Surface deformer not following posemorph

[schnoidl]

I made a nice two eye blink on a high poly model, and then I turned on the eyelash layer, which has a Surface Deformer applied, to Body, the layer that's posemorphed. Initialized. Pose Morph doesn't move the lashes, only the skin.

thanks

[schnoidl]

if unclear, eyelash is a separate mesh, which I want to attach to a Body mesh with eyes being made to blink with PoseMorph. the lashes just sit there.

really wish i knew rigging better. is there a better way to do this? close the eyes with joints?

I have a second model to rig also. I really need to get animating and don't want to start until the rigs are fully functional. Thank you.

[Dr. Sassi]

Hi schnoidl,

As usual, I can't get much from an image (or screen capture). I need the file.

(I assume it is larger than 1MB, so please use Dropbox, Google, Apple, Adobe, or Wetransfer. Please, no shortened URLs or any other service; I will not touch it for security reasons.)

Cheers

Thank you.

[schnoidl]

thank you, here is a wetransfer

https://we.tl/t-U4Fc80lnzg

[schnoidl]

don't stress too hard on it, I painted in a little mascara and I can live with it...but if you have an answer I promise to use it ; )

[Dr. Sassi]

Thank you very much for the file, schnoidl.

The Surface Deformer was off (red X), and as a side note, the PoseMorph was not in Animation mode. Then, it worked as it should.

I checked if the setup allows for rotating the head, and I noticed that the shirt collar and the tie need to be weighted much more to the body.

Yes, character animation is often seen as the top skill level work, in other words, take your time. You will see that things fall more and more into place while exploring the techniques. I also suggest taking simple objects like a capsule and placing some joints into it, weighing it, changing it, and exploring how it plays in concert. To get very good at it takes time. I'm unaware of anyone who got this to studio level on a weekend. However, enjoy and celebrate each progress. At least, I hope you enjoy the ride.

Visual languages, especially 3D animation, are super efficient communication tools, and I believe most jobs with some complexity can benefit from them. So, well invested time.

If there is anything else, please never hesitate to ask.

Cheers

[schnoidl]

@Dr-Sassi said in Surface deformer not following posemorph:

The Surface Deformer was off (red X), and as a side note, the PoseMorph was not in Animation mode.<

no way. well, I must have needed a lot of sleep. Thanks.

the back edge of the lash sticks to the eyelid, but everything gets distorted. I guess it could use a Correction Deformer but i have other fish to throw off the bridge ; )

@Dr-Sassi said in Surface deformer not following posemorph:

character animation is often seen as the top skill level work,

yes but the tutorials all make it look SO easy ; )

[Dr. Sassi]

Thanks for the reply, school.

The eyelid stretches when closed; the projection delivers the stretch to the Lash-Geo
Please note that distortion is expected. Also, the eyelid is stored as a linear "morph," not as a rotational. When you look for the side, all the points of the eyelid move straight down. Typically, that would go through the eye.

The Lash-Geo follows that, straight down and stretches in Y.

The rotation for the eyelid is simple to set up, but when both are done with one rotation axis, the setup has a flaw, as the areas that do not move a lot (left and right endpoints of the lid) are not sitting on the rotational axis.

Rotational:
https://help.maxon.net/c4d/2025/en-us/Default.htm#html/TCAPOSEMORPH-ID_TAGPROPERTIES.html#ID_CA_POSE_MIXING

The Surface Deformer just takes the surface and moves it based on the stretched polygons.
To have that working correctly, the PoseMorph needs to move the area where the Lash-Geo sits without stretching as it does in reality; only the larger middle part stretches, then the Lash-Geo will work, but it is tricky that way.

I suggest using a partial Sphere and a Disc segment to explore this Combined Geometry in a file outside of the complexity of the character. Example:
CV4_2025_drs_24_CAel_01.c4d

All the best

[schnoidl]

thank you, when i survive this job I will explore these resources ; )

[Dr. Sassi]

You're very welcome, schnoidl.

Good luck the the project!