Question about Peaking Points

[Tralfaz]

I had originally built a Star Wars AT-AT in Anim8or and would like to bring it into Animation Master. I have tried exporting it to a .3ds model and them importing it, but it did not translate very well.

 

The other option I have is to re-create it in A:M. Since the majority of the AT-AT is made up of straight lines, is it possible to have A:M default to Peak instead of Smooth when drawing the splines?

 

Here are some pictures of the model created in Anim8or.

 

[attachmentid=20224]

 

[attachmentid=20223]

 

Thanks in advance...

Al

[Rodney]

You'll find much better success with adjusting the Magnatude of the splines Bias than with Peaking.

There are several benefits to Bias Adjustment.

 

1 ) Changing the Magnatude of the spline will create a nice beveled effect that won't be present if you Peak.

2) You can Adjust large groups or entire models Biases with a variety of settings.

 

The idea is to go in and model until finished.

Then go back and tweak to taste.

 

Here are a couple nice video tutorials that might help.

 

Creating Edges by Ken Heslip

 

Modeling a Nut (With Bias Manipulation) by Emilio Leroux

 

 

Nice models!

[robcat2075]

But if you're impatient or just want to see a rough result you can just group select the whole model after you import it and hit "P" to mass convert the splines.

 

Nice model, I'll be curious to see the conversion.

[KenH]

You're obviously a talented modeller. Can't wait to see what you do in AM!

[Tralfaz]

Thanks for the kind words folks.

 

I watched the two tutorials and found them very helpful Rodney.

 

I guess I need to wrap my head around a different way of modelling. I can definitely see the benefits of having smooth control points when modelling organic objects. It will just take a while longer when modelling mechanical objects to start with smooth CPs and then tweak them afterwards.

 

Thanks...

Al

[Rodney]

But if you're impatient or just want to see a rough result you can just group select the whole model after you import it and hit "P" to mass convert the splines.

 

Robert makes a very good point here.

To someone learning A:M its a subtle difference but important to note.

Just because something isn't optimum (in this case Peaking) it doesn't mean it isn't a great tool to use.

 

There was a time when you wouldn't want to use the Bias Tweaking method. There use to be a problem with Bias tweaks causing some serious popping in animation. You may find old references to these problems on the internet but just know that current versions of A:M don't have that problem.

 

There are some keyboard shortcuts that will definitely help to bridge the gap between old methods and new.

The same goes for making the transition from old tools to new as well.

Some of these methods you can use to move the modeling process forward quickly even if you discard the interim steps later. Getting to the final product is the goal so if somethings works... it just works!

 

Example:

 

Start modeling your splines.

Occasionally whack the Slash (/) key followed by Peak (P).

This will Group all splines connected to the one you currently have selected and Peak them.

It will allow you to see your model in its most simplified view.

(Note: Page Up and Page Down works nicely too in many situations. This changes the realtime resolution of your model without changing the actual model. You can continue to work at that lower resolution and bump it up and down at any time.)

 

When finished you would then have a completely Peaked model.

Whacking the Slash and O keys will then smooth the whole mesh so you can then go in and tweak to taste with an eye on Bias Manipulation. Of course if what you see in the Peaked model is good enough. As Robert suggests, you can stop there.

 

There is often more than one way to approach things in A:M.

Sometimes its just a matter of finding what works best for you.