Rigit Script: character rigging for After Effects

@hypoly (James Chiny) notes a beta of a new script by Marcus Loeper, RigitScript, for character rigging in After Effects. See also Duik Tools tutorial (IK script for After Effects) and Animate a character in After Effects.

Here's the musical quickguide for RigitScript (discuss at Videocopilot or Mograph forums):

Animate a character in After Effects

This post has been updated at ProVideo Coalition,

Animate a character in After Effects: A survey of resources

Duik Tools tutorial (IK script for After Effects)

Duik Tools, the inverse kinematics script for After Effects from France, now has an English language video tutorial. Here's an embed but check out the Vimeo page for more info and a skeleton source file:

DuIK Tools - Inverse Kinematics for After Effects! from FAMOS on Vimeo.

Update: FAMOS later posted this,

DuIK Puppet Tool Inverse Kinematics - A Quick Intro from FAMOS on Vimeo.

'Duik' IK tool script for AE now in English

DuDuf IK tools , an Inverse kinematics script for After Effects mentioned in April, is now available in English.

This comes via Sébastien Périer, who says that "Duik" is a "great script for IK animation inside AE... [and] The Website will soon be fully translated in English too."

Inverse kinematics script for After Effects + update

[Update: Some of the links in this AEP post maybe broken but you can route through the new website for Duik Tools.]

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Via Sebastien Perier, a top contributor to After Effects Community Help, is DuDuF IK Tools for After Effects, a free script that does Inverse Kinematics (IK). The script is from Duik Tools, a website in French (English translation).

Sebastien says it seems pretty decent, and that you can even add bones to puppet pins. For specifics see the Overview and Help sections.

Update: nabscripts from Charles Bordenave has a good number of expressions and scripts (English package download and French), and he even has a script to help you translate expressions. It translates expression controls names in the language of the running version (supports English, French, German, Italian and Spanish).

Update 2: A commenter noted Dan Ebberts and Brian Maffitt's techniques for IK using expressions; see Dan's Inverse Kinematics and Inverse Kinematics Redux. Ko Maruyama also had sections on IK and the Puppet Tool in his Total Training set. Also, you can see Adobe's implementation of IK in Flash CS4 in an AdobeTV clip.

Update 3: A new version was posted 15 March 2009 (changelog); also, it's now distributed under the under the GNU General Public License.Update 4: Everything is supposed to be translated into English now.

Flash CS4: IK, curve editor, 3D postcards, XML

A few weeks ago, Adobe demonstrated a bunch of new features in Flash CS4 ("Diesel"), including inverse kinematics, animation curves and a new tweening model, 3D "postcards in space," advanced text, and encrypted video streams. Aran Balkin posted a video of the demo in Astro and Diesel sneak peeks at FITC Amsterdam - Updated.

Also, the Moockblog and Peter Elst have reported that Flash CS4 will be able to export and import a new source format based on XML called XFL:

"An XFL file is a .zip file that contains the source material for a Flash document. Within the .zip file resides an XML file describing the structure of the document and a folder with the document's assets (graphics, sounds, etc). The exact details of the XFL format are not yet available, but Richard assures me that Adobe intends to document them publicly, allowing third-party tools to import and export XFL." (via)

John Nack also noted various instances, including video, of sneak peaks of InDesign CS4's new Flash export features.