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Chapter 39: Animating with CAT and Creating Crowds
Weight setting lets you control individual bones and limbs differently from the global animation layer.
Another helpful tool as you begin to animate your rig is the Rig Coloring Mode option located to the right
of the Set/Animation Mode toggle button. If you switch the Rig Coloring Mode to display Layer Colors, then
the color of the rig matches the color of the animation layer; if two layers are blended together, then the
color of the rig also is mixed. If a specific bone is given a different Local Weight, then that bone is colored
the same as the animation layer that is controlling it.
Tip pose, you select the left collar bone and set its Local Weight to be a percentage of the final pose. The Local
If you plan to blend layers, setting each layer to use a primary color makes it easier to see where layers are
blended when the Layer Colors option is enabled. n
Clicking the Dope Sheet: Layer Ranges button opens the Dope Sheet with the ranges of the various anima-
tion layers displayed. This provides an easy way to modify the ranges for the different animation layers. You
also can access the Curve Editor for each of the Global and Local Weights using the button to the right of
the respective weight values.
You can use the Display Layer Transform Gizmo button for each layer. This creates a simple helper object
that is linked to the character. It can be moved and rotated to control the entire rig. The gizmo is normally
placed at floor level between the rig’s feet, but if you hold down the Ctrl key while clicking this button, the
gizmo is placed at the current bone; if you hold down the Alt key, the gizmo is placed at the world origin.
This gizmo is available only for absolute animation layers.
Using adjustment animation layers
If you have your animation layers working just right with the motion you like, but your animation needs a
little more exaggeration or a hand needs to reach just a little farther to grab a doorknob, then you can
return to the base absolute layer and make the change, or you can apply an adjustment layer.
There are two different adjustment layer types: local and world. The difference is in how they are affected
by the previous animation layer. Local adjustment layers add the adjustment layers changes onto the above
layer’s motion, so if a local adjustment layer has a hand reach forward a little more, the motion is added to
the existing motion.
World adjustment layers work in world space and cause the hand to reach to a specific location in the world.
This still blends with the previous layer’s motion, but it also moves the selected object to a global position.

Creating a walk cycle with a CAT motion layer
Keyframing absolute animation layers is okay, but it can be tedious. The CAT Motion layer is where the fun
really begins. Adding a CAT Motion layer to the list automatically applies a walk cycle to the rig. This is
done without having to create any keys; just press the Play button, and you see the default walk cycle.
When a CAT Motion layer is selected in the Layer Manager rollout, the CAT Motion Editor button appears
to the right of the layer color swatch. This button opens the CAT Motion dialog box, shown in Figure
39.11. Using this dialog box, you can adjust the parameters of the walk cycle.
The first panel of the CAT Motion dialog box presents a list of available presets. The buttons at the lower-right
corner of the dialog box let you open saved presets. You also can name and save custom presets. The CAT
Motion dialog box has its own set of animation layers that are listed in the rightmost pane. Double-clicking a
preset opens a simple dialog box with options to load the preset into a new layer or into the existing layer.
The layers work just like those in the Layer Manager rollout with weights assigned to each layer. For exam-
ple, if you add the default walk cycle and then a new run cycle set to 50 percent, the run cycle is blended
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