A:M Rigging
Rigging & Relationships
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PURPOSE We want discussions of "beginner" rigs, IK rigs, FK rigs, "auto" rigs, comparisons, suggestions, and design histories. POSTERS I suggest not commenting on a rig's strengths or weaknesses unless you have significant personal experience: this probably means accomplished animators and rig designers. An exception would be "first impressions": you can describe your initial experiences in trying out a particular rig for the rig's designer to think about. When you post into the topic, list your rig experience (maybe put it in your Signature). For example, 3DArtz (Mike Fitz) would have "designer: COGS" listed. You animators list the rigs you're familiar w…
Last reply by martin, -
- 3 replies
- 3k views
In response to a query about how to find unassigned CPs, the answer is... every CP is assigned to something. Here's how to see it and change it: AssigningCPs.mov
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 3 replies
- 505 views
Hello folks. I'd like to share a model file that I made. The purpose of this model is to create an on-screen motion arc, so that you can refine the swing of your character's limbs. It's an animation aid, in other words. Here's how to use it: On frame 0 drag and drop the Z-arc model as an action object into your Action file. If you're working in Choreography, just drop it into the Cho. Apply a Translate To constraint to the little bone floating above the floor (name of bone = Zarc the lad). Dab the eyedropper onto the bone of the body part of your character whose movement you'd like to refine. As you advance through your animation, Zarc will follow the lim…
Last reply by strohbehn, -
- 13 replies
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Well, I got some crazy ideas at the Southeast user's group meeting that I put together along with a couple tricks of my own. Weight mover did a majority of the work - my tests with Thom were transfered directly to the main model. There are three bones overlaying the 'bicep' position. The largest is the main control bone that drives the full shoulder. Next is the orient like bone (with Store Roll off - thanks guys, didn't even know that was there!), with the actual geometry bone as a child. That bone has a Roll Like to the controller. This is important because bone weights apply to all three dimensions - the bone structure is what does the decoupling so that …
Last reply by OdinsEye2k, -
- 4 replies
- 908 views
I have a very simple rig in this character which uses knee targets, which are children of the pelvis. The left and right knee rigging is identical but I am getting this problem with the right knee only. Any insight into the cause would be welcomed.
Last reply by Paul Forwood, -
I am wondering how to constrain the feather control bones on my wing. 1 through 3 are a chain. 4 through 8 are intended to pull the feathers (mesh) into a closed position. I am not sure which constraint to use to make the bones 4-8 stay in place on bone 2 but move inward similar to bone 3 when bone 3 is pulled into the folding position. As the lower shot shows the bones in question move with bone 3 but do not pivot as if attatched to bone 2. Is this also a problem of hierarchy where I need to drag 4-8 under bone 2 in the PWS?
Last reply by Scottj3d, -
Anyone have a tut or example of how to rig a wing on say a bird or something? I've been trying but rigging ain't my strong point so some guidance would be most appreciated.
Last reply by markw, -
- 2 replies
- 653 views
Tried to rigg this batwing with TSM 2, but have no idea, how I will have to psition the mesh and how to weight the cps. Any ideas how to best do this? Jake
Last reply by jakerupert, -
- 5 replies
- 727 views
This is the Knight model from the v13 disk. It's actually a v11.1 model Knight.mdl Drop it in a chor and move the hips up and down and you'll see the legs flicker and bend every way but the right way. It does that in both v13 and v15. Other v11 models work fine in current versions of A:M so the version it was made in is not the problem. The only differences I can detect between it and the currently distributed Knight (a v12 model) is that some of constraints have very small offsets not present in the current version. Why does it not work properly?
Last reply by Gerry, -
- 18 replies
- 1.6k views
Can anyone explain this to me? Two bones, siblings of each other. the left one is "aim at" constrained to the right one, with offsets (so it maintains it's original direction in relation to the target bone) so far so good. but as I lower the enforcement of the constraint, the bone veers from its original direction, then snaps back right at 0% You can't say it was returning it's original direction, it was there already. Is this a feature or a bug? And if it is a feature, what purpose does it serve? Is there a workaround? constraintmovement.zip
Last reply by Maszie, -
- 3 replies
- 853 views
I am ready to rig my character now. Should I lay in the spine first then arms ,wings and legs. I know I can drag and drop for the hierarchy, but is there an order people generally follow when laying out bones to minimize the need to do so?
Last reply by Scottj3d, -
- 3 replies
- 721 views
I'm trying to improve my rigs. I can make a simple rig with IK legs and FK arms, but I'm at a loss as to where to go from there. I'd like to be able to rig and arm capable of IK/FK switching, for example, but I've no idea where to look for instruction. I remember long ago (back when there was still an ARM) there used to be more advanced rigging tutorials, but they seem to be gone now. Does anyone know of anything that might help me?
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 11 replies
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Both my aliens have the same dynamic constraint on their antennae, but on the red one it seems to get stuck in his head and never come out. And what do we need to do to make v11.1 dynamic constraints behave like v10.5's? 11.1 seems much floppier. Increasing "stiffness" doesn't seem to get me anything. antennatrouble.mov
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 3 replies
- 614 views
Hi all, I needed a slight break from TWO and my brother his son and I are finally trying to create our own first "very" short animation. For them it's to introduce them to A:M (I talked my brother to buy A:M about 5-6 months ago). For me, I'm finally going to create an animation with the goal of making my props and main character model. I made it last night. It's an inch worm. I've never rigged anything like this and I'd appreciate any help in how I'd go about it. My nephew drew the rotoscope references and my brother tried to model it but he's not quite ready for faces yet so I did it. It's not great but it's a start. I can rig the head fine but it's th…
Last reply by Jeetman, -
- 3 replies
- 824 views
I'm working on a superhero character, and I'm not sure what is the best way to handle his cape. I don't know if I should use cloth or some kind of bone setup. I like the realistic way cloth behaves, but I also like the idea that bones will give me more direct control. So I ask all the rigging gurus out there... how would you do it?
Last reply by HomeSlice, -
- 3 replies
- 550 views
so i started rigging my model and accidentally zoomed way out and saw the bone sitting out there. i moved it around and then closer to my model and it became huge, apparently when i move it it changes its size. i cant scale manually. if i delete it my model completely gets removed from the project. when i hover the cursor over it it say (model name: rotation object) should i just ignore it?
Last reply by sir fen the usa, -
- 1 follower
- 13 replies
- 1.3k views
Does anyone know what rig Jeff Lew uses in his training video? I watched it over the weekend and it seemed so easy for him to use. Granted, he is experienced. But I liked the elbow targets, nulls to control the feet and just the seemingly simplicity of it all. I working through Mike's tut now and I have TSM2 as well. Rigging is the one thing that is literally killing me. I haven't done much animation excecise yet simply because I haven't rigged any of my models to my satisfaction to where I can work with them without them getting in the way. Someday someone will automate all this to where it works perfectly the first time!
Last reply by pixelmech, -
- 15 replies
- 1.9k views
I've noticed that there are many types of rigs out there, so I was just curious about what rigs other users use for their characters.
Last reply by adamP, -
- 5 replies
- 856 views
I've noticed that there are many types of rigs out there, so I was just curious about what rigs other users use for their characters.
Last reply by entity, -
- 10 replies
- 1.5k views
What is IK Damping? It has something to do with avoiding "IK pop"? I can't see an obvious difference when i have it ON or OFF.
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 1 reply
- 431 views
The file code for bones and nulls is very similar except that bones are called SEGMENTs and nulls are called NULLOBJECTs. I've found that I can turn a null into a bone by changing those XML tags. However, nulls also have one other property: UserMoved=TRUE which is inserted if the NULL has been moved from its default creation point. This would seem to be already apparent from the position information of the null, so I'm wondering what does this extra bit of info get us? Why is it needed? Name=Bone1 BoneColor=255 0 0 255 Start=-12.519 6.36753 -0.16241 Rotate=0.164182 -0.687782 0.686078 0.171162 Length=13.1039 Name=Null1 BoneColor=…
Last reply by mtpeak2, -
- 1 follower
- 7 replies
- 1.2k views
As I've been reading the posts in this section I keep running into the term "fan bones." I've searched the documentation included with A:M and the forum, but I haven't found a description of what it means. Can anyone enlighten me? Charles Bandla
Last reply by HomeSlice, -
- 8 replies
- 1.1k views
After seeing how some other apps(ikinema within modo) are using distortion meshs for joint and full body rigging as opposed(or in conjunction with) features such as bone-weighting, smartskin, fan bones... I've been looking into the prospect of doing something similar in A:M. I am stuck early in the process and wonder if smarter riggers might know of a way... I will attempt to illustrate what I am trying to do here: I have modeled an arm and gave it some simple bones. I could have started with an existing rigged model and used the arm bones as they are... I decided to keep it simple for the purpose of illustration.
Last reply by robcat2075, -
It looks like i am going to buy tsm2. i see there is a couple of weighting solutions out there to. The weight mover from Anzovin the joint tutorial from 3dartz I would like to have system that works with simple to complex characters, is reasonablly easy to use and is tranferable in a production line. The weight mover seems quite versitile Anybody that has tried to weight a complex character knows it can be a nightmare and takes a lot of time. Could i get some feedback on these products or suggestions? tx
Last reply by 3DArtZ, -
Along with TSM2 Anzovin used to have a tool called wieghtmover or something close to that. Anyone know where I can get a copy now?
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 5 replies
- 694 views
I have forgotten so much How do I get to weight paint my CP's to bones or was this just available in Weight Mover? Cheers
Last reply by higginsdj, -
Weight Mover
by TNT- 5 replies
- 824 views
All, I received the Weight Mover with my TSM2 order. Has anyone used Weight Mover with rev 14c? I tried a quick test but it did not return that it ever read the lo-res/hi-res models. I'm just trying to understand if this is user error and I need to find my error or if Weight Mover just does not work any more. Should I be trying to use it or am I better off weighting the CP's manually for each bone? Thanks,
Last reply by TNT, -
- 1 follower
- 24 replies
- 1.4k views
Has anyone else noticed that the weight editor is acting quite differently in V16 from the way it did in the past? Say, if you have some CPs and they are weighted 50% to bone 1 and 50% to bone 2, and you want to throw in a 3rd bone at only 20% but keep bone 1 at 50%... so it would be B1-50%, B2 30%, B3 20%... it used to be that all you needed to do was (in the editor) click a bone, enter a value one by one, and 'apply'. NOW- if I put the 3rd bone in there and give it a value of 20... the editor will automatically 'do the math' on the other two and give them 40-40%... but I want bone 1 at 50%... so I click bone 1 and enter 50... but the editor again 'does the math' o…
Last reply by John Bigboote, -
- 1 reply
- 547 views
I have the flat shape of a wave ( see picture) and want to animate it the way, that a wave runs through this shape from one side to the other. Can anybody give me some ideas please, what would be the best way to achieve this effect? Thank you
Last reply by jakerupert, -
- 6 replies
- 879 views
I remember a couple of months back someone was working on a water rig and there was an example movie that was very cool. I was wondering if the creator of the rig finished it. I was also wondering basically how it works. Thanks, Doug
Last reply by Douglas Ferrin, -
- 0 replies
- 398 views
(Oops, topic should read "Wanting to re-rig an old model".) This is Gus Gizmo, the first guy I ever built from scratch in A:M 8.0 back in 2000, and it shows. After recently getting the program upgraded, I'm wanting to rework the mesh a lot and bring it closer to my original sketches for him, as seen on the right. I also want to re-rig him after seeing what's available now, since his original rig system is very crude. He's one of the leads for a sci-fi adventure, so he needs the ability to have some subtleties and idiosyncracies, but I still want him to be somewhat mechanical in a lot of his mannerisms. Since his original construction, he's had a little os…
Last reply by GizmoMkI, -
- 1 reply
- 563 views
Hi I am trying to animate a Sitting Room's response to - the loud ringing of a door bell - by making it either vibrate or shake at the sound of the door bell with it's contents moving around. Kindly, advice me on what sort of EXPRESSION will allow for this. The Room is rigged and I could animate it vibrating, frame by frame in an ACTION but I think an EXPRESSION might be more appropriate. Thank you! Jof
Last reply by itsjustme, -
- 2 replies
- 513 views
I have a figure that has been fully rigged (well not fully, gotta set up joint constraints yet), and there's a part of the character I don't want to be visible all the time. I had thought about creating it as a seperate model, but I want the bone to be part of the main character's skeleton. The appendage in question is not attached to my characters geometry. Is there a way to still include this appendage in the skeleton without it being visible all the time?
Last reply by Wizaerd, -
- 1 follower
- 14 replies
- 5k views
I've been having a very hard time getting Smartskin to mirror correctly. So, I ended up making a simple model in v16, v17 and v18 to see if and/or when things go wrong for me. On my end, the only way I can get Smartskin to mirror correctly is to make the model in v16...unless I'm missing something. Here is a quick video showing the included Project with similar models made in v16, v17 and v18. Each model has a Smartskin on the right side with an Action for each bending the bone that is affected and the left side version of that bone rotated similarly. I right mouse-click on each model in the PWS and mirror the existing Smartskin, then check each Action to see…
Last reply by SplineSoup, -
- 1 reply
- 545 views
Can you guys check this out for me: I'm using the old 'stride length' feature to keep a wheel spinning properly to the groundplane. Used to use it all the time this way... I made an action and checked 'has stride length' and set-up the rotation to the grid. Then, in the chor, applied said action to said model...and according to my old version 8 manual, under the 'shortcut to' instance of the action I 'should' see a 'USE stride length' option... well, I don't. Is this feature gone away? Is there a better way to do this? V13.0D on a PC
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 3 replies
- 599 views
In rigging the face of my Skarab character I'm running into more self-imposed problems with rigging. I've downloaded and experimented with the Lite Face rig and Steve's Head Gizmo but I don't see a clear solution. Because Skarab's anatomy is so non-standard, I realize that I need to rig the eyes and eyebrows from scratch, which is no big thing. I'm *pretty* sure I can get them to do what I want (i.e., open and close eyelids, aim eyes, move eyebrows up and down). But I'm not seeing a way to use just parts of those rigs and ignore/delete others. I'd like to use the mouth/face parts of a rig so that I have access to good mouth, tongue and phoneme controls, but replace t…
Last reply by Gerry, -
- 5 replies
- 1.6k views
I know this is scientifically inaccurate, sort of a solar wind wrapping around the Earth... I am having success forcing particles around where I want them with forces. This is a technique I use sometimes on Hair, by making a force in the model(child of the head bone) and aiming it and adjusting the magnitude so it constantly blows the hair into a curl, or a style. HERE- I am using 4 different forces: Force1- is set to neg200 and 'collects' the particles, forcing them to sort of wrap around the globe. Force2- is cylindrical, and reinforces force1, the plan was to set it to 'vortex' to get the particles to begin to spiral... need to work on that.(magnitude neg70…
Last reply by John Bigboote, -
- 1 follower
- 2 replies
- 743 views
I'm adding a second character to my music video (the main character just sits in an armchair and sings) and I want her to jump around, punk-style. I used the FemaleB model, with IK legs and IK arms on. I don't know the name of the rig, but it has hands, feet and hips targets, which I use to pose the model. I played about with a few bvh files and some walk cycles and although not perfect, I have a basic dance routine going. I'm managed to get the character to jump up and down but I would like to have her jump up and do the splits in mid-air. I've created the jump by simply dragging the hips up and down over a few frames, but when I try to move the feet at the top…
Last reply by blinky465, -
- 4 replies
- 970 views
I have been trying to rig my Armoured Killer Juggernaut model for a few weeks (during my evening free time) and have run into some stumbling blocks that have me stymied. I am wondering if in my reading of the manual, other AM books and the Forum I have missed some critical info. True False?: You must set orient like constrainst to bones PRIOR to assigning CP's? (I find if I don't the splines become a mess of spaghetti, parts go twisting away) True false? When you set orient like constraints the "fan" bone should re-position itself in the direction of the bone it has been oriented like. (In the print tutorials I always see that fan bone looking pretty 'poini…
Last reply by cfree68f, -
- 1 follower
- 8 replies
- 828 views
I'm working on a complex rig and it's very difficult for me to manually select the unassigned CP's. Does A:M have the capability to group these or lock/hide all other CP's? This would certainly make my work a lot easier for this complex rig. Any help would be most appreciated...
Last reply by rbjohnsn, -
- 8 replies
- 2.1k views
Hey Guys, So I'm wondering if anyone has ever constructed an eye/ lid/ cheek/ brow setup where the lids move with the eyes. Something like in this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAZIvyAJfeM Would really like to find out if anyone has setup something similiar. Or if not....Any help in this direction would be awesome. Thanks and cheers, William
Last reply by detbear, -
- 4 replies
- 642 views
Possible and what fix one mesh two (and more) different bone. Thank you all.
Last reply by lomvuho, -
- 1 reply
- 698 views
This two-part tutorial continues from the "Building Your First Rig" tutorial. It guides you step by step through the process of building a simple rig for the hands so they can be animated quickly and easily. With the information gained from this tutorial, you will have all the information you need in order to customize the hand rig and add new bells and whistles. Part 1 f202f26c1a174c735758 Part 2 0db1d11b6acca57d8ea8
Last reply by itsjustme, -
- 1 reply
- 598 views
Having got a lot of help from Fishman rigging my Coffee Cup Man: http://www.hash.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=13668 I thought of doing a WINK tutorial on rigging. There are already a tutorial on rigging Boneless Thom with the 2001 Rig but rigging your own model is not the same - there are a lot of things to think about. Why not try to rig the Fat Guy.mdl you can find here: http://www.hash.com/freemodels/zips/characters/FatGuy.zip He has already got a rig - but why not change his rig - using the 2001 rig instead? What do you think about my idea? is it good or bad? Here is just a first little try to download and have a look on and perhaps …
Last reply by trajcedrv, -
- 2 replies
- 644 views
A tutorial on Model, Rig and Animate a Wheel in a simple manner just by rotating the wheel in a Action Window four times. Rotating a wheel can be done in other manners - but this is the simple way... You have to have the FLASH PLAYER plugin installed in your browser. The plugin can be installed by going to: http://www.macromedia.com/downloads The tutorial is made with FREE WINK - to test WINK - doing your own tutorial - download it from: http://www.debugmode.com/wink/ tutorial_on_model_rig_animate_a_wheel.zip
Last reply by seven, -
- 4 replies
- 818 views
Fan Bones - good for everything that bends! I have tried to make a tutorial on it. You can download the .zip-file. Open it. There are two files - one .htm-file and .swf-file. You have to place them in the same map. The .swf-file is a Flash file with the content of the tutorial. I hope you have heard about Flash it is from Macromedia and it is a 100 percent safe!!! Having placed both the files in the same map you can click the .htm-file and your browser will open with a Flash presentation of Fan Bones. If your browser does not have the FLASH PLAYER plugin you can download it from here: http://www.macromedia.com/downloads I hope the tutorial is un…
Last reply by Mr. Jaqe, -
I purchased a copy of TSM2, and in my excitement it never dawned on me to read the fine-print ( ) Seems that it won't work with my version of AM (10.5 I know, don't laugh, I don't have the cash to upgrade yet) Anyway, does anyone have a copy of TSM1 that works with 10.5? I'd be more than happy to make an even swap. The program is pretty useless to me, whereas version 1 would be extremly helpful. Anyone wanna do a trade. Straight up, no bull. I just want a copy that works with my version of AM and am willing to trade fair-and-square.
Last reply by Ilidrake, -
- 2 replies
- 544 views
I am using TSM2 (v1.07) with A:M v.13d to rig a model. After smartskinning I rigged the model using the TSM plug-in. While trying to complete a simple walk cycle action I have run into a problem with the "torso control bone" when I paste a mirrored keyframe. This problem is only happening with this particular model, so I'm assuming this is a case of "operator error" somewhere in the rigging process. Can you direct me how to alleviate this problem without starting all over with the skeleton process? I have attached a few lo-res jpegs to illustrate what's going on. Another matter that I've noticed that is consistent with all of my models rigged with TSM is that th…
Last reply by John Bigboote, -
- 16 replies
- 2.1k views
I'm trying to mirror the rig I set up; only the legs mirror - hands, feet etc. do not stick; also, the carpal bones don't reproduce. Any ideas? I've uploaded the model if someone would like to have a look. Thanks much. Worthless.mdl Worthless.mdl
Last reply by Douglas Ferrin, -
- 3 replies
- 653 views
Desperately trying to rig a broom to the hands of the troll. I need the broom to drive the arms if possible so that it can stay "level" and the hands/arms move to follow. I just can't get my head around this one. Pointers to any other threads on this topic or perhaps the Troll has a different rig. I seem to recall that other rigs had the "hand" as the end of the chain. It was easy to constrain the hand to an object to control it. I suppose I would be willing to modify the rig in the troll to do this if I get some pointers. I've tried constraining the hand nulls to the broom but the nulls can extend beyond the hands so that doesn't work so well. I constrained the…
Last reply by heyvern,
