Exercise 6: The Door's Stuck

[Ullis]

Hi guys.

 

Here is my Shaggy adventure, I hope you like it.

 

ex6shaggy.mov

 

Best regards, Ulrika

[spacecomics]

Ulrika,

 

I loved it. Clever story well executed. Nice work.

 

-Roger

[AJS007]

Excellent, although my jaw dropped open when Mrs. Shaggy came on the screen - great lateral thinking.

[tbenefi33]

Good job on shaggy adventure that was awsome.

[tbenefi33]

Here a better video of Exe 6

 

http://youtube.com/profile?user=tbenefi33: The Door Stuck

 

Its a little of over 2 Mb.

[Rodney]

That link has us trying to access your youtube account.

Perhaps you have a link to the movie itself?

[tbenefi33]

How is this one http://youtube.com/profile_videos?user=tbenefi33

[Rodney]

That link got through. Thanks!

 

Your exercise 6 flies by so quick I'm afraid it doesn't read clearly enough.

Here's my interpretation. Lets see how close I am.

 

- Shaggy hears the warning siren

- He heads for the shelter

- Knocks because he can't get in

- Opens the door and goes in

- BOOM!

(Whew! I think he made it just in time!)

 

First let me say, the sound effects really seemed to carry your story forward. Nice.

 

I realize you may not have a lot of time to work with, especially if youtube limits the size of your upload but if you can add a few more elements to clarify or slow down the pace at opportune moments that'd help sell Shaggy's story even better.

 

The struggle with the door isn't really apparent.

The top view of the mushroom cloud doesn't immediately sell what has happened. (Easy to get though when the brain puts everything together).

 

This is a very successful theme, very original too. I like it a lot.

Work out that cinematic timing, draw us into the plight of Shaggy and why he so desperately wants in that door and it'll really be storytelling.

 

If this were to be broken up into Acts I'd say:

Act I: Shaggy hears the warning

Act II: Trouble at the Door

Act III: The End!

 

Think of how you can emphasize the message of each act and deliver it clearly to the audience.

You are already there... just refine it a little more.

 

Nice job!

[adrian_ruvalcaba]

hey! the door got stucked!...hehe look at his face at the end, hes ashamed! ahahahahahah, sweet exercise!

door_stuck.mov

[elliotclem1]

Cool my suggestions are that:

 

1. Maybe slow down the camera movement as it made me a bit dizzy lol.

2. You could clench his hands using the pose slides this would make his hands look more realistic.

 

I love the face at the end.

 

Elliot

[phatso]

This gag has been done to death, but...

ex6_doorstuck.mov

[the_black_mage]

very nice man!!!!

 

you did better than i first did! maybe i should try this again..that was 2 years ago.....

[Zaryin]

I'm trying to do this exercise in the newest v14. I can't seem to get the constraints to work. When I turn the knob on the pivot point the arms just go all screwy. They don't stay with the knob. Can anyone think of a reason why this is?

 

EDIT: Nevermind, I found a work around .

[Zaryin]

Name: Jeff Bolle

 

Exercises Completed: 6

 

Date Completed: Monday, August 6th, 2007

 

Instructor: Rodney, and Manual

 

Remarks/Suggestions for Improvement: This one was very hard for me. I couldn't seem to get the constraints to work quite well enough. Just goes to show me that I need practice with animation.

door.mov

[jakerupert]

I started with this exercise.

Managed to put the constraints on his hand, but when I turn the doorknob the hands follow in a strange and twisted way,

also the startpose has changed.

 

I m a bit stuck myself now...

ShaggyDoorstuck120907.mov

[Dhar]

Turning the door knob is not part of this exercise, is it? What if you turn the hand instead?

 

Maybe its the sun tan lotion that Shaggy has all over his body is what creating the problem

[martin]

I can GUESS what happened.

 

First, remove the constraints from both hands.

 

Next, put the hands on the doorknow exactly where you want them on the frame you want.

 

Third, click the COMPENSATE button before trying to add any constraint. If you miss selecting the target, and you try to pick it from the drop down menu, you will still need to click the COMPENSATE button first before selecting a target from the list. Are you getting my drift? COMPENSATE is the difference between hands snapping to the center of the doorknob (the base of the doorknob bone) and hands that stay where they're supposed to be.

 

Only a GUESS - but I've been right before.

[jakerupert]

I think I got it allright now with the compensate bottom,

 

but still, when I turn the handle or pull Shaggy back and forth I get some strange twisting in his hands and ellbow-joints,

especially when I move him back.

Isn`t Shaggy supposed to snap into his original position at the doorhandle again witout twisting

 

or will I have to reposition the ellbows again by hand?

 

and Dhar I gave Shaggy a bleaching again to make sure..;>)

[martin]

but still, when I turn the handle or pull Shaggy back and forth I get some strange twisting in his hands and ellbow-joints,

especially when I move him back.

It looks like Shaggy's arms are already fully extended... You can't move him back or extend either one of them by turning the door handle right now. You'll need to move him closer to the door so there's some flexibility, (right now he's stretching pretty hard to reach that door).

[Dhar]

Yup, Shaggy looks like he's stretched beyond his limits. That's where the problem is. Enlarge him at least to where the door knob is about chest level. Shaggy has a huge head that the hands have to stretch beyond to reach anything.

[jakerupert]

Here my next step.

I guess slowly I am beginning to understand the principles.

 

Only thing is, when I mess at the start of the chor, for instance delete the first keyframe

and copy paste a later keyframe in, everything gets mixed up at the beginning.

Seems to be a kind of no-no.

 

But I am quite content with the actual state so far now.

 

What do you think?

ShaggyDoorstuck140907.mov

ShaggyDoorstuck140907.mov

[playerktw]

Was away for a bit, now I'm back.

 

Kevin Woods

Exercise 6, The Door's Stuck!

9/17/07

The_door__s_stuck.mov

[fmkguy]

Hello everyone...This is actually my first post here.

 

Well, I'm working my way through this "lesson." But (and I'm not sure if this has already been covered, here, or not), I'm running into a problem with the constraints I'm putting on his hands. I'm following the book, placing both a "Kinematic" and an "Orient Like" constraint on both of the hands, but they're not actually staying on doorknob if I move the "chest/torso" bone.

 

Can anyone tell me how I'm supposed to accomplish this?

 

The most-likely answer, I'm sure, is to just keyframe it. But isn't there a way to get them to stay put without actually keyframing every single frame? I already tried using a "Translate To" constraint, but I ran into a problem with the hand bone disconnecting itself from the rest of the arm.

 

I know I probably sound like an idiot, but I could really use a hint or two.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

In HIM,

Joseph<><

[Zzzippo]

Ahh crap I dont have a manual handy ....wonder if its still avail on the web? ahhh whew .... ok workin on it ...

[phatso]

fmk - without actually seeing the project it's hard to know, but I do recall you have to follow the manual exactly, every mouse click.

 

Have you got the arms fully extended? If turning the torso would require the arms to stretch beyond their normal length, it isn't going to work. Try having shaggy stand closer to the door, so the arms can bend at the elbows, and see what happens.

 

It shouldn't be necessary to key every frame. Once you have the constraints working, the hands should automatically stay where they belong.

[Zzzippo]

Hi all,

 

I am having a terrible time with the constraints on this one.. I followed the steps and have both Kinmatic and orient like (both w/ compensate mode on before applying them) However when i turn the knob the hands go sliding off the knob in opposite directions.

 

I feel almost as if I am missing something, like maybe a 3rd constraint or is there a way to make the Knob's roll only affect the arm bones on one plane.

 

it seems the roll diameter of the knob is much bigger than the knob itself and the hands want to go to this outside diameter.

 

The only solution, that I think I can come up w/ on my own here, is to not even try to turn the knob and just have him pull a few times.

 

Any pointers/help would be appreciated.....

 

TIA,

Zzzippo

[Dhar]

In Shaggy's model window, open the bones folder and see of the hand bone is a child of the forearm bone. If not, simply drag the hand bone (in the Project Work Space) and drop it on the Forearm bone to make its child.

 

I hope that helps.

[Zzzippo]

Well I finally got something suitable to show.

 

Name: Scott Bowers

 

Exercise Completed: Exercise #6

http://www.livevideo.com/video/25EC426E7AC...-is-stuck-.aspx

 

Date Completed: 10-14-07

 

Instructor: The A:M Community

 

Remarks/Suggestions for Improvement: Well I finally got a constraint setup to work for me. I placed Kin and orient constraints on handbones and just used kinmatics on the forarms. That helped things behave the way I wanted at least. I may add to the end a bit more.....maybe rabbit opening the door and snickering from the other side. But for now ill call it done. I want to get on to modeling ;P

 

Thx for the suggestion Dhar.....you pointed me to look at handbone.

 

~Zzzippo~

[Caroline]

Well done, Scott - this one has to be the hardest in the whole book.

[phatso]

He needs to fall faster, with a thump.

 

Other than that - excellent use of flexing elbows etc. Much better than mine was.

[BUDDHABUCK]

SCOTT,

VERY GOOD, BUT YOU MIGHT TRY SOME CAMERA MOVEMENT.

KEEP IT UP

BUDDHABUCK

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well I finally got something suitable to show.

 

Name: Scott Bowers

 

Exercise Completed: Exercise #6

http://www.livevideo.com/video/25EC426E7AC...-is-stuck-.aspx

 

Date Completed: 10-14-07

 

Instructor: The A:M Community

 

Remarks/Suggestions for Improvement: Well I finally got a constraint setup to work for me. I placed Kin and orient constraints on handbones and just used kinmatics on the forarms. That helped things behave the way I wanted at least. I may add to the end a bit more.....maybe rabbit opening the door and snickering from the other side. But for now ill call it done. I want to get on to modeling ;P

 

Thx for the suggestion Dhar.....you pointed me to look at handbone.

 

~Zzzippo~

[Epoch]

Thought I'd give this animation test a try

Here is my result

DoorsStuck.mov

[Dhar]

Nice work Dwight. That is some nice render.

[Epoch]

Nice work Dwight. That is some nice render.

 

Thanks Dhar!

[virus81]

Name: BISHNU C MAL

 

Exercise Completed: 6 (The Door's Stuck)

 

Date Completed: 02 Jan 2008

 

Remarks/Suggestions for Improvement: I had a tough time to understand IK and Orient Like constraint. It was really tough to make him hold the knob. I will be thankful if anyone can point me to a good tutorial to understand it better.

Door_Stuck.mov

[PPi]

Phew, life's keeping way too busy. It’s been month by now without any contact on A:M but here goes my latest exercise:

 

Name: Petri Pirttinen

Exercise Completed: Exercise 6 - The Door’s Stuck

Date Completed: Feb 6 2008

Instructor: Manuals (pdf & video)

Remarks: Very good tutorial on constrains. There's at least one slip in the shot but I'm being just too busy to fix that one right now... I notice the origin of the problem though. Related to that, the right arm twists way over causing funny effects. The suggested 5-second time frame is also pretty tight actually. I tried to cut it down but even still the action takes way too long. I know it's not the main goal of the exercise but would have wanted to succeed :-)

 

exercise6.mov

[Caroline]

That's very good - it looks like you understand keyframing too - very impressive that there is no slipping or sliding.

[PPi]

Oh, thank you. It still feels like a long, long road to become a "real" animator but one step at a time...

[MasterFunk]

Name: Sean Concannon

 

Exercise Completed: Exercise 6

 

Date Completed: Feb 26 2008

 

Instructor: Manual

 

Remarks/Suggestions for Improvement: none

door_stuck.mov

[Caroline]

Hi Sean - I just watched all your animations - well done.

 

This video from Robert Holmen is very good at explaining why your legs are moving when you want them to stay put:

 

http://www.hash.com/two/RCHolmen/MakinBone...yInPlaceMP4.mov

[number]

Name: Tim Roberts

 

Exercise Completed: Exercise 6

 

Date Completed: Sep 27, 2008

 

Instructor: Manual, forum

 

Comments: Fun exercise with all sorts of challenges for poses. I ended up setting the interpolation to zero to remove slipping, but don't recall this being explicitly called out.

I clearly exceeded the 5 seconds, but had more fun adding more elements and two camera angles and a title sequence. I used Vegas Pro to create the overall sequence. I'm not clear on how to get two camera angles into the same choreography, so I levered the NLE.

 

the_door_is_stuck_final.mov

[Rodney]

Very nice Tim.

 

It's always a treat to see how everyone tackles this exercise.

From such a simple pemise as "open a door" stories can be told.

 

The mechanics can be tough to maste at first but once understood the lessons learned can apply to all the stories you want to tell.

 

Shaggy's story is not unlike our own.

We struggle and fight and work to get through those obstacles set before us, more often than not never considering anything except what is at our immediate focus. Isn't that the way we are?

 

...but even Shaggy 'gets it' eventually!

 

Funny thing about Shaggy though, as evidenced by how many times he approachs doors, every once in awhile he completely forgets everything he has learned.

[TheSpleen]

name: The Spleen

Instructor: Video and manual and RobCat (Thanks Rob)

shagdoorfinally.mov

[Jeff B]

Hi all

This is my poor attempt at the ex 6 stuck door.

 

Needs some more work but I had fun doing it.

 

open_door.mov

[robcat2075]

-->

Hi all

This is my poor attempt at the ex 6 stuck door.

 

Needs some more work but I had fun doing it.

 

open_door.mov

 

That worked pretty well. At the end it looks to me like you are moving shaggy by moving the model bone. That will make for a very rigid appearance. If you check out Spleen's thread on this exercise I have some comments and suggestions about a better work-around. For future reference.

[J90]

I'm not satisfied with the animation that I am able to come up with. Shaggy's bones keep getting twisted between keyframes. And/or the hands move up and down between keyframes.

 

Any Ideas how to fix this?

 

Thanks

[robcat2075]

I'm not satisfied with the animation that I am able to come up with. Shaggy's bones keep getting twisted between keyframes. And/or the hands move up and down between keyframes.

 

Any Ideas how to fix this?

 

Thanks

 

If bones are wandering between two keyframes that key them in the same location, the "channels" probably need to be "zero sloped"

 

I think this one covers that

 

KeyFrameOptionsMP4.mov at about 8:45

 

 

If the bones are moving from one spot to another when you thought they were supposed to stay still, you're probably neglecting a crucial keyframe

 

MakinBonesStayInPlaceMP4.mov

[J90]

I'm not satisfied with the animation that I am able to come up with. Shaggy's bones keep getting twisted between keyframes. And/or the hands move up and down between keyframes.

 

Any Ideas how to fix this?

 

Thanks

 

If bones are wandering between two keyframes that key them in the same location, the "channels" probably need to be "zero sloped"

 

I think this one covers that

 

KeyFrameOptionsMP4.mov at about 8:45

 

 

If the bones are moving from one spot to another when you thought they were supposed to stay still, you're probably neglecting a crucial keyframe

 

MakinBonesStayInPlaceMP4.mov

 

Thanks again Robert

[TNT]

Exerecise 6:

 

This one was really fun.

 

There's a little problem with Motion Blur I had no idea how to fix but what I tried made my wife laugh and THAT felt cool!

 

Ex7.mov

[robcat2075]

Exerecise 6:

 

This one was really fun.

 

There's a little problem with Motion Blur I had no idea how to fix but what I tried made my wife laugh and THAT felt cool!

 

That turned out well. I don't think I've seen that solution before.

 

yeah, weird motion blur. The non-multi-pass motion blur probably wasn't meant to deal with camera motion like that.

 

 

Here's an alternate idea for the last pose. You don't need to redo what you have done. It's just "FYI".