A:M Rigging
Rigging & Relationships
Subforums
-
- 4.9k
- posts
-
- 40
- posts
573 topics in this forum
-
- 1 reply
- 771 views
hi all, I have a bone that is a parent to several other bones. I want to be able to scale the parent bone without the child-bones scaling. I want them only to translate (expand). Is there a way to "lock" the scaling of bones? Do I need to make an expression or is there some constraint to do the job? This is for my face-setup. I want my lip-control bones to not scale so that the lips always stay the same thicknes when I scale my mouth bone (the parent). thanks.
Last reply by Fuchur, -
- 4 replies
- 814 views
I have an old model I want to move all the bones down a touch as theye or the model has been moved .How do I select all the bones please
Last reply by steve392, -
- 31 replies
- 1.6k views
This is for Robcat, if you're out there anywhere. I'm working on cleaning up the rigging on my penguin so I can hopefully finally start doing some test animations with her. The one ring in that model, the one between the ring that makes up the beginning of the neck and the one that makes up the shoulders, would I benefit from removing that completely? It is not really a critical ring but more a leftover from my modeling process. I'm not sure it needs to be there, I guess I can try removing it and see what happens.
Last reply by Roger, -
- 1 follower
- 2 replies
- 931 views
I want to make the mouth for the "O" phoneme a little rounder but not sure where to do it. I've been experimenting but not saving as I didn't want to break anything. I started out trying to edit the phoneme relationship itself, but then decided that I needed to alter the mouth constraints. However I'm at a loss as to whether I should edit the Mouth Corner Constraints, or the Face Control Limits. But I'm leery about altering any of this stuff, I know it will come back to bite me. Then I wondered if I should just animate the cp's in the O phoneme itself and not mess with the bones. I think ultimately this would be the easiest fix. Anyone have any advice or opinion…
Last reply by Gerry, -
- 1 follower
- 29 replies
- 1.7k views
So apart from my copy of the Rear Window set being cursed, something I'm beginning to suspect, what rational reason is there for bones within a rig, in this case the LiteRig, to just stop working after a time and/or randomly rotate themselves? The first casualty was the Lower Hip bone which died altogether on me, followed a little time later by the Neck bone randomly jumping out of sync with the head bone. At first I was sort of able to work around these but now the neck thing is happening nearly every time I rotate the head. Whilst it is possible to continue without using the Lower Hip bone, its pretty much impossible to animate without having control of the …
Last reply by mtpeak2, -
- 7 replies
- 1.7k views
I've started rigging my models for the Woke Up Dead feature. Normally I would use TSM2 but have become rather frustrated with it. It works good but I find it hard to customize. I started by rigging the legs of my Latimer model and have started with the arms next. And this is where I have stopped LOL. Rigging has never, ever, ever been a strong point for me and I think it's high time I learned a little something more about it. So my question is do you guys have any good starting tuts for rigging a human arm? I want a simple, functioning rig with no bells or whistles. And if it's in a format besides a mov file that would be great because I am totallly cramped on bandwidth r…
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 3 replies
- 670 views
Why would smartskins on my torso be affected by mirroring the leg bones on my penguin? I wouldn't think that would make any difference. Also, if I mirror the right side leg bones to the left, do the constraints automatically mirror along w/ the bones or do I need to do that separately? One other thing I'm concerned about - I noticed that my foot, along with the foot controls, did not mirror when I used mirrorbones. I think it is because it was not a child of the calf. If I want all that to mirror, do I need to make those items a child of the calf and then drag them back to their original position in the hierarchy?
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 6 replies
- 1k views
Heya, all-- Is there a "from the beginning" tut anywhere on how to construct a rig from the ground up? Thanks, Rich
Last reply by Darthlister, -
- 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, -
- 3 replies
- 848 views
so ive been away from AM for a bit and decided to get back in with ver 17. i tried to install TSM2 and it did not show up in my wizards plug-ins im in 64bit version so im thinking thats why. just need some advice as im not very good with rigging. should i use the lite rig? or is there a new rig version that i should adopt that will work well in ver17? thanks mike
Last reply by Fuchur, -
- 8 replies
- 1.1k views
Hi all, Is it possible to hide a distortion box? I have attached some bones to a distortion box and would like to see only the bones and not the distortion box when animating. thanks, Luca
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 5 replies
- 766 views
I'm getting to the point where I just about have one character completely rigged. The other one hopefully won't take as long because I'm using the TSM2 rig on it. Soon I will need to set up some facial rigs for the characters. I assume at a minimum, I will need controls for the eyes, eyelids, mouth, cheekbones, eyebrows and forehead. Is there anything else I am forgetting?
Last reply by Fuchur, -
- 1 reply
- 772 views
I'm in 16b. My goal was to translate one null(NULL 2) to a second null(NULL 1) using the "Translate to" constraint. But I also want the child null to remain in it's original place. So when I apply the "translate to" constraint I make sure the "Compensate button" is pressed on. However.....Null 2 moves to the position of null 1 even though compensate mode was on. I tried this in an On/Off pose. Anyone else get that result?
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 4 replies
- 774 views
I'm trying to constrain two bones to follow a null in an action window, with an "Aim At" constraint, for controlling eye direction of a model. All of which works fine and well. However when the model containing this setup is opened in a Chor this constraint no longer works. How should I be doing this?
Last reply by markw, -
- 2 replies
- 969 views
Hi guys! I forgot how to move full branch of bones in a bones mode? (like if you would like to place all bones in left arm move 10 inches downwards) I really hope someone could help me. Thank you in advance :-) Dusan
Last reply by kikiriki, -
- 16 replies
- 1.7k views
Hey everyone. I have some % pose sliders set up on a character. I want to create a Null or Nulls to control these sliders by translating the null side to side & up/ down. Does anyone have a guide to get started doing that? Thanks so much. William
Last reply by NancyGormezano, -
- 1 follower
- 4 replies
- 1.2k views
A very brief demonstration of creating a smartskin and mirroring it to the other side of a model. Create_and_Mirror_Smartskin.mov Create and Mirror Smartskin Edit: Here's the PRJ in the video if you want to play along SimpleSmartskinMirror01.prj
Last reply by Gerry, -
- 1 reply
- 753 views
I've always made walking cycles and added them to the model then move the model bone around and tried to get the walking pace to match, which usually sucks. I would like to however have the model bone move with the hips so when I move the hips forward, though the walk cycle (while in choreography not through action) the model bone follows along without scooting the whole model along. Otherwise the model bone just lags away as I walk the model further and further away. Im sure walk cycles are nice but they look artificial and when a character walks , say up a hill or across rocky surfaces it doesn't look good. See below, I walked the character forward but when I clic…
Last reply by mtpeak2, -
- 2 replies
- 936 views
I just exported my choreography action as an MDD... deleted all the actions on the model, and imported the same MDD... it didn't work so well. I was trying to sort of 'bake' the action(s). I used a setting of 1 on the polygon export/import dialogue... I think I may be misusing this feature. Anyone else try such a thing?
Last reply by Xtaz, -
- 7 replies
- 1k views
I've got an action that I'd like to save as a Pose with a percentage slider. Is this possible?
Last reply by Gerry, -
- 3 replies
- 954 views
I have a character that holds a staff and from it is a hook from which a lantern will swing back and forth. But what I want it to do is to swing naturally rather than animated myself if at all possible. So Basically the character will move the stick itself, then depending on the direction, speed, and etc the program will figure out how it will react.
Last reply by Sean delgatto, -
- 11 replies
- 1.7k views
There are two things I'm considering doing with the model I'm working on in my Hit-and-Run work-in-progress, but I don't know if they will give me problems when it comes time to rig the character. First is trying to do something other than the standard T pose. I find the T pose makes it a lot harder to position bones correctly for the shoulders, and slightly harder for the elbows. The normal approach is a cylinder for the body, and then cylinders coming out for the arms using 5-point patches to match up the cylinders. I was instead thinking of having a T with only the shoulders, and then the arms descending from the shoulders; sort of like a cylinder for the b…
Last reply by Gerry, -
- 7 replies
- 955 views
Hey- searchin' the forum- but I don't even know what I am looking for... is it possible to have an audio file be the basis for a bones rotation... or general movement? Seems I saw something about this here once... Thanks!
Last reply by johnl3d, -
- 1 follower
- 6 replies
- 1.6k views
This is a tutorial showing how to make an arm control rig using a method of finding the height of a scalene triangle (used in the current Squetch Rig). It is a more advanced tutorial that assumes you already know how to add bones, Poses and Expressions and have a general knowledge of character rigging. Included in the ZIP file are the video (29:26 in length, 900x600, H264 encoded Quicktime), subtitle file and an example of the rig. scalene_arm_rig_tutorial.zip
Last reply by jason1025, -
- 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, -
- 4 replies
- 921 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, -
- 14 replies
- 1.5k views
Darkwing asked about fan bones, and especially difficulty rigging shoulders. I'm by no means a rigging expert, but I thought this might be a fun topic just to demonstrate simple rigging stuff. One of the tricky aspects of the shoulder is that when your arm rotates, you don't want your shoulder to rotate. You can use extra bones with constraints to gradually lessen the movement of the mesh. Typically, fan bones are used to lessen the angle of a bone's movement (making the cosmetic bones fan out, hence the name), but they can also be used for roll contstraints. For example, here's a tube with each bone controlling a spline ring. When I rotate the bone at…
Last reply by Gerry, -
- 7 replies
- 1k views
Just made a simple rig and was watching 'building first rig' by HomeSlice. Got to the point to do my Constraints, when I try to pic target bone it does not select the one I choose, so I go to select target and the needed bone (s) do not show up in the list. I'm sure it is something simple i have missed. FatGuy.prj
Last reply by itsjustme, -
- 2 replies
- 682 views
I've got actions that give characters base setups for weapons; drag the character into a chor, drag the action on to them and they've got weapons in hand and ready to go. However, I can't seem to figure out how to access the relationships (orient like, translate to) mid-chor. For example, if I want to have them pick up/drop something or flip a weapon around in their hand, I can't figure out how. Do I just have to set the weapons and stuff up in the chor separately every time, do I have to have tailor-made actions for each instance, or am I missing something here?
Last reply by Meowx, -
After Bones: 1 2
by MJL- 1 follower
- 50 replies
- 4.2k views
I have made a new character. As you can see he is fairly simple, having no legs. I know that there are a number of rigs available complete with installers, but I thought that this might a golden opportunity to learn in more depth, step by step and rig this little guy from scratch. I have made the necessary bones and assigned the cp's. What would be the next step? CP weighting? And what about IK and FK and that Chain Thing?.
Last reply by Paul Forwood, -
- 9 replies
- 894 views
Hi, I'm working with AMV14c I can't seem to be able to create a pose (off/on or percentage) to had a bone!? I've done this before but now 'j' won't hid the bone and if I expand the properties and select the bone and click on the 'eye' it won't turn off!!?!! Any one have any ideas???? Thanks, Rusty
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 5 replies
- 802 views
In the attached movie you will see a problem I keep running into with my TSM2 rigged characters (have not tried this on a non-TSM2 character) Basicly, I am trying to blend 2 actions together. 1 is a walk cycle repeated 3 times, the other is a 'handshake' action... so basically I want the character to walk up and shake hands. Everything is working right in the meld from 1 action to the other except for the arms- which raise to the Tpose in the blend then drop to where they were supposed to be going suddenly. I have tried this using FK and IK arms with the same results. I also have tried different blend modes (replace, add, blend) with unsatisfactory results. Can …
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 1 follower
- 17 replies
- 2.2k views
Hi Everyone, I've posted Part 1 (of a three part series) of my free Character Rigging tutorials entitled: "Rigging Basics" at my web site. Link to the "Rigging Basics" index. I want to share what I have learned so far about rigging in A:M with everyone that wants some help in the area. I've written these tutorials with the complete rigging novice in mind so if you don't know anything about rigging you characters in A:M then these tutorials may be of some use to you. I'll be making minor revisions to this section in the next few days so if you spot any areas that need some clarification or correction, please let me know and I'll do what I can…
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 6 replies
- 959 views
I don't want the bone to change the direction it's pointing. In other words, I want it to be able to rotate, not translate.
Last reply by Nerdcore Steve, -
- 1 follower
- 7 replies
- 1.1k views
I'm trying to use flocking system in v 15, but it doesn't work. Can please someone check if it works on his computer before I report the bug... Thank you...
Last reply by Fuchur, -
- 3 replies
- 1.1k views
I've got this rigged character for my music video. When I put him in a chor I can enter skeletal mode and move his bones around. but once I deselect him, work on other models and go back to him, when I enter skeletal mode I can no longer activate, see or select his bones. I feel like I've seen this before not long ago but I'm stumped by it. Tested in v15 and the latest v16, on a pc. When I get home I'll test on a Mac, but any advice is welcome!
Last reply by Gerry, -
- 7 replies
- 1.9k views
Steffen Gross' Transfer_AW plugin can simplify weighting complex meshes. It's been around for a while but I don't think most people are aware of what it does. Basic Workflow: 1)Make a fabulous model with all the splines you need. Group it and name it "hi-res" 2)In the same model window, make a simplified version of your mesh with just enough splines to hang on a rig. Group it and call it "lo-res" 3)body parts that you don't want to influence each other can be given names like hi-res_leftleg and hi-res_rightleg 4)Attach and weight the lo-res mesh to your rig's bones. 5)Transfer_AW will transfer the weights from "lo-res" to "hi-res" and figure out all …
Last reply by John Bigboote, -
- 3 replies
- 712 views
I still can't get the MirrorBones plugin to work for mirroring cp weighting. I know I saw a thread on this not long ago, but I can't find it now. I've installed the LiteFace rig, weighted the right side, and tried once again, without success, to mirror the weighting. If anyone can direct me to a thread, tutorial, video or fortune cookie on this topic so I can get it to work that would be fantastic. btw I'm doing this on a pc, v. 16RC. but in the past I've never gotten it to work and I end up writing out all the cp weights on paper and redoing the left side manually.
Last reply by Gerry, -
- 1 follower
- 85 replies
- 11.9k views
I figured this would be the best place to put this...it is an illustration of something I mentioned in another thread. It's a very simple car suspension. Don't critique me to death, I realize it needs a lot more. My only aim was to illustrate how to keep tires on the road using the same method that is in an IK leg. The example was made in v13. I hope this is helpful to someone. car_suspension_example.zip
Last reply by mtpeak2, -
- 29 replies
- 2.2k views
It ought to be possible to have two separate bones Aim At each other because that would not be a true circularity. But A:M doesn't allow it. hmmm...
Last reply by Rodney, -
- 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 follower
- 58 replies
- 5.6k views
I have finished the "rough draft" of my Warhawk BattleMech. This is the upper body portion. I put the following bones in Here is the PWS showing the relationship of these bones But when I try to move the lower arm bone (we would call it a forearm bone) all I can do is rotate it - but I want to translate it to move back and forth - either extending or retracting the "hand". Here is the lower half It will require a "chicken walk" I have looked at the Technical Reference, ToAM manual, the 2000 A:M manual, the "lets take a walk" tutorial, David Rogers book, ... Thanks so much for all the past help.
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 5 replies
- 811 views
I have imported several models into the chor window. I aligned them while in chor mode. When I switched to model mode they were out of alignment, so I moved them. But when I switched back to chor mode the bones had not moved. So I had to spend a lot of time repositioning them. Does anyone know why the bones didn't move? Thanks.
Last reply by bubba, -
- 2 replies
- 685 views
Doing a walk cycle for my gecko and it's not much different from a biped walk cycle, but I do get confused about how to keep it walking while constrained to a path. It only wants to cycle once and if I add more repetitions the walk cycle speeds up instead of being spread out over the length of the path constraint. What is chor length vs. crop length? How do I keep the walk cycle repeating without speeding it up?
Last reply by Gerry, -
- 25 replies
- 2.7k views
The initial test with a dynamic constraint: A simple model with one large uh... mass... attached to another mass. I applied a dynamic constraint in an action and played with settings til I found the ones pictured: Here are two vids of the constraint in action: testB.mov testc.mov I think this would work for many situations, but I still want to experiment with cloth. Just don't know how to get only part of a model to be cloth...
Last reply by Gerry, -
- 3 replies
- 841 views
I remember a thread where someone at least partially explained how to have multiple keys in a smartskin and get a smoothly interpolating result. Does anyone know where that is or recall what their strategy was?
Last reply by HomeSlice, -
- 11 replies
- 1k views
For some reason I can't seem to get the feet to stick to the ground when I move the body. Haven't set any constraints on the legs and body parts yet, just have the IK and Aim At on. Anyone know what I'm doing wrong? brown_recluse.zip
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 2 followers
- 35 replies
- 3.5k views
I did this test awhile ago, for my own education, to see what differences could result for a typically simple joint (such as elbow, knee) when using fan bones (3 bones total) and cp weighting, as well as for just cp weighting with 2 bones (no fan). This assumes that there are three rings for the joint. I did not test different positioning for the fan bone, nor joints that were not 3-ringed, ie 2 rings, or only 1 ring. The fan bone also has a constraint to orient 50% like bone 2. I didn't experiment with different orientation % either. The best choice would depend on the look that one wants. Just seemed simple to go with 2 bones and weight them for my purposes. …
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 0 replies
- 667 views
If you have a bone in your model that you will only want to turn or move in certain directions, Manipulator Options in the bone's properties can make the bone present only those axi when you use the Rotate or Translate manipulators. This video uses a gun (swings only up and down) on a tank turret (turns only side-to-side) as an example case. link in Post #14 Other examples of things that typically rotate in one axis only would be fingers, knees, elbows, eyelids, wheels, gears, doorknobs, levers... Examples of things that translate in only one axis would be sliding doors, pistons, curtain hooks, double-hung windows, telescope segments... Note that …
Last reply by robcat2075, -
- 1 follower
- 18 replies
- 1.6k views
It has been a long time since I have rigged something more complex then a door or a window. And boy did I forget everything. What I have is an electric train pentagram. (For those who don’t know it is the device to draw power from the over head wires). I did some rigging on it but I am drawing a blank on how to set it up. So the user can raise or lower the pentagram. Since this is going in the Contributors Cue with the GG1 I would like to have it set up with easy of use in mind. Pentagram.mdl
Last reply by DJBREIT,