{"id":771,"date":"2025-12-12T09:20:02","date_gmt":"2025-12-12T09:20:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.malisan.it\/site_2020\/?page_id=771"},"modified":"2025-12-12T09:20:03","modified_gmt":"2025-12-12T09:20:03","slug":"gp-follow-shapes","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.malisan.it\/site_2020\/case-studies\/case-studies-technical-art-tools\/gp-follow-shapes\/","title":{"rendered":"GP Follow Shapes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A Shape Key Animation Tool for Blender\u2019s Grease Pencil<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-9-16 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"GP Follow Shapes Blender add-on: Grease Pencil follow mesh deformations\" width=\"422\" height=\"750\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/qiNsXtkgMME?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Client:<\/strong> Personal project<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>My Role:<\/strong>&nbsp;Tool Developer, UI\/UX Designer<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Challenge<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In many production pipelines, animating Grease Pencil objects relies on bone-based rigs. This works well for full-body motion, especially when using motion capture systems like <strong>Rokoko<\/strong>, but facial animation often uses <strong>shape keys<\/strong> instead of bones.<br>Until now, there was no straightforward way to make Grease Pencil drawings follow these shape key deformations. Artists had to resort to complex workarounds or abandon the idea entirely, limiting creative flexibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Solution<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As a Technical Director, I developed <strong>GP Follow Shapes<\/strong>, a Blender add-on that allows Grease Pencil strokes to follow the deformation of an underlying mesh driven by shape keys.<br>This tool:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Integrates seamlessly with <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.malisan.it\/site_2020\/case-studies\/case-studies-technical-art-tools\/gp-transfer-weights-a-rigging-pipeline-tool-for-blenders-grease-pencil\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"680\">GP Transfer Weights<\/a><\/strong> for hybrid setups (bones for body, shape keys for face).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Works entirely inside Blender, with <strong>no external dependencies<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Maintains a <strong>non-destructive workflow<\/strong>, preserving original drawings while adapting them to mesh transformations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By focusing on <strong>open-source development<\/strong> and <strong>local processing<\/strong>, the solution respects production constraints: no data leaves the studio, and artists retain full creative control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Result<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">GP Follow Shapes opens new possibilities for:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Motion capture pipelines<\/strong>: Combine bone-driven body animation with shape key-driven facial animation for Grease Pencil characters.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Stylized motion graphics<\/strong>: Create fluid, organic transformations without complex rigs.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Experimental workflows<\/strong>: Push Grease Pencil beyond traditional limits.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The tool is now available on <strong>SuperHive (former Blender Market)<\/strong>, making it accessible to studios and independent artists looking for efficient solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Related Tool<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For bone-based animation workflows, check out <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.malisan.it\/site_2020\/case-studies\/case-studies-technical-art-tools\/gp-transfer-weights-a-rigging-pipeline-tool-for-blenders-grease-pencil\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"680\">GP Transfer Weights<\/a><\/strong>, designed to streamline rigging for Grease Pencil objects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/github.com\/luca-malisan\/LM_GPFollowShapes\">GitHub repository<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/superhivemarket.com\/products\/gp-follow-shapes\">Get it on SuperHive (former Blender Market)<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Shape Key Animation Tool for Blender\u2019s Grease Pencil Client: Personal project My Role:&nbsp;Tool Developer, UI\/UX Designer The Challenge In many production pipelines, animating Grease&#8230;<\/p>\n<div class=\"more-link-wrapper\"><a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.malisan.it\/site_2020\/case-studies\/case-studies-technical-art-tools\/gp-follow-shapes\/\">Continua a leggere<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">GP Follow Shapes<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":671,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-771","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.malisan.it\/site_2020\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/771","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.malisan.it\/site_2020\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.malisan.it\/site_2020\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.malisan.it\/site_2020\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.malisan.it\/site_2020\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=771"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.malisan.it\/site_2020\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/771\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":775,"href":"https:\/\/www.malisan.it\/site_2020\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/771\/revisions\/775"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.malisan.it\/site_2020\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/671"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.malisan.it\/site_2020\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=771"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}