itsjustme

Thanks for taking a look, Drvarceto. Once I get all of the problems fixed, I'll try the rig in another character. It'll be fixed in the next version. I should have something posted in a day or two.

D'oh, I misread this one...the limit on the 'X' for the IK made the elbow unable to move the way it needed to in some positions, so that'll be changed back. I'll see about adding this in the next version. I shouldn't read things when I'm asleep, I guess.

Very cool, thanks Mark. I'm a little reluctant to put an actual face on Thom...he's an icon. I did add the fingers to make sure that everything in the hand would work like I wanted. I thought about putting a hat on him so that you could easily see what direction he was looking since he doesn't have a nose. Which way would you go, David? I haven't tried lately either, Mark...but the last time I did, I found out that the values were still there and just had to be re-entered on the slider itself. Of course with the number of sliders I tend to use, it would be a pain. Thanks for hanging with me...I guess I chose to use the "Release Candidate" designation kinda early. Anyway, I'll go ahead and post something even if it may have a few warts. Let's see if this is closer: Changes in this version: -------------------------------------------------------------- Arm controls for IK have rotation limited to the 'X' axis for contolling the elbows. Fixed a problem in the rotation of the hips. Head and neck by default does not orient like the chest, a percentage slider is now added to accomplish that. The default is now FK arms and IK legs....maybe that has been the case, I forget. Turned the roll handles on the model bone, head, neck and chest bones to face front...I don't know why I had them facing backwards. Added an entire model squetch slider...I think that actually happened on the last version. ---------------------------------------------------------------- There are probably more things to do that I haven't seen yet, but I'll try to nail everything down as soon as I can. Let me know if you see any problems.

D'oh! I fixed a couple of things....sometimes my head doesn't work too good. I'll get it right one of these times. Changes in this version: -------------------------------------------------------------------- Fixed the FK on the arms to work correctly. Made the IK arms percentage sliders instead of on/off. Made the IK legs percentage sliders instead of on/off. Cleaned up some of the organization. --------------------------------------------------------------------

No problem for me, Mark. I'm probably going to give it a week and if I don't hear about any problems I'll do some general organizing and then post a final version...anyone with any issues, feel free to post them here. Once I get this rig finalized, I've got uses for it.

Thanks, Mark. If you notice anything else, let me know. I appreciate any critiques I get, it takes a lot of time to give a thorough review. The hip control is just a bone I added as the parent of a couple of the squetch nulls...the ability was there before, just not in an easily controlled manner. The knee control is a bone that I added as the parent to the knee and thigh targets...so, it is an IK control only. I also forgot to mention that I changed the naming convention from "IK/FK" to "IKFK" so that it wouldn't cause problems when using Expressions (the "/" would be seen as a division symbol).

David and Mark, I owe you guys each a future in-depth critique. I really appreciate it. I found a few things that I had broken in the FK leg controls and addressed the issues brought up thus far. Let's see what you think. Changes in this version: --------------------------------------------------------- Knee rotation independent of the foot control added in IK (control is on the back of the foot below the heel control...it rotates on the Y axis). Added a controller to isolate the hip manipulation (it's the bone pointing downward from the hips). Fixed the broken FK leg controls. Fixed a right foot squetch problem (it didn't have a "scale to reach" set, so it didn't match the left foot). Fixed the scaling of the hand controls when scaling the arms. Fixed the lack of leg rotation (I didn't notice it until I was working on the independent knee rotation). -------------------------------------------------------------- In the interest of showing my sources and giving credit where it is due: The IK foot controls are an adaptation of a David Rogers design...he has a tutorial posted here. Also, the carpal bone controls are the result of reading a series of postings that Raf Anzovin made to this forum (I don't remember where it's located though...anyone remember?) and the bone squetching came from watching the Expressions Tech Talk which you can find here. Once again, if anyone finds anything broken or in need of modifying let me know.

First, thanks for giving the rig a workout, Mark! There's a knee target that is a child bone of the "foot_control_right/left_IK", if you rotate that bone the knee will move...that's in IK, in FK the knee can move anywhere using the "thigh_right/left_IK/FK" bones. I could add another control though, I'll look at that tonight. Here I'm not quite understanding...the heel control is sort of like when you need the foot to say walk a balance beam and the foot needs to wrap around it. In IK, the "foot_control_right/left_IK" bone points the toes if you either move that bone down or lift the character by the "hips_IK" bone. Can you give me an example of a use? It might just need to have something else manipulated to get what you're talking about...are you talking about in FK? I'll take a look at that tonight. Thanks for such a thorough evaluation, Mark! It really helps a lot. Oh, and the resizing of the hand controls on RC2 when scaling the arms will be fixed in the next version as well.

If it were a snake, it would've bit me! Thanks for pointing that out David! Here's Release Candidate 2. Changes in this version: ------------------------------------------------------------------- The hands lock with arm movement...I made it lock on both IK and FK. Added on-the-hand finger curl and hand clench controls (rotate the roll handles on the bones pointing up...they appear when you set "show_finger_controls" to on). --------------------------------------------------------------------- I don't think I broke anything in updating, but, if you see anything broken or don't like something I did let me know.

Thanks for looking it over Mark! Your input will be a big help.

Alright, now I need everyone to try this rig out and suggest improvements/corrections. Everything should work, but, maybe I missed something or maybe you see how it could be better. I have named this one RC1 for "Release Candidate". Changes in this version: ----------------------------------------------------- Stomach in/out added. Chest in/out added. Pose that unhides all of the geometry bones for easier CP weighting added. Whole hand left and right squetch added (to squetch just the palms, squetch the hand, then squetch each finger1 to compensate). Pose to unhide the finger squetch controls/targets added. ------------------------------------------------------

Okay, for lack of a better place to put this...here's the update for the GIMP Script-Fu to make an iris for GIMP 2.2.8. Thanks to Keith White for giving me a heads up on the need to update this. Let me know if you have problems with it, here's how to use it: ----------------------------------------------------------------------- To use the script (after unzipping the file), put it (irismap228.scm) in the scripts folder in the GIMP directory...on Windows XP it would be something like "c:\Program Files\GIMP-2.2\share\gimp\2.0\scripts". Once the script is in the correct folder, you can start GIMP and use the script by going to "Xtns\Script-Fu\Misc\irismap". On the menu that comes up, all of the listed variables can be edited by clicking on them. The default settings make one brown iris that is 400 pixels wide and 400 pixels in height with a background color of a version of purple (200, 0, 200). If you uncheck the "flattenlayers" button, the image will have twelve separate layers (so you can tweak individual layers before "flattening" the image). If you want to save your original iris with its' layers separated, you'll want to make it an XCF file. To save the file as one layer for using in Animation Master, you'll have to "flatten" the image by using the "Flatten Image" tool in the image's "Layers" menu. GIMP will use the color you have selected as the background color in your color picker as the background for the flattened image. Using this script you can only get an oval iris and pupil, but they don't have to be perfect circles. The smallest overall iris size this script can make is 400x400 with a minimum pupil size of 125x125...the maximum overall size and pupil size is 9999x9999 at the moment but that was an arbitrary limit I put on it, you can change that size by changing the setting in the Script-Fu if you have a need for a larger iris. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- A version for GIMP 2.0.4 is earlier in this thread. irismap228.zip

It took me longer to get back to this than I thought, but, better late than never, I guess. Changes in this version: ------------------------- Changed from mitten hands to hands with fingers. Hands are rigged. Translating the finger controllers moves the carpals. Hand clench/spread poses added for each hand. Squetch sliders for each finger and each joint of the fingers. Added a pose to hide/unhide shoulder controls. Added a pose to hide/unhide finger controls (default is hidden). Added finger curl sliders for each finger. ---------------------------- Plenty of things still to be done, but it's improving.

Okay, now the repairs are done. In this version: --------------------------------------------- The shoulders are improved a little (hardly noticeable). The forearms have been re-rigged (works much better now). I added some mitten style hands (haven't rigged those yet). The CP weighting on the arms has been redone. The biceps roll properly now. ---------------------------------------------- I'll install the hand controls next, then I've got a few other assorted small things to add. Hopefully, I'll get most of it done in the next couple of days.

D'oh, I was going to post an update, but, I found some things (as I was posting) that I need to fix before I do...I'll try to have it posted by tomorrow.

Not a problem, G. This version fixes everything I had broken in the last version (as far as I can tell), so now you can squetch the arms to 200% like the legs with the sliders (and the other squetch controls are still available as well). There are still a couple of additions and tweaks needed, but it's closer.

Okay, here's a version with squetch sliders for the arms added, the null controls are also there still. I set the easily seen sliders' squetch scaling to such a small amount (120% of normal) in order to maintain the elbows...the sub sliders can go higher, but, you will have to adjust the elbows (I'll see if I can clear that up). I still have some things to do, I'll try to knock out some more tomorrow.

I didn't find 3D Flash Animator hard to use at all...I'll admit, the only thing I've actually made with it was a guitar tuner, but, I didn't have a problem. Try the downloadable version and see if it's something you can use. Here is a support forum for it that has links to online tutorials...I'm sure you could find other places online as well. Whatever you decide, good luck.

A low cost alternative to using Flash, you might try 3D Flash Animator...I think it's $50 (and you can try before you buy).

Well, I got stopped by the clock today...I had the arms in pieces when I realized I had to wrap up for the day. So, I had to look through a few versions to find one that didn't have things broken (at least I didn't find anything wrong in the time I had to check). Updates in this version are: -------------------------------------------------------------------------- You can squetch the legs while using IK or FK using pose sliders (the other squetch controls are still there in addition to the sliders). If you squetch the thigh and calf to different percentages, you'll have to adjust the foot using the null squetch controls when using the IK controls (the toes stay pointing if you don't). The shoulders follow the arms a little when using IK, they can still be adjusted when in IK manually as well. I fixed the forearms and adjusted the CP weighting around the hips, it deforms a lot nicer now. You can use IK on one leg if you want now...I figured that could be useful. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Still lots to do, I should have the arms finished in a day or so if I get the free time I'm expecting.

I like it so far, Elquintojinete001. It would be fun to see it with some patches distorting...maybe put this rig into a head you have or one of the models on the CD. What more did you want it to be able to do? It looks like it would be great for a cartoony character.

Thanks for taking a look, Mark. I'll try to have an update posted by Monday (my schedule is easing up a bit). Oh, I finally got a chance to see your video of the Osipa-style face controls...very nice. Anyone not familiar, it's located here. That's something I'm thinking about incorporating eventually, it looks like it's fun to mess with.

Thanks for the feedback, Drvarceto. I still have a lot of things to tweak and add, but it's not a bad start. I like Mark Skodacek's rig as well, John Keates' rig is also nice. Both of them are in this thread in case anyone hasn't seen them.

This is just a quick update, I haven't had more than a few minutes here and there to work on this for a while. Things different in this version, when you turn off the IK legs, the FK controls are visible, the upper torso can be manipulated using a non-squetch method, the biceps flex with the turning of the wrists in addition to the flex when bending the arm and I've added some shoulder controls. I still have a lot to do, including fixing the forearms, scaling the IK controls to match the squetching, adding shoulder movement to the IK arms (you have to manually adjust them at the moment) and a few other odds and ends. The best way to use the squetch right now is to move everything using either the IK or FK and then add the squetch.

That's one of the things on my to-do list, I've got some possible ways to do it that I haven't had a chance to try yet. I might have to rework a few things to get it done. Yessir, I just haven't gotten there yet...I get caught up in the little stuff sometimes. I'll try to have a new version up sometime on Monday. Thanks for taking a look, Mark.