itsjustme

Installation isn't very lengthy really...I've just been busy, and obsessive. It would only take thirty minutes or so to get the rig in, the CP weighting depends on the person doing it and how obsessive they are.

It depends on the week...this week, Wednesday or Thursday evening is good. I'm not sure about next week yet. I'm on CST. ------------------------------ EDIT ------------------------------ Well, I knew there was a reason I didn't use Skype...I'm on dialup. Someday, I'll actually move into the present century. So, IRC isn't an option? ------------------------------ EDIT...again ------------------------------ It says it will work on a dialup...I guess I'll be finding out.

Very cool, David! Nice animation!

I went back and tried the FK/IK switch using Squetchy Thom and found that the only movement I got (when the arm was positioned correctly) was the difference in the arm from the FK to IK poses in the default positions...which could be corrected in the pose for the IK arms if you were so inclined. Although, a good way to get around that would be to move the arm in FK to close to where you need it, go to the keyframe you want the IK to start (it would make it easier if you use the IK hand controls in FK), position the hand/arm in IK and allow the slider to blend between the two over that amount of keyframes.

You can, but, you would most likely need to adjust the elbow...there's a control on the wrist point toward the back for that. What you would do is enable the IK hands while in FK, position the arms how you want (moving the IK hand controller to where the hands are located since they will stay in place but still orient the hands unless you do), then, switch to IK arm controls and tweak as necessary to match the position...it shouldn't be too much tweaking. The IK/FK switch is a slider, so, it should be easy to blend if it's needed as well. There are geometry bones for everything, an IK bicep and forearm, an FK bicep and forearm and the hand control has an IK, FK and geometry set of bones unto itself. The hand bones are all tied to the arm using "translate to" constraints to targets on the ends of the forearms.

I probably don't completely understand what you're saying, Mike. However, my thinking was that if you have an IK arm setup, an FK arm setup and the bones that are tied to the actual geometry, then, make the IK hand controls available in FK it would make the arm positioned pretty much where it needs to be when you make the switch. You would probably still have to adjust the elbow in the IK pose, but it would be very doable. That's what I did in Squetchy Thom. Like I said, I may be misunderstanding what you're trying to do. ------------------------------------------ EDIT ------------------------------------------ I forgot to mention, the IK hands can be turned on in the "Arms" tab using the "IK_right/left_hand_control" while in FK...if you have IK on, they are on automatically.

Thanks for giving it a good once over, Drvarceto. If you find anything that needs fixing, let me know. Hopefully, I did it right the first time.

Thanks for testing it out, Mark. I don't think there will be any problems, but I might have mis-labeled something or forgot to do something...hopefully, it works right the first time. Let me know if you find anything that needs to be addressed.

I'll bump this once in case it got buried and anyone interested missed it.

Also, the installation version of the four-fingered rig...the five fingered version will get done when I get a little time. The instructions are in a PDF inside the ZIP file along with the installation version. In the examples I used in the instructions I used the Loon character even though the final rig in that character will be altered...it's what I had at this time to use as an illustration, so, rather than wait longer I went with it. I'll name it "beta1" for now in case there are any problems that I missed. If you have any problems with this or have any questions, flag me down.

I'm going to post a few things to try to clean up a few loose ends today. First, here's the Final for Squetchy Thom. The only differences in this version is a correction I made in the forearms that won't show up unless you are installing the rig...it makes the movement of the "forearm_1" and "forearm_2" bone movement more like I originally intended. As a result of the change, I altered the CP weighting in the forearms...it shouldn't affect any Actions that you made with the update6 version. As usual, if I overlooked something and there is a problem, let me know and I'll fix it as fast as I can.

I'm finally going to have some more time over the next couple of days, so, I should have something soon...I know, I've said that before. Life has been getting in the way some lately. I don't know if I'll render any tests for the Loon...I'm thinking that having a model to mess with would be better for people to evaluate and make suggestions. I may end up posting the Loon, the installation version and an updated Squetchy Thom all at the same time...or nearly the same time. Thanks for giving Squetchy Thom a workout, Drvarceto.

LOL, I didn't notice it was backwards. Still, at least you thought about it.

I like the pupil dilation, nice detail. As far as paint programs that can create TGA's with an alpha, GIMP is a fantastic free paint program. Incidentally, I have a Script-Fu for GIMP that will generate an iris (including one with lizard-like pupils) here...the August 10, 2005 entry.

Yessir, I changed the values in the action and a couple of names. First, I opened the action in Notepad (text editor) and did a search and replace that changed "bicep_left/right_FK" to "bicep_left/right_FK_controller" and "forearm_left/right_FK" to "forearm_left/right_FK_controller". Next, the "foot_control_left/right_IK" bones 'Z' orientation is 180 degrees different than they used to be...I thought it would be better to be able to aim the roll handles at something on the ground. So, I opened the Action in AM (I actually had the current update of Squetchy Thom loaded so that I could see if I was actually fixing it) and went to each key frame for each foot control and changed the 'Z' values to 180 degrees different (the starting point would be "0", so, if the control was 180, it would be changed to "0" and a little addition/subtraction depending on the difference from 180). That fixed the feet. Finally, the "chest_FK" bone needed to have the 'X' value change from "-90" to "0" and the 'Z' value from "-180" to "0" as the starting point. I went to each keyframe for that bone and changed the values based on that starting point. Sorry for any inconvenience this has caused, Ken. How many Actions did you make? I could fix them for you if you'd like, just send me a PM with your e-mail address and I'll give you mine so you can send them if you need to.

Okay, here's the fixed version of your Action, Ken. It wasn't that anything was broken, it was that the orientation of some bones and the controls had changed since this was made...it worked fine with the Finalupdate2 version of Squetchy Thom as it was. The updated Action works fine with the latest update...you might want to double check to make sure I didn't miss anything though. Nice Action, by the way.

Ken? Maybe you missed the last post...could you post the Action? Also, is anyone else having the same issue? If so, could you post an Action?

Hmmm, could you post the Action, Ken? It looks like a bone somewhere is flipping...the Action would help me isolate it.

What rig are you using? An image or even the model in question would definitely help in figuring out your problem.

Not a problem, David. Thanks for giving him a workout, the input really helps. I did find one problem with the foot rolling that I was going to wait to post an update for until I could also make a modification to something in the forearms. Real life has slowed me down considerably in the past week and a half, but I'll get the modification posted as soon as I can. The installation version is close too, I just want to get the Loon rigged completely to make sure it's got all of the bugs worked out in it so that I don't leave any huge surprises for anyone. Changes in this version: -------------------------------------------------- Foot rolling fixed. -------------------------------------------------- Hmmm, the forum wouldn't let me post it as an MDL, so, I posted it as a ZIP file. [attachmentid=9618]

I could tackle it after I finish with the Loon, unless someone else wants it. Would you want the neck to squash and stretch when it scales or just get longer/shorter while maintaining proportions, Will? Also, any other specific squashing and stretching?

Okay, it was two bones. Changes in this version: ---------------------------------------------- Chest "orient like" hips doesn't lock the chest controller. ----------------------------------------------- If there are any other issues, let me know.

The orient like the hips constraint would lock the chest control as it is....I'll fix it, David. It would only mean adding one bone.

Since no issues have come up with this version, I'll start getting the installation version together. I think the best thing to do would be to include the finished Squetchy Thom as an example...so that's what I'll do. Thanks to everyone for the constructive critiques.

You can copy it using "Ctrl-C" and then paste it using "Ctrl-V" in Windows (I don't know what it would be on a Mac), but, everything except the actual pasting I edited out for time. Most of it I just hand typed in though since it would be faster than jumping back and forth cutting and pasting the values. Every time I input a value on the tutorial, there is an edit for time (in a lot of instances I only got rid of a few frames, but they add up). You can definitely see where I compressed time when I rename a bunch of bones. Also, there are a couple of places where I show how to do something once and say to repeat the process. The only reason for any of the editing is to reduce the file size...and it still weighs in at 120 MB split into two files. Which isn't bad for almost two hours of video with audio IMO. Gilles may be able to reduce the file size further when he gets around to it.