will bring in each layer at the size of the document.

—
It is easier to destroy than to create.
More fun, too.

[Jeff Hinkle]

Never used one so I can’t speak to how well it would work. With enough skill, any pressure-sensitive tablet that works well enough can generate good results. The tablet is just a tool.

I would still recommend you start slow. Use the mouse first to see if this is a hobby you want to invest in. If it is, then do some research on tablets, try one in a store, read some reviews. You don’t have to immediately buy a bunch of software and hardware, especially if you just want to see if you like doing it.

—
It is easier to destroy than to create.
More fun, too.

[Jeff Hinkle]

A quick glance at the Wacom site says it’s Windows compatible.

The size of the tablet has no bearing on the size of the art. It’s purely what feels better to you. I use a Large but I have a wide drawing stroke and a dual-monitor setup. A Medium, to me, feels too small and cramped.

If you’re just beginning and this is just a hobby, you may not want to start throwing a lot of money into it right away. Start with a mouse, see if you even like digital painting. If you do, then maybe look for a used Bamboo or Draw tablet you can pick up cheap to try out. Upgrade later if you need.

—
It is easier to destroy than to create.
More fun, too.

[Jeff Hinkle]

I’d recommend an art tablet for sure. Wacom is the standard (and the one I like) but there are other brands. If you really want to do digital painting, it’s almost required. Using a mouse,–to me, anyway–feels like painting with a brick.

—
It is easier to destroy than to create.
More fun, too.

[Jeff Hinkle]

No calculator required. Just a little pickwhipping. Okay, one tiny bit of calculator. Again, this will simply keep Pin 2 the same distance from Pin 1 no matter where Pin 1 goes. For this example, we’ll make Pin 1 the pin you’re animating and Pin 2 the pin that’s following Pin 1.

At the start of your comp (or wherever the base “rest” pose is; before you’ve animated any pins), twirl down the Position property for both pins and calculate the difference in position in both X and Y. Simple addition/subtraction: if Pin 1 is [800,500] and Pin 2 is [700,700] your difference is -100X and +200Y. Then Opt/Alt=click the Position property for Pin 2 and type:
pupX=

Then pickwhip to the X parameter of Pin 1’s Position property, which should give you something similar to this:
pupX=effect(“Puppet”).arap.mesh(“Mesh 1”).deform(“Puppet Pin 1”).position[0];

You’ll need to add the semicolon to the end. This creates a variable called pupX and sets it to be equal to the X value of Pin 1’s Position at every frame. Do the same with the Y position and a second variable:
pupY=effect(“Puppet”).arap.mesh(“Mesh 1”).deform(“Puppet Pin 1”).position[1];

You now have two variables, each matching the value of one parameter of Pin 1’s Position. If you just set them as the position for Pin 2, Pin 2 would exactly match Pin 1 wherever it went:
[pupX,pupY]
this just says Pin 2 X position = pupX = Pin1 X position and Pin 2 Y position = pupY = Pin1 Y position

Now you just need to adjust those numbers by the difference you noted earlier:
[pupX-100, pupY+200]
this says the same thing but subtracts 100 from Pin 1’s X value and adds 200 to Pin 1’s Y value, then sets them as Pin 2’s X and Y value

So, final code:
pupX=effect(“Puppet”).arap.mesh(“Mesh 1”).deform(“Puppet Pin 1”).position[0];
pupY=effect(“Puppet”).arap.mesh(“Mesh 1”).deform(“Puppet Pin 1”).position[1];
[pupX-100, pupY+200]

Sadly you can’t just copy/paste this code as your layer names and value differences won’t be the same. I wasn’t aware you needed to move Pin 2 independently of Pin 1 at various times. I thought you just needed Pin 2 (3,4, etc.) to maintain relative difference to Pin 1 throughout its move. If you need variable on/off animation control, pretty sure that’s possible but will take someone smarter than me.

—
It is easier to destroy than to create.
More fun, too.

[Jeff Hinkle]

I’m no puppet or expression wizard so maybe someone has an easier/more elegant way to do this, but I’d think if you figure the difference in distance between your parented pin and the other pins at the initial “rest” pose, you could add a simple expression to maintain that distance. So let’s say Pin 1 is parented to your null and has a position of [800,300] and you want Pin 2 to maintain its position to A and it has a position of [700,200]. So 2 is 100 pixels away from 1 in both X and Y (just to keep the math easy).

Set an expression in the pin Position of 2. Set a variable for the X value and pickwhip to Pin 1’s X value, resulting in something like
pupX=effect(“Puppet”).arap.mesh(“Mesh 1”).deform(“Puppet Pin 1”).position[0];

Do the same for Y:
pupY=effect(“Puppet”).arap.mesh(“Mesh 1”).deform(“Puppet Pin 1”).position[1];

Now you have your two variables, pupX and pupY that equal X and Y of Pin 1 and you know you want Pin 2 to always be 100 less than that, so a final line of
[pupX-100,pupY-100]
should maintain that distance no matter where Pin 1 goes.

—
It is easier to destroy than to create.
More fun, too.

[Jeff Hinkle]

You could export or import the image flat, but yes, that would eliminate the layers. But if you’re not moving the individual layers or placing video in front/behind specific layers, the layered file may not even be necessary. Could be a simple, flat file is all you need. Or just one layer if you’re doing a frame insertion or something. What is your desired end result?

—
It is easier to destroy than to create.
More fun, too.