Relation Between Puppet Profile and Muscle Mapping (New for 5.4)

Basically, each individual section in the illustration below defines the moving limitations of the face muscles.

Viewing the Detailed Muscle Parameters in iClone

The mapping results in iClone Face Puppeteering Panel can be seen by following the steps below:

1. Launch iClone and load a character that has already been mapped with facial muscle movements and converted to an iAvatar (iClone standard or non-standard character).
2. Go to Animation >> Facial Animation >> Modify Panel >> Facial Edit section >> Face Puppet button.
3. Click the Edit Property button to show the basic facial muscle parameters.
   
4. Press the F2 key to display the advanced settings panel in which the values of individual muscle settings are kept.
   
   Click the links below to view the mapping charts:
   • Brow & Eyelids
   • Cheek & Nose
   • Lip & Chin

How Does Muscle Mapping Work?

The relations of the mapping between the Expression Editor >> Muscle (3DXChange) and the Facial Puppeteering Panel (iClone) are as described below. Take the Nose Scrunch as an example:

• In 3DXchange >> Expression Editor >> Muscle >> Nose Scrunch thumbnail, when you apply a facial expression to the thumbnail, you are actually setting the maximum strength for that particular expression on your character.
  
• In iClone >> Facial Puppeteering >> Property >> Advanced panel, you can determine the percentage of the maximum value the nose scrunch can achieve according to the mouse direction by entering in your own custom values to the four cells next to the 12. Nose Scrunch.

  		X+ = 0: When the mouse moves towards the right edge of iClone, the character does not scrunch nose. X- = 25: When the mouse moves towards the left edge of iClone, the character scrunches nose with 25% strength only. Y+ = 50: When the mouse moves towards the top edge of iClone, the character scrunches nose with 50% strength only. Y- = 100: When the mouse moves towards the bottom edge of iClone, the character scrunches his nose with 100% strength.
  Mouse moves right (No effect)	Mouse moves left (25% strength)	Mouse moves up (50% strength)	Mouse moves down (full effect)

• The Face Profiles >> Full Face Control presets on the left side of the Facial Puppeteering panel are actually pre-made combinations of different percentage values in the advanced panel
  (Please note that the values can not be seen even if you select the preset and open the advanced panel because the values are system data that are not able to be adjusted).
  
• Therefore, you must map all the thumbnails in the Expression Editor >> Muscle section in order to successfully use all Full Face Control presets; otherwise, the thumbnails left unmapped will not drive the corresponding muscles to move even if you enter a value of 100 to the cells that belong to the muscles.