Exercise 5: Take A Walk

[Gaijin]

Okay - I'm getting frustrated.

 

I'm using Tim the Troll (surprise, surprise) for the E5 Walk cycle lesson, and I'm at the point of copy/paste mirror keyframing. However, the rotations to the Back2 bone are simply not being copied by the paste mirror keyframe command, no matter how many different ways I've tried to do it.

 

 

E5___Troll_Stroll.prj

 

Procedure used:

1) Select Key Model

2) Set frame to 0:00

3) Force keyframe

4) Copy Keyframe

5) Set frame to 0:25

6) Paste Mirrored

7) Note that Back2 wasn't copied in mirror at 0:25

8) Snarl in frustration

9) Grab copy of TAoA:M and throw it against the far wall

10) repeat 1 through 9

[robcat2075]

check that all the spine bones in the model are centered at x=0 at both start and end point.

[Gaijin]

check that all the spine bones in the model are centered at x=0 at both start and end point.

Went back and did that - still doesn't copy Back2

 

I'm obviously missing something here ....

[robcat2075]

Went back and did that - still doesn't copy Back2

 

I'm obviously missing something here ....

 

Gajin, did you get this fixed or is it still not working?

[Gaijin]

Gaijin, did you get this fixed or is it still not working?

Still not working, but I also haven't had a chance to get back to it yet.

[robcat2075]

Gaijin, did you get this fixed or is it still not working?

Still not working, but I also haven't had a chance to get back to it yet.

 

 

Unfortunately I dont' have the disk with the Troll on it so I couldn't test your test PRJ.

[robcat2075]

Hey I just found I did have the troll on my AM13 disk.

 

the spine bones aren't exactly on x=0 but even after I fix those Back2 still doesn't paste-mirror.

 

It's a mystery to me. Maybe one of the rigging experts can chime in on that.

 

Last resort... you can manually mirror it:

 

do a single bone copy on the bone at the frame you want copy from and paste that to the frame you want mirrored.

 

then look at the transform>rotate properties for that bone and +/- flip the values that have to do with right/left movement. In this case it is y and z but not x.

[AMSpector]

I've managed to clean up the walk cycle some, from the "Newbies" thread I posted yesterday:

 

SarahWalkTest2b.mov

 

... but when I constrain the character to a path and apply the same walk cycle action, it is way faster and there is definite slippage. I can slow her down by changing the Cycle Length, but then the slippage is all the more pronounced; and it's on every step. Is there an obvious solution, or would I need to provide more info?

 

Thanks.

 

|Edit| Are these types of cyclic actions used often by the A:M users here, or is it mainly pose-to-pose and straight ahead animation?

[Rodney]

Are these types of cyclic actions used often by the A:M users here, or is it mainly pose-to-pose and straight ahead animation?

 

Its hard to answer that question.

Everything and anything is used around here.

 

Your cyclic actions will work well with the right Ease and Repetition. Look for those settings in both the Action and Path Constraint properties.

 

For precision placement Pose to Pose and Straight Ahead will serve you well.

 

If the project allows for it you could even render the character out separately (turn off or delete the ground plane). Then if you have the positions correct it becomes a matter of retiming the images into place.

[AMSpector]

Your cyclic actions will work well with the right Ease and Repetition. (Look for those settings in both the Action and Path Constraint properties.

 

I will look into adjusting those settings.

 

I should probably test this exercise with the rabbit too, to see if I get the expected results.

 

Thanks.

[Rodney]

There is some potential for slippage built into any action constrained to a path.

The nature of path animation is to slide unless otherwise specified.

 

There are two areas of interest to study here; the path and the object.

If the path is too long or two short it may be impossible to prevent slippage without adjustment.

If the object is not properly animated to begin with that can introduce slippage too.

 

I've attached an example of what I consider essential images needed to convey a step.

There are five phases to consider. (Note: My terminology may not be the best but I've chosen them on purpose)

 

They are:

- The Approach

- The Contact

- The Pass

- The Push

- The Redirection

 

They can be variously called other things as well.

 

If you don't have these five phases in your walk cycle (regardless of the method used) it can still be improved.

 

Note: For the purpose of this example frames and images are not the same thing!

[Rodney]

I mentioned two things to consider (Path and Object) but technically speaking there is one more very important consideration with computer animation. We must consider the Rig.

 

In the example above, I used the 2001 Thom.

He wasn't built with a Heel Lifter in place.

The 2008 Thom has that Heel Lifter designed into the Rig.

 

So... what do you do when you have a character that can't perform as required?

Answer: Do the best you can with what you have.

 

If your character doesn't have a mechanism for Heel Lifting then you will have to make due with with animating and adjusting the leg to get the foot into place.

 

Its easier to animate a walk with that Heel Lifter in place.

[AMSpector]

Note: For the purpose of this example frames and images are not the same thing!

 

So, looking at the 7 poses below in my walk cycle, does it appear that I have the essential images to convey a step?:

 

 

Its easier to animate a walk with that Heel Lifter in place.

 

I think the 2008 Rig has that Heel Lifter, at least that's how it performs.

[Rodney]

I think the 2008 Rig has that Heel Lifter, at least that's how it performs.

 

Yes, I recall reading the 2008 rig was designed with just that in mind.

 

So, looking at the 7 poses below in my walk cycle, does it appear that I have the essential images to convey a step?:

 

Its a bit hard to see the dark colors on a dark background.

Perhaps you could change the background to a lighter color via TOOLS/CUSTOMIZE?

 

While you have enough to 'suggest' a step you don't have enough to meet the 'essential images' requirement.

In short, there is no rolling of the foot to convey transfer of weight.

 

Its hard to tell but it doesn't look like the toes move at all.

Looking back at your movie I'd say they don't.

 

[Rodney]

I overly saturated your image so I could look closer.

 

As it appears right now she seems to be walking overly flat-footed.

Not bad mind you... it looks pretty good. But you can't coax additional animation out of what isn't there already. If nuanced even further she'll have a sense of weight and gravity.

 

You've got those toe and heel bones... use 'em.

Roll... Roll... Roll.

 

Edit: Consider her body as well. I think she needs to lean a little forward.

Thats a very nice pic BTW!

[Rodney]

Frame 20 Illustrates very likely areas for improvement.

 

Her weight is too far to the rear and she hasn't moved up at all.

As this is the passing position this is where her walk gains its strength.

(IMO) This frame more than any other needs some adjustment.

 

Chant with me as we channel Robert Holmen here... Hmmmmmm. Hmmmm.

Track her head and her hips. Do they go up and down?

 

(I don't want to get slapped here. Is it okay if I say there looks like something wrong with her butt?)

[Rodney]

Just want to add this note.

 

You've done very well with this model.

Nice work!

[AMSpector]

I overly saturated your image so I could look closer.

 

As it appears right now she seems to be walking overly flat-footed.

Not bad mind you... it looks pretty good. But you can't coax additional animation out of what isn't there already. If nuanced even further she'll have a sense of weight and gravity.

 

You've got those toe and heel bones... use 'em.

Roll... Roll... Roll.

 

Edit: Consider her body as well. I think she needs to lean a little forward.

 

Wow!! Now this is the kind of critique I was hoping for. Having access to A:M and this community... well, suffice it to say, I have to pinch myself every now and then to make sure I'm not asleep?

 

I have a question about keyframing: While I was working on a pose last night, I happened to pause on a bone controller rotate object after clicking on it (holding the click) while I was thinking about something... and then after a couple of seconds, it automatically placed a keyframe in the timeline for that bone. So I tried it again on a different bone, and it did the same thing. Is this a feature of A:M? If so, can I place keyframes this way, or should I actually move the controller to key the necessary bones?

 

Thanks.

[Rodney]

Now this is the kind of critique I was hoping for

 

There is an important principle at work here; you made it extremely easy for me to help you out.

Everyone needs a hook to latch onto.

 

I have a question about keyframing: While I was working on a pose last night, I happened to pause on a bone controller rotate object after clicking on it (holding the click) while I was thinking about something... and then after a couple of seconds, it automatically placed a keyframe in the timeline for that bone. So I tried it again on a different bone, and it did the same thing. Is this a feature of A:M? If so, can I place keyframes this way, or should I actually move the controller to key the necessary bones?

 

If you were playing your animation at the time then yes that is a feature of A:M.

You can 'record' your animation in real time if the action is playing.

 

If you are talking about something eles... I'd like more information on what you experienced.

[AMSpector]

Frame 20 Illustrates very likely areas for improvement.

 

Her weight is too far to the rear and she hasn't moved up at all.

As this is the passing position this is where her walk gains its strength.

(IMO) This frame more than any other needs some adjustment.

 

Well, I was following the Take A Walk video tutorial initially, where I was told to only move the pelvis (Body Translate Object in this case) up or down, but not forward or backwards. So I can translate the body to adjust the center of gravity, and it will look right in the final animation? I'm OK with whatever is best practice.

 

(I don't want to get slapped here. Is it okay if I say there looks like something wrong with her butt?)

 

LOL.... no worries, speak your mind. CP Weighting was exceptionally difficult for me. I developed the character to a point where I could begin animating her, hoping that at some point I could work those problem areas out. I haven't gotten to Smartskin yet, will that work in conjunction with Bone Falloff?

[Rodney]

So I can translate the body to adjust the center of gravity, and it will look right in the final animation?

 

Perhaps I should have said tilt?

 

I do think her hips are already a little too far back.

Take a look at that little green vertical Y axis line.

It should be pretty close to that. Especially given that her foot (in frame 10) is completely in front of it.

 

Come to think of it... it looks like you've got some slippage with the feet.

I'll investigate on my end.

[AMSpector]

If you were playing your animation at the time then yes that is a feature of A:M.

You can 'record' your animation in real time if the action is playing.

 

If you are talking about something eles... I'd like more information on what you experienced.

 

I'm definitely not playing my animation during poses, so I'm not sure what to say. I've created a video screen capture of what I'm experiencing, but I had to use Flash Video Encoder to bring it down in size from 278MB to roughly 11MB. I don't have a good AVI to MOV converter. The Zip attachment below contains an FLV (Flash Video), and can be played using Adobe Media Player.

 

AutoKeyFraming.zip

 

I start off with a relaxed pose that is already keyed on frame 0. In the first part of the video I'm just setting up the character in a mock stride. About half way through, I'm done with the pose itself, and begin keying the other bones - starting with the head. These are single clicks and held until a keyframe is set... which is pretty quick. So this isn't normal?

[AMSpector]

Hi,

 

I wonder if anyone can tell me how to correct a stride where the feet are slipping right in the action? I've included a small frame-by-frame vid below for reference.

 

Walk.zip

 

Thanks

[TNT]

Here is my submission for Exercise 5: Take a Walk

 

I decided to use a model I made and rigged with the TSM2 rig.

 

I hope that's was OK.

 

He seems to have a small jerk I can't quite get rid of.

 

It happens just before the cycle loops.

 

Please tell me what you think.

 

I want to get good enough at this to maybe help on the film projects.

 

Torlak_Strole3.mov

[robcat2075]

I start off with a relaxed pose that is already keyed on frame 0. In the first part of the video I'm just setting up the character in a mock stride. About half way through, I'm done with the pose itself, and begin keying the other bones - starting with the head. These are single clicks and held until a keyframe is set... which is pretty quick. So this isn't normal?

 

My first guess is that your mouse selection is also transmitting some small movement to the bone that is causing a key. Just a guess. If you merely select the bone in the PWS does a key still get created?

 

Unrelated ( I think): One other thing I noticed about your character is that you are selecting bones named "*_geom". Those bones aren't intended to be visible and are intended to be hidden and not selected while animating. Something is not set right or not installed right in the rig if those bones are visible. I'm surprised they move at all since they should be controlled by bones they are constrained to.

 

 

 

 

I wonder if anyone can tell me how to correct a stride where the feet are slipping right in the action? I've included a small frame-by-frame vid below for reference.

 

This sounds like one I hit on another thread, but maybe it wasn't you... anyway, it looks like that stride takes more than 15 frames but the stride length indicator is showing 00:00 and 00:15 which indicates it is expecting your animation to only take 15 frames. Either move the keyframes to only take up 15 frames or set the stride length to match the amount of time you want the stride to take.

[robcat2075]

He seems to have a small jerk I can't quite get rid of.

 

It happens just before the cycle loops.

 

My first guess is its a difference between the number of frames you animated in the cycle and the number of frames the cycle thinks it's supposed to play once it gets in the chor.

 

It's also possible the last pose in the cycle does not exactly match the first pose in some way

 

Please tell me what you think.

 

I want to get good enough at this to maybe help on the film projects.

 

Torlak_Strole3.mov

 

This looks better than the last time we saw this. The side-to-side really helps.

 

The feet still look stiff. I think part of it is the way he's curling his toes up even as he is pulling his foot forward.

 

The arm motion may be excessive for such a walk.

 

In a typical walk the torso rotates opposite of the hip/foot motion (right shoulder forward when left foot is forward), but his torso seems to be rotating with them. Some plodding characters will do that, but then I wouldn't expect the arms to be moving so energetically opposite the feet also.

[TNT]

He seems to have a small jerk I can't quite get rid of.

 

It happens just before the cycle loops.

 

My first guess is its a difference between the number of frames you animated in the cycle and the number of frames the cycle thinks it's supposed to play once it gets in the chor.

 

It's also possible the last pose in the cycle does not exactly match the first pose in some way

 

Please tell me what you think.

 

I want to get good enough at this to maybe help on the film projects.

 

Torlak_Strole3.mov

 

This looks better than the last time we saw this. The side-to-side really helps.

 

The feet still look stiff. I think part of it is the way he's curling his toes up even as he is pulling his foot forward.

 

The arm motion may be excessive for such a walk.

 

In a typical walk the torso rotates opposite of the hip/foot motion (right shoulder forward when left foot is forward), but his torso seems to be rotating with them. Some plodding characters will do that, but then I wouldn't expect the arms to be moving so energetically opposite the feet also.

 

Thanks for taking a look at this.

I made an attempt to fix what I could and made another render.

This one is without the hair....much faster.

I tried to reel in the arm motion and get the torso twisting better.

I also took some of the toe bend out on the forward move.

His feet are so big he either has to bend his toes at the start or pick his knees way up.

I think this says something about me exagerating his proportions too much.

Is this closer to what you mean?

I think it looks a little better.

 

Torlak_Strole4.mov

[AMSpector]

My first guess is that your mouse selection is also transmitting some small movement to the bone that is causing a key. Just a guess. If you merely select the bone in the PWS does a key still get created?

 

Actually, I have to select the "Rotate Object" of a bone inside the action window and hold the left mouse button down for a second or so, then a keyframe is automatically generated. If you watched the video, then you can see that this process happens quickly. Maybe it's my mouse causing it?

 

Unrelated ( I think): One other thing I noticed about your character is that you are selecting bones named "*_geom". Those bones aren't intended to be visible and are intended to be hidden and not selected while animating. Something is not set right or not installed right in the rig if those bones are visible. I'm surprised they move at all since they should be controlled by bones they are constrained to.

 

Is this correct? I shouldn't be able to see the "_geom" bones much less animate them? Looking at my screenshot below, what bones should I see and be able to animate?

 

[robcat2075]

Actually, I have to select the "Rotate Object" of a bone inside the action window and hold the left mouse button down for a second or so, then a keyframe is automatically generated. If you watched the video, then you can see that this process happens quickly.

 

By "Rotate Object" you mean the tip of the bone? I never touch that anyway since it's rather inexact control. I always touch the body of the bone, hit R and use the rotate manipulator. That workflow might sidestep your problem. And it's better practice anyway.

 

Maybe it's my mouse causing it?

 

Possibly. I have noticed my mouse visibly jittering on occasion. Maybe yours is smaller and more frequent. Borrow a different mouse and see if anything changes.

 

 

 

 

Unrelated ( I think): One other thing I noticed about your character is that you are selecting bones named "*_geom". Those bones aren't intended to be visible and are intended to be hidden and not selected while animating. Something is not set right or not installed right in the rig if those bones are visible. I'm surprised they move at all since they should be controlled by bones they are constrained to.

 

Is this correct? I shouldn't be able to see the "_geom" bones much less animate them? Looking at my screenshot below, what bones should I see and be able to animate?

 

 

what rig is that? Is it Squetch? On Squetch (and probably others) all the _geom bones are normally hidden.

[mtpeak2]

The _Geom bones are the FK bones in the 2008 rig. So if you animate the arms, legs, spine or fingers in FK, you animate the _Geom bones.

[robcat2075]

Is this closer to what you mean?

I think it looks a little better.

 

Torlak_Strole4.mov

 

Now that i see it, having the torso move with the hips might actually work better for this caveman character. It's not typical, but in this case...?

 

The contrary motion is making his "man boobs" look weird. It's possible that more of his upper torso needs to be weighted together.

 

 

But walks are complicated things. For your first time out this is doing well.

[marcoblbr]

Hi! Long time without working with Animation Master, but here I come back :-)

 

I just did exercise 5. Here's my solution!

 

After the rabbit stopped the cycle, I tried to make him say goodbye to the camera, rising his hand. So, I set a keyframe at the last frame to lock the actions of the walking cycle and them did the scene animation! When I played the animation, I saw that the rabbit raised his hand as soon as the cycle began, as if I didn't set any keyframe! I tried setting a lot of keyframes, but didn't work as well! Is this a bug?? Because setting keyframes should protect the scenes before, but it didn't.

 

I'm uploading both files to show this problem! Anyone can help? I want the rabbit to make all his cycle and then, when he stops, to raise his hand. It should be simple if that keyframe worked.

 

Also, one more thing. I want to move all frames forward so that I can start the animation by some scene, and not making the rabbit walking just at frame 0. I tried edit -> move frames, but didn't work. My animation begins with 00:00 and goes till 11:10. I changed it to 00:10 to 11:20 so that I could have 10 extra frames to animate the beginning, but nothing happens and the rabbit starts moving at 00:00.

 

Hope anyone can help! Animation Master is great :-)

ex5.mov

error.mov

[robcat2075]

Welcome back to A:M!

 

Hi! Long time without working with Animation Master, but here I come back :-)

 

I just did exercise 5. Here's my solution!

 

After the rabbit stopped the cycle, I tried to make him say goodbye to the camera, rising his hand. So, I set a keyframe at the last frame to lock the actions of the walking cycle and them did the scene animation! When I played the animation, I saw that the rabbit raised his hand as soon as the cycle began, as if I didn't set any keyframe!

 

in the tuts link in my signature there is a video on adding animation after an action. It shows how to use a second choreography action.

 

In some versions of A:M the "blend" method will need to be set to "add" rather than "replace" as mentioned in the vid.

[marcoblbr]

Hi robcat2075, thanks for the help! I watched your tutorial and did whay you said, but it didn't work. In picture 1 you can see that I created 2 Choreography Actionss, and when 1 finishes in 10:00, 2 starts. Also, you can see that all bones have keyframes in 10:00 and 10:05.

 

So, in picture 2, the moment I pick the leg in 10:05, the keyframe of that bone vanishes!! And in picture 3, when I position this bone in another place, it creates the keyframe for that bone in 10:05, but doesn't keep the keyframe that was before in 10:00!! As this result, in picture 4, when I return to 10:00 the bone is in the wrong position!

 

Also, one strange thing I noticed is two Choreography Actions 1 in the bar! Is this correct ? In both choreographies I used blend method replace as it made no difference using replace or add (in the video you say something closer to this).

 

Other strange thing is that pressing the button to create a keyframe when the bone "Right Foot Target" appears, doesn't create a keyframe for that bone! That's where the problem is!!! It should create for everything, but it doesn't. It creates only when I move the bone, which is bad because gets everything before in the wrong position!

 

I am sure that it is just a little tweak that I'm unable to see!! Any help on this would be great!

 

Thanks!!!

[robcat2075]

The first thing I notice is that you have created a second choreography action for the path.

 

No, you want to animate the rabbit, not the path.

 

You need to right-click on the rabbit when you are choosing to make a new chor action, because you want to make a new chor action for the Rabbit..

 

Also note that when any model has more than one action associated with it there is a green check beside the one that is active and will record any new keyframes you make. you can click on a chor action to make it active.

[marcoblbr]

Thanks robcat!! I created a second choreography action outside the path and things were a bit more correct. Although I still had problems copying and pasting keyframes, I animated the last frame of action 1 in the first frame of action 2 (as copy didn't work) and I got a good result! Very strange, but later, even some keyframes in action 2 wouldn't copy right!!

 

Even the skeleton which was another actor, didn't have his keyframes copied right! I think all of this is because of that action because I never had this problem doing the other exercises. But copying some keyframes and correcting them frame by frame I was able to do a nice job with a lot of work! But my question remains... Why would this still be happening if I created 2 distinct choreography actions ?? It gave me a lot of extra work!!

 

Here's my final rendering of exercise 5. I'm moving slow in these exercises as I try to make a full animation in each one!! I have a lot of extra work but I learn a lot also! :-)

ex5_marco.mov

[robcat2075]

Thanks robcat!! I created a second choreography action outside the path and things were a bit more correct.

 

Hooray!

 

Although I still had problems copying and pasting keyframes, I animated the last frame of action 1 in the first frame of action 2 (as copy didn't work) and I got a good result! Very strange, but later, even some keyframes in action 2 wouldn't copy right!!

 

Probably a filter setting is not right, but hard to say without watching you work.

[matt_stanford]

Just time before I hit the sack to post up a "Take a skip" short that I did today. Tomorrow I'll play around with blending the 2 choreographed actions. Enjoy. G'night y'all.

Skip_and_Trip.mov

[marcoblbr]

Nice falling Matt haha

 

So, about that problem, I just upload a simple project of what I was developing, without the car and the scenario to show you was what happening.

 

Just try and remove the rabbit's keyframe 12:12 and you'll see what I am talking about. The rabbit moves to another place of the screen. As I have a keyframe right before, in 12:11, this shouldn't ever happen!! That's the reason I had to animate him frame by frame. Pictures 1 and 2 ilustrate this issue.

 

Also, my first choreography action finishes at 10:00 and the second choreography action begins at 10:01. If you remove keyframe 10:01, you'll see that the rabbit goes to a position which has nothing to do with the keyframe 10:00 and the keyframe after, 10:09. Pictures 3 and 4 ilustrate this.

 

I tried different things but was not able to figure this out! If you can, please take a look. I know it's just a simple thing, but I don't know what it is!

 

Thanks a lot for being so helpul. I hope other members can benefit from this issue too!

Simple_Walking.prj

[robcat2075]

You won't be able to tell much about what you are deleting or what you really have keyframes on if you leave the Rabbit line unexpanded like that.

 

 

I can't do much with the project because none of the models or actions or materials are embedded.

 

You can make everything embedded in the Project menu.

 

You can make single items embedded in their property window>file info>Embed ON

 

save a version has just the things the Rabbit needs embedded and delete everything else.

[marcoblbr]

What do you mean by "Rabbit line unexpanded like that" ?

 

I checked and embedded the things that weren't. I also put the option to consolidate the project and I got files of each things the project uses: the action and the rabbit model

 

I'm sending it again.

 

Thanks!

ex5.zip

[robcat2075]

There are several problems here all at the same time that make it difficult to debug. I've noted several on the screen capture. Animating the "model bone" may be the main one.

 

 

 

Also, remember that the filter buttons not only affect what gets keyed when you hit the "make keyframe" button, but also what gets deleted when you hit the "delete keyframe" button.

 

I prefer to delete keyframes by drag selecting them in the timeline or PWS and hitting the regular "Delete" key. But you need to "expand" the listing to see them separately

 

You have gotten the essential task of Ex 5 done, that is making a walk cycle!

 

I would just table this animation temporarily and come back to it after you've done more of the exercises and know more about the interface.

[marcoblbr]

Great! Although I understand some of the problems you mentioned, I tried to make a new cycle walk then animate another pose, and still had problems with it. But I'll do exactly what you say as I have already met the requirements of this exercise!

 

Thanks again :-)

[robcat2075]

Great! Although I understand some of the problems you mentioned, I tried to make a new cycle walk then animate another pose, and still had problems with it. But I'll do exactly what you say as I have already met the requirements of this exercise!

 

Thanks again :-)

 

 

Here's an example project I put together to rough out what you are trying to do. Thom walks on a path, then stops, then jumps.

 

You can look at it in the PWS to see what is keyed and what is not, and which action gets the keys and which action doesn't.

 

 

PathWalkAnd_Jump.zip

[Rob_T]

I have a small question about this project. I watched the vid and am trying to complete the lesson step by step with the manual. In the manual the first keyframe pose has the Rabbit's left arm so far behind him that from the front view you can see his left forefinger appearing behind him on his right side.

 

I tried to emulate this pose but it contorts the shoulders horribly. I moved the hips about five degrees to the left but it wasn't near enough and since the rabbit doesn't seem to have a "collar bone" that can shift both shoulder bones on the X axis there is only the one shoulder bone and no matter how you turn it. it's just twisted too far back to get the hand visible from that angle.

 

Now the person who did the vid tut didn't send the arm back this far, so I suspect that this was artistic license for whoever drew the image in the manual and I should just get as close as I can and make it look as good as I can.

 

Please correct me if I'm wrong or mossing something. Thanks.

[Rodney]

That seems like a very fair assessment Rob.

Hard to confirm without interviewing the original artists.

 

Its pretty common practice to cheat a little in object placement to optimize the view as 3D is converted to 2D art. While I'm not convinced the pose was cheated in this particular case (I haven't had a chance to test it myself), compositionally, I can see why the effort might be worth it to extend the hand and arm.

 

(Note: When analysing visual art posting a link or uploading an image will help a lot.)

[Rob_T]

I actually rewatched the lesson because I had a serious problem and saw that whoever did the video lesson actually did have a problem with pass through. That Rabbit has freakishly large hands and they really want to get in the way.

 

My serious problem was related; as most of my problems with A:M are, to ignorance.

 

I got used to checking my animations positioning, once I felt I was close to being done with a pose, with skeletal mode off and muscle mode on. The only reason I did this was to hide the skeleton so I could get a better view of what the Rabbit looked like as I scrolled through the animation.

 

The problem was, the stride length indicators will not adjust without the skeleton turned on. I'm sure this makes perfect sense to anyone experienced in the program, but as I completed and refined my poses I spent more and more time in muscle mode watching it over and over and making small adjustments. When I thought I was finally done I saved my action and then tried to set my stride length. No matter what I did those little yellow boxes would not light up, would not let me adjust the stride length. I banged my head against it for about a half hour, went, had dinner, and then I rolled the tutorial again while I started writing a post here for help.

 

Fortunately I noticed the one difference between my interphase and the one in the tutorial just as I was about to hit the post button; so I was able to figure it out on my own.

 

So for any other newbies out there. If you are trying to set your stride length.... make sure your skeleton is on.

 

That isn't the only problem I had with stride length though. I can't seem to get it just right. Watch the vid and you will see what I mean.

 

http://s172.photobucket.com/albums/w37/Qui...Lesson5Walk.flv

 

I played with the stride length for awhile and it still, to me looks like it's slipping just a little bit. I've rewatched the video and it isn't that noticeable but it was more apparent in the project window (actually if you click on the link to watch it in full size and then maximize the explorer window you can see the slide a little better). I've already invested tons of time in this lesson and I feel like, with the exception of this stride issue, I've met the requirements of it.

 

So I'm asking the pro's here, if you you could take a look at my stride length settings and maybe correct them for me, then save the project, model and action under a new name and send them back to me so I can compare mine to yours. I feel like this stride length thing is very important to the "quality" of the animation, I'd like to see it done right and compare it to what I did wrong so I can have a clearer picture of how it works.

 

Here are links to my project, model and action (at Mediafire).

 

http://www.mediafire.com/file/ul5rhfwmzgg/Lesson 5 Walk.prj

http://www.mediafire.com/file/cwniu5gjnzg/Rabbit.mdl

http://www.mediafire.com/file/jntxmjmzotm/RabbitWalk.act

 

If there is anything else I need to provide so you can see what I did on this lesson please let me know. Thanks.

[robcat2075]

I took a look at the Rabbit on my V13 CD and I think the Smartskin on his shoulder is missing a key. That is causing an odd distortion when his arm is posed way back. the images in TAoA:M are actually "toon renders" so Rabbit was able to do that pose at one time but maybe lost it in getting translated to a new version of the software.

 

here's a quick fan boned fix. You can import this into your PRJ and then change the "Shortcut to" in the properties for the rabbit in the action to "Rabbitfanned" and it will replace the old model. No guarantees, this was a quick fix.

 

Rabbitfanned.zip

 

 

I was going to try to look at your project , but the download site says something is wrong with my "identity"

 

For the future, It's easier to "Embed all" in your PRJ, save that and zip it and post the zip here.

 

But looking at your movie I'd say you're really close on this one. One could empirically find the right stride length by adjusting the setting and observing the result in the real-time window.

[Rob_T]

I had no idea that this forum actually hosted files. It took me a minute to find the interphase. Wow that's... unheard of actually; and really great. I'm reattaching the above files here with the Zip. Thanks Robcat.

 

When I saved the Rabbit Model it did give me some noise about it being an older model or something. So maybe you are right and when the lesson was made the Rabbit could move his arms like that.

 

As for the stride length. I tried adjusting it a bit but it isn't as simple as saying hey just adjust it. I went back into the action menu and played with the stride length and then I would save it and reapply it to the model; but that messed with the film length, adding frames every time I reapplied the action, and no matter how many small changes I made to the stride length I couldn't get it any better than what I had in the video. I'm not even sure, since reapplying the action added frames, that the model was walking during the time period when the new stride length settings were applied.

 

I just reread that and I'm confusing myself. To put it short, I would adjust the stride length but I'm not sure exactly the right way to do that without recreating the choregraphy and path from scratch every time I make a stride length adjustment.

 

Anyway, if anyone has time to check these files, especially the stride length and then send it back to me with a different name so I can see it done right I would be grateful.

 

Cheers and thanks.

Lesson_5_Walk.zip

[robcat2075]

Rob_T, did you eventually solve this one?