strohbehn

Thanks a ton for the quick fix and all of the hard work that went into this project. The pose install method is another one of those A:M treasures that make animation possible for even the weekend hack. It's brilliant. Mark

Hi Mark, I only had a few minutes to test the new version, but here's what I found (using v13s). I imported "v13s_Five_Finger_Squetch_Rig_Posable_Installation_03_05_2007" into my mesh model and made it to step 4 where I found these items: (all in Step 4): scale_red_hand_install_bones_XYZ_axis (top_view) - needs to scale bigger than the current 100% rotate_red_hand_install_bones_Y_axis rotate_red_hand_install_bones_X_axis - neither of these cause rotation white_middle_fingers translate_middle_finger_install_bones (center_of_first_knuckle) - X,Y,Z all do nothing white_ring_fingers translate_ring_finger_install_bones (center_of_first_knuckle) - X,Y,Z all do nothing white_pinky_fingers translate_pinky_finger_install_bones (center_of_first_knuckle) - X,Y,Z all do nothing I checked each ones' relationship folder and they appeared to have the proper guts, so I don't know what the problem is. Unfortunately I don't have any more time tonight for more testing, but I'll try again tomorrow night. Gotta get to sleep. Only got through step 4, so don't know if there may be other items to look at. I will also try a fresh download and see if that helps. Hopefully it's just something simple....

Mark, could you briefly explain the current Z rotation export problem. Is it that all of the Z rotations are lost on export? Also, do you recommend David Simmons' bone face tutorial example model to use as a guide for face bone placement, or Tinman, or some other model?

Had to quit early last night before finishing the install... dangit. I was having so much fun I didn't want to quit. Another question: Is there any problem going back a few steps in the process to readjust placement of bones if necessary (as long as it's done prior to running the install rig)? The reason I ask is that I'm not sure exactly where all of the face install bones should be placed (jowls), and sometimes it becomes clearer as you get further on in the process. Thanks, Mark

Perfect! This thing is so brilliant, I can't get over it.

This is ABSOLUTELY AWESOME!!!!! I'm working my way through this and it's actually a blast to do. Right now I'm on step 4 (Thumbs) and it's only been about 10 minutes..... without a hitch. There's one question so far. Is there supposed to be a Thumb Translate (something like "translate_thumb_install_bones"? I only see a rotate thumb option. Can't wait to check this out further. Thanks X 1 million for all of the hard work and hours that went into this! Mark

That's cool! I'm very interested to see how you did this. Thanks for posting your tests!

Hey David, your animation skills are coming along great! I've been checking your stuff whenever you post. The 12 fps things you've been experimenting with remind me of the Ardmann (sp?) stop-mo style a bit. From one of your previous posts I got the impression that you subscribe to Keith Lango's VTS service.... am I correct? I've been scooping up as much character animation training material as possible and it's fun to see how the pros work.... very helpful in figuring out the workflow of animation. Just wondered if you'd been following him too? Mark

Your texturing is so good, Will, that it's easy to imagine exactly how the hide would feel if I ran my hand over it. Great painting. Great job!

It's possible that your mesh may not be perfectly symmetrical. If there are differences from side-to-side, mirror smartskin won't work. Select one side of the mesh, right click and select "snap to mirrored points" (or something like that.... I'm not at A:M right now). You may need to increase the toloerance of this operation in the options menu, too.

Outstanding work. The back arch reversals play really well. Thanks for posting Robcat. I know it's not relevant what rig was used, but I'm just curious if you used the Squetch rig for this model? Any chance you'd post the model for general use (if not, that's fine)? I just like his look.

I smell MrMM, or whatever else he used to call himself.

Very cool. Nice job on the hair, too.

Wow!!! That is an awesome feature! Thanks for posting that, Dagoos, you made my day. Is version 13 (alpha or beta) available somewhere? I wasn't able to find it.

Thanks very much, Dagoos. Now my brain can rest.

I need a little clarification on something, please. When keying the squetch rig I keep getting error messages about constraint targets and then A:M shuts down. Here's what's been happening (and it's very possible I'm just doing something wrong). 1. Select all of the control bones and nulls at once using shift/click. 2. Set the rotate, and translate filter keys to on (none of the rest of the filters), and key bone. 3. Shift/click the force keyframe button, and select "In all filtered channels". Bam... A:M gives the error message "Exception #031. Problem getting constraint target direction." and shuts down. This happens every time, and sometimes gives different constraint names as the problem. I've tried using other filter keys as well. I'm in version 12.0p. Any hints?

Mtpeak2, David Simmons sent me a file a few hours ago with the FACE fully installed after running Noel's plugin, so I'm not sure what to tell you, Mark. Maybe it's a version thing with the plugin. Unfortunately I can't test it myself because I'm still in version 11.1h. Here's the file he sent me. Hopefully he won't mind that I'm passing it on. [attachmentid=12045] Also, you won't be doing any scaling of the FACE rig... only translation. In fact, if you scale any of the FACE bones (other than the eyes, eyelids, jaw, etc.), the rig won't work anymore. See Steps 2a-d (pg. 4) of my install manual. mark_12_6.zip

Here is David's latest squetch version merged with my latest FACE version. Since I'm still using version 11.1h (until Jan.1, 2006) I wasn't able to test the installation of the whole rig using Noel's plugin. Please check this out and let me know if the parenting stays as it is now, and that the FACE bones don't get deleted in the process. --------------------------------- Below are general instructions for the riggers that should be followed after installing the squetch rig into the characters: After installation of the squetch rig you will need to do a few easy steps. Please refer to the FACE PDF install instructions for guidance. I already did steps 1, 3a and b, and step 4 for you. All that's left is: 1. Reorganize FACE controls to suit your character's model. Step 2a-c (pg. 4) 2. Add two constraints to make the interface follow your character's head movements. Step 3c (pg.5) 3. Optional... Move "minimized" FACE mesh inside your character's head. Step 5 (pg. 7) 4. Make the poses. ---------------------------------- Now I'll go pray that I did everything right. Please let me know if you find any errors. [attachmentid=12019] Squetch_Rig_12_5_2005a_installation_FACE1a.zip

Everyone now.... Standing ovation for David Simmons!!!

Robcat, The "ball_rotate_left_controller" bone (and right one) in front of the shins controls the heel as you are suggesting. X-axis rotation lifts the heel and the leg, and the Z-rotation pivots the foot at the toe. The "foot_control_left_IK" bone can be used to either position the foot or rotate it from the heel. This setup works extremely well and the rig is great! Work it some more...

Thanks for the extra work (again), David. I was so interested to see what you offered up this time that I had to download it last night and dig right in. I got about half way through before bed, and hopefully will finish up in the next couple of nights. Cool idea for making install bones that you delete later. I'll post again after making it through the install process.

Great! And, out of curiosity again, what method of payment interests you most... cash, models, rigging, or etc.?

Looks like fun, Zach. How long did it take you to camera-match this scene, just out of curiousity? Also, would you be interested in doing some camera-match-for-pay (or trade... i.e. models, rigging, etc.) work at some point? Some contract work would help you recoup some of your costs. I don't currently have any projects in mind, but am very interested in this type of work and don't have much interest in learning yet another piece of software (not to mention shelling out $399).

Using version 6a, I'm still getting the odd finger and arm movement. The test action file I'm including has only 5 keyframes (on frames 0-4). Only the hand_left_spread/clench slider was moved. It's keyed at 0% on frame 0, then 20% on frame 1, then left untouched on frames 2-4. But you will see that the fingers continue to curl on frames 2-4 even though the slider value is unchanged. For this action, the "key constraints" filter was ON when I forced the keyframes. I did the same test using "key constraints" OFF, and the model behaved as expected... no finger movement on frames 2-4, so it has something to do with including constraint info while keying. I'm afraid this might be one of those times where a swift smack to the head is in order, but I'm willing to take my lumps and move on for the sake of learning if I can find to answer to this "problem" I'm having. I thought the "key constraints" button was meant to be left on if you are using constraints in the rig. Am I wrong? HandAction.act

So far, this rig gives really nice control over body movements during the walk/run actions I've been playing with. I especially like the independent hip and shoulder rotation capability, and the knee and foot control. One odd thing I'm finding as the model is keyed is that the fingers over-clench and the arms kind of collapse at the shoulders after I've set a few keys - almost like the slider values for the hand clench are being added to with each new key set (even though the actual slider values don't change). It's possible I have the key filters set wrong or something. I have the "translate, scale, rotate, constraints, poses, etc." filters set to be keyed for the whole model. Take a look at the screenshot and see if you have any ideas for why this is happening. It very well may be just my inexperience in animating that's the problem. It's a fun rig to use, David. Keep it up!