itsjustme

I like the image too, Mark!

The video downloaded strange for me too...I had a "php" extension and was named differently than I expected. Here's a repost of that video to see if it clears up the problem. Hope that helps, Steffen. -------------------------------------- EDIT -------------------------------------- You might have to right mouse-click and select "save as"...that's the only way I got it to work. CP_Weights_repost_.mov

Okay, I did exactly the same steps as in the example video using both v13.0t and v15.0e (I run the CD version, so I don't have "f") and didn't have any of the same problems you experienced, Jason. So, it looks like 15.0f might have a problem...of course it will take someone with "f" to confirm that. Unless saving/closing/reopening works around it, you might need to roll back to 15.0e if this is going to cause you a lot of headaches. If it does end up being a problem with "f", be sure to put in a report on AM Reports. Hope that helps, Jason.

In the example video, I didn't see you save your model and then re-open and you were using "Apply" instead of "Done"...which were my suggestions. They may not be the answer though, so give me a few minutes, I'll do some messing with the example model and post the results as quick as I can.

After you have computed the CP Weighting and before doing any manual editing, you might want to save the model, close A:M, reopen and then re-load the model. Also, if you are hitting the "Apply" button, hit the "Done" button instead...it doesn't keep the dialog open, but it has been extremely reliable for me. Hope that helps, Jason.

The next set of tutorials will be a lot better presentation...I went with scripting things out first instead of describing things on-the-fly. The ones I'm working on are all Squetch Rig related and will be packaged together. I've been working on updating/improving the rig, so most of the tutorials are waiting until I get things locked down. With my free time severely limited this year, it is taking me a lot longer to get done than I'd like, but things are still slowly rolling forward. I'm probably going to have a very big burst of releases...I just don't know when yet.

I'm voting for a field with rivers of lava...maybe a volcano in the background.

Rather than moving the wall, you could make it invisible. Make the wall a separate Group, make a new on/off Pose, select the Group and set the "Transparency" to 100% on the "Surface" of the Group and re-save your model. Then, you can just turn that Pose on to hide the wall. Hope that helps.

Another quick update on the progress. I finished getting rid of the compensates in the Quad Rig tonight (still have to do a lot of testing...actually, I think I have to do a quick update to the tail), which will catch it up with the state of the biped rig. Next I'm going to work on the face rig upgrade, adapt that for addition in the Quad Rig and then finish the gut rig.

Looks cool, Robert!

The slider could be replaced with an ON/OFF pose and the relationship reworked for FK/IK switching, but the rigger would not be able to write it. The relationship would probably have to be made as a "drag and drop" from a model used as a container.

Great call, Mark! Exporting the previous model did change the 'Z' rotation some, but changing the "Roll method" to "Roll-History" appears to have fixed things. While I was at it, I changed the "Euler order" to "XYZ" on all of the rotating bones. I haven't run a test on the updated model that got it to break...but I'll do more testing tomorrow night to be sure. I'll attach the updated model here if anyone wants to mess with it. I also updated the biped installation rigs with the fix. installation_testing_08_29_2009.zip

I haven't checked after export...I'll have to do that tonight. Thanks, Mark!

It's pretty much just a bone set to "aim at" and "translate to" a target bone on each end with an identical child bone and a bone flipped upside down with "aim at" and "translate to" constraints pointing at the same target bones (but flipped). Bones set up like that will roll on their 'Z', so usually I use an "aim roll at" constraint to control the roll, but in this case the target would have to do some moving...so I went another direction. The child bone will rotate on its' 'Z' the same as its' parent, but, it also has an Expression on it that will rotate it like the 'Z' of the counter rotating bone (which rotates in the opposite direction of the parent because of its' orientation). The biggest thing, was to change the order of rotation on the counter-rotating bone to "XYZ", or it would flip the 'Z' rotation (which made it jump to correct itself). Hope that clears it up, Steve.

You could try putting the bones in the separate models, saving those, delete the geometry in each of them and save them as "guide" versions, assemble the "guide" versions using the same Action you use for the actual model, export that model as the "rig" model and then use TSM2 to rig it. That would speed things up considerably. Hope that helps.

I finished getting the biped rig installation problems worked out and have started catching the Quad installation rigs up...still a lot of testing to do on everything. The thing I worked on might be helpful to others, so I made a quick example model that I'll attach to this post. The intention is to keep the roll handles of the cheek and jowl pointing forward so that those bones are facing the front of the character. In the example model (and in the actual rig), the bones can turn the wrong direction, but only if you move their origins where they shouldn't go. The cheek's origin should always be above the "nostril_target" and the jowl's origin should always be below it. If that is true, the roll handles should remain oriented so that they point toward the front of the character (ignoring whether they are also pointing up or down, that part doesn't matter)...at least I haven't found it to not work in the tests I've run. This update will eliminate one of the manual adjustments in the installation process caused by some of the Expressions used in the face rig. installation_testing_08_25_2009.zip

You should be able to use whatever rig you want...I would use TSM2 to make things easier. If you put bones in each separate section of the model, then drag/copy each bone into a "rig" model so that they match, then use TSM2 to rig the "rig" model, you can then use an Action to assemble the model in the Chor and another Action to tie the bones in each section to the "rig" model (you could even put all of that into one Action if you want). For animating, you will probably want to make a proxy model with very simple geometry so that things don't bog down and then change it out with the actual model when it comes time to do a final render. Hope that helps. Great looking model! --------------------------- EDIT --------------------------- I just realized, it would be better to assemble your model in a Chor (with the bones in each section of the model already), delete the geometry and then export it as a model to make the "rig" model...that way the bones would be where they are going to be when assembled.

You can use the "BitmapPlus" material type to make the image a material. You should be able to tweak it into something useable using that. Hope that helps, Steve.

I'm out of time at the moment, so I'll just type a quick description...if necessary, I can make some screenshots tonight. I used GIMP, but I'm sure it can be done in any other paint program. I make a base layer of neutral gray, make a second transparent layer and use the "Filters/Noise/Hurl" to spray noise on the layer and the "Filters/Blur/Motion Blur" set to "linear" at 90 degrees with a length of about "50" to smear the noise into streaks. Then, I make a third layer, repeat the steps for the second layer except I set the motion blur to 0 degrees. Then, I flatten the image so that it is a single layer and use the "Filters/Map/Make Seamless" to make the image seamless and then save as a grayscale image. Hope that helps Steve.

I don't know what kind of weave pattern you're looking for, Steve. I just push some noise around to get a basic look like this one (it's seamless).

If you use your own character, make sure it has the necessary phoneme Poses...otherwise it won't work.

A step by step of what you are doing might help locate the problem. I'll list what I'm doing: 1. I open Keekat, double-click on the "Action" folder to create a new Action (selecting Keekat for the Action). 2. I select the newly created Action, right mouse-click and select "New/Dope Sheet". 3. When the "Add sentence" menu pops up, I input the sentence I want. 4. I scrub through the Action to make sure everything is there, then I double-click on the "Choreographies" folder to create a new Choreography. 5. I drag the Keekat model from the PWS into the new Choreography, then drag the Action onto the Keekat in the Choreography and check to make sure it is working correctly. Some things to check: 1. Where is your dictionary file located? If it's on your hard drive, move the file (make another folder and put it in there), go through the steps again and when it asks where your dictionary file is located, browse to the new location. Hopefully, that will cure the inability to find the file. 2. Is the Choreography adjusting to the length of the Action? Is the Action adjusting it's length to the sentence in the Dope Sheet? In the Dope Sheet, does the whole sentence show up? 3. If you're using another character, try it with Keekat...it should work with him. Hope that helps.

Looks great, Steve!

Just to keep people updated, I got rid of all of the compensates in the biped rig a couple of weeks ago...I still have an installation issue I need to fix on part of the face rig. I haven't done much on this for the past couple of weeks...lots of overtime at work. I should have time this week...hopefully, I'll get over my present hurdle quickly.

Congrats, Mark!