Simon Edmondson

Smooth/Peak does the same to channel splines as Smooth/Peak does to model splines Rob Thank you once again for your help. As someone who had the same problems with the mystery channels, have you noticed the save prompt when reopening your current project ? I've noticed the prompt but, when I try to trace the change I can't seem to find it. A bit of a puzzler... regards simon

As some of you know, I had a few problems in December with files going awry. Fortunately I haven't had a recurrence of those problems yet but I have noticed a curious factor with the current iteration of AM. If I work in the current project, save, close the project and shut down AM. When I reopen, there is a little asterisk on the actions folder indicating there has been a change which needs saving ? When I open the folder it varies as to which action has the change indicator showing. Has anyone else noticed this and, has it given any problems ? Pt two Working on an action file I noticed that there is an option to 'Smooth' the interpolation method. I looked in the technical reference book but, could not find any reference to this option. Could anyone point me to reference material on that option ? Thank you. Simon

An Update on the problems I had ben having with the mystery channels appearing in the PWS. I'm still working away on the same project and I've had occasion to force Quit in the past few days, or the program has crashed . When I reopen it later I notice that the actions folder has an asterisk against it, suggesting a change needs saving - even though I was not working on an action file at the time of the exit . Has anyone else experienced this ? regards simon Imac, OS X 10.65, 4GB of Ram.

Fuchur Thank you for your help. I hadn't thought of that before. I will so so next time though ! regards simon

Rob Thank you very much once again for the help. Much appreciated. Regards simon

I've completed ( for now at least ) all the actions I want my figure to perform in a choreography. All the actions were completed in an action window and I'm dropping them on the same figure in the chor. Wherein lies the problem. When he reaches the end of action two he is on the right of the sceen The next frame is the start of section three and he starts on the left side of the screen again ? |Is there a way to prevent this so the third section starts in the same position as the second ends? regards simoni

Thank you to everyone for there help these past few weeks. and a happy New Year. simonMessage.mov

Rob Thanks to you and Homeslice for the info, Much appreciated. regards simon

Go to Tools > Options > Global and make sure "Show advanced properties" is turned ON. Thank you for the info. I shall do so straight away. regards simon

This was done directly in the model, its not part of an action or pose. Thank you once again. I looked but I couldn't get the manipulator option to come up in the model window. Only in the action, hence the question. Pardon me if I'm missing something... regards simon

Rob I just looked up your advice. Is there any way to input the limits at the initial setup point or does it have to be done at the action stage ? If so, would it be possible to set it up as a pose and drop that onto the rig when starting an action rather than have to set it up each time ? I will try to look it up at the weekend when I finish the current work. Thank you once again. regards simon

Rob Once again, thank you very much for that. Do you know of anywhere that has a list of the limits to set ? cheers simon

Is it possible to limit the rotation of bones at the set up stage so that they do not exceed the natural limits of the human form and, if so, does anyone have a list of the angle limits ? On the setup I have at the moment it is possible to move some bones in the wrong dimension and I have to go back and reset them afterwards. For example: In the fingers, the base of the finger can move in all three dimension ( XYZ). The mid section and the finger tip can only rotate in the z dimension - forwards and backwards. The hope is to setup a rig I can use in future projects. Thank you in advance. regards simon

This sounds like a graphics card problem of drawing things in the right place. I've not had that. Your drivers are up to date? I've just checked and, according to Apple, the software is up to date. >>PC here. Did previous versions of A:M do this? Is this new? All the time? I'm running 15J here following a recommendation a few months back. I don't recall it happening with earlier versions although, to be honest, the channels are not something I've been very observant off in the past. One thing I have noticed with the current version is that ( whisper ) it doesn't always ask for the CD when I start it up (?). As mentioned previously, my typing skills are not of the highest order ( for reasons I won't bore you with ) so, I sometimes hit the wrong keys when working and in the past I have attributed that as the cause of any troubles I may have had. It doesn't happen all the time but it has happened to successive actions in the same project but affecting different b ones or nulls. I noticed it on the left hand first ( the start of this thread ), checked the rest of the bones to find them clear. On the next action it was the head and the right hand, the next the hips and the foot target... It doesn't appear to be consistent ( which is of course the worst type of problem ). regards simon You can email people thru the forum still i think. I'll try to find out how later.

Yes. Or sometimes only the tip and base of a bone will be visible. Rob I haven't had that yet ( or at least not noticed it yet ) but, working away today, I noticed another oddity. I was working away on an action when I noticed that the boundary box that appears in the view window was sitting to the side of the object rather than around the object itself. ? If I clicked on it in the PWS it would not resolve but, if I clicked on the object in the view window, the phantom box would disappear and the actual one resolve around the object. This happened with the hips and the foot target ( both nulls ?) Are you working on a PC or a Mac ? Personally, I'm on a mac at the moment. regards simon Ps I tried to send you a message off forum but was not allowed to. It was in relation to your 2D wannabe link.

Rob I've just found more on some action files I did around the same time. The way they seem to manifest in the view frame is with extended roll handles on the bones or axis on the feet targets ? I use a slightly wonky Wacom Intuos tablet ( it has a habit of 'freezing' every so often ) and I wondered if that might be an influencing factor ? Now I'm aware of it, I look out for it but, I haven't spotted the cause yet . regards simon

I'm using xp pro sp3. Nancy. I'm trying to get the animation done by New Year so, can't check now but, I will let you know if there are any problems when I start rendering. I think the PC's are XP sp3 but will try to check before I set them going. If it sounds like I am some flash concern (?) I should explain that the PC's are in my garden shed and are at least five years old or more but, while they are rendering away I can get on with the other stuff. Have fun simonf

I have had this problem, I do not know what the cause is, and you have found the solution (delete the funny channels). I have noticed it in previous versions of A:M, PC, maybe only certain rigs? My caution is to not have other windows open when animating...probably superstition on my part. Nancy. Thank you for your reply. I am working on an Imac under OSX 10.6 and wondered if that was part of it (?). I'm a fairly recent convert to Macs and my keyboard skills are lamentable so I thought they may be contributory too. I'm doing the animation on the Mac but, the rendering will be PC based. I will let you know if there is any trouble. ( I'm using XP are you on W7 ? ) regards simon

Thank you very much indeed for your feed back, it is much appreciated. I deleted the extra info and (whisper it quietly ) it is working. I may have hit a key on the keyboard by accident, but I didn't notice untill it affected the bones. I will have to try to remember if it happens again and perhaps post a caution(?) Thank you for your time and help. regards simon

I seem to have solved the problem ( famous last words I know ) but am still uncertain as to the cause ? The solution seems to be to delete all the positional key info in the action file and just have the rotation info. I was unaware that I had changed the position but thats possibly just foolishness on my part. One thing I did notice was that the roll handle on the bone had scaled to about 10 times the normal length ( ?) although it still seemed to work as normal. This has happened to me before. Is it a problem others have had and, if so, what is the cause and, most importantly, does anyone have a solution ? Thank you for your time. regards simon

Kinks.actFollowing the recent advice here I am plodding along with my project. However, I have encountered a curious problem ( another you ask ? ). I am going for the second pass on an action file to put it the hand and face movements when I noticed that, somehow or other, the left hand bone has reversed direction and is now pointing back along the forearm. It still affects the cps of the hand but can go a bit wild when I try to move it. Can anyone explain whats happened and, most importantly, how I can correct it ? Thank you kindly in advance. regards simonFingers_Janitor_15.mdl

Paul Thank you very much. I shall try that straight away. cheers simon

In the project I'm working on, I want to set up a follow spot for the figure as it leaps about. I tried to set up an aim at constraint on the spotlight body but it didn't seem to follow the target, even though that was selected under properties. Could someone kindly explain how to achieve this? Working in the latest iteration on an I mac. Thank you in advance. simon

my Keyframe basics vid covers a bit of this. See the screencam tuts link in my signature. Rob Thank you once again for your prompt reply. I shall do just that presently. cheers simon

Having initially had problems with sound files ( thankfully fixed due to forum users advice ) I have completed the animation first part of a little project I'm working on and want to fine tune it using the f curves ( ?). I'm not sure if that is the correct term for them ? What I mean is the way of changing the curve that flows through the timeline to affect the interpolation method of the keyframes set. To get a hold, constant speed or the normal spline. I have never done this before and wondered if anyone could point me to the relevant section in the Tech reference/ TAO/ forum archives to try and learn a bit more about it ? I am using V16. Thank you in advance simon