mirroring bones in action

[cribbidaj]

I've attached an embedded project with an accordion-type creature that I've modeled and rigged myself. I admit it's probably not the best modeling or rigging job, but, hey, this is work in progress, right?

 

Anyway, I have taken care to make sure my middle spline was at "0" on the x-axis before copy/flip/attach, and I've flipped right-side bones to left-side using a bone at "0" on the x-axis, but while in an action, selecting a keyframe on one side, copying and pasting mirrored keyframe does nothing. I'm sure there is something I've done wrong, but for the life of me, can't figure it out. Please look at the attached .prj and hopefully you can enlighten me.

 

Thanks,

Chris

Accordian_Creature__help_.prj

[Chrury Sanson]

^ I have had the same problem with a self rigged shy guy. hmmmm..... sorry I'm no help.

 

And, coincidently, my name is also,

Chris

[C-grid]

Set the bones-key mode to key-branch, set the timeline > select bone > copy key-frame > then 'select' no-bone > set the timeline and paste mirrored.

 

Niels

[C-grid]

This is the 'key-branch' knob.

 

Niels

[cribbidaj]

Set the bones-key mode to key-branch, set the timeline > select bone > copy key-frame > then 'select' no-bone > set the timeline and paste mirrored.

 

Niels

 

Still no luck on my end. Were you able to downloaded my project and get this to work on your end?

 

-Chris

[C-grid]

- open A:M

- My view is set to ProjectWorkSpace, Timeline and 3DModelView

- Open the project

- Double-click on Actions to create a new action

- Click on 'Key-branch' (I know it's a little parculiar for mirroring one bone...)

- set timeline at frame 10, move L Calf to the right(FrontView)

- set timeline at frame 20, move L Calf to the left(about there where it is on frame 0)

- set timeline on frame 10, select L Calf, press [CTRL-c] (copy keyframe)

- deselect the bone(make sure no bones are selected anymore...)

- set timeline to frame 30, press [CTRL+SHIFT+v] (this is copy keyframe mirrored)

 

Niels

[C-grid]

A second method with key-bone instead of key-branch:

 

- open A:M

- My view is set to ProjectWorkSpace, Timeline and 3DModelView

- Open the project

- Double-click on Actions to create a new action

- Click on 'Key-bone'

- set timeline at frame 10, move L Calf to the right(FrontView)

- set timeline at frame 20, move L Calf to the left(about there where it is on frame 0)

- set timeline on frame 10, select L Calf, press [CTRL-c] (copy keyframe)

- select R Calf

- set timeline to frame 30, press [CTRL+SHIFT+v] (this is copy keyframe mirrored)

 

Niels

[cribbidaj]

A second method with key-bone instead of key-branch:

 

I'm not getting any results - sorry. Everything you've suggested works on other models, but something is buggy on my end with this model. If you're getting satisfactory results with this process on my project, maybe something is wrong with my computer or something got corrupted in the software installed on my end. This doesn't follow since "paste mirrored" works with other models. Is my bone-naming heirarchy incorrect? Do the bone names on either side make a difference? Please advise.

[C-grid]

I do think it's a little perculiar that one has to select the R Calf first, since mirroring goes through boneposition against the original bone-placement in BoneMode...

Maybe you should file a report...

 

Niels

[C-grid]

I see in your project-file that you drive with 13q..., I also tested with v13q...

 

Were any of the steps unclear to you...that you might have done it slightly different...

 

Niels

[cribbidaj]

I see in your project-file that you drive with 13q..., I also tested with v13q...

 

Were any of the steps unclear to you...that you might have done it slightly different...

 

Niels

 

No . . . you're steps were clear enough, and like I said, this works with other models on my end, just not this one. I'm pretty familiar with the [copy/paste mirrored] process and understand the pitfalls of modelling incorrectly, so if it works on your end I don't know what else to do. I've literally brought other models into the workspace of this very project, opened a new action with them, and achieved desired results with the command, so . . . I guess I'll file a report.

 

Any other suggestions are welcome.

 

Thanks.

[C-grid]

I tried again to see when I didn't get it to work...

 

- When using key-bone and I forget to select R Calf, it doesn't work...

- When using key-branch and I forget to deselect any possible selected bones, it doesn't work...

 

Niels

[cribbidaj]

I tried again to see when I didn't get it to work...

 

- When using key-bone and I forget to select R Calf, it doesn't work...

- When using key-branch and I forget to deselect any possible selected bones, it doesn't work...

 

Niels

 

I am a little confused about what you mean by R Calf. I have notice A:M refers to a right view of a model looking at the left side of the model. I have gone against this convention because it's somehow easier for me to think from the model's perspective, i.e. the Right Calf is the models right calf which is on the viewers left as he's looking at front view. In this model, I have noticed I named the model's R calf "Right Calf" and the model's L Calf "L Calf" (As if I could make this any less clear). So by R Calf, do you mean the bone I've named "Right Calf"?

 

I just tried both of your suggests again, but again, to no avail.

[C-grid]

I see that you named the mirror-side of L Calf 'Right Calf', so indeed I ment Right Calf instead of R Calf.

 

Niels

[cribbidaj]

Niels -

 

Thanks for your help, but unfortunately, I'm am getting no results with any of the methods you've succeeded with, and I've followed them to the letter countless times. I've sent in a report to Hash, so maybe it'll be resolved soon. In the meantime, I'm perplexed why you'd be able to get "copy/paste mirrored" to work within the project (albeit through convoluted steps) and I can't while following the same procedures. Also, why is it this particular model that's giving me trouble in this area? It's not that complex of a model, and other much more complex models are working fine, even within the same project. There must be something squirrelly within the model, but I can't figure it out.

 

Thanks,

Chris

[itsjustme]

I haven't actually tried doing a copy/paste/mirror with your model, Chris....but, in order for it to work you have to be consistent in your naming convention and the bones have to have some form of "left" and "right" in the name. I don't mean "r" and "l", I mean, "left", "right" or "LEFT", "RIGHT" or "Left", "Right". Have you tried that?

[cribbidaj]

I haven't actually tried doing a copy/paste/mirror with your model, Chris....but, in order for it to work you have to be consistent in your naming convention and the bones have to have some form of "left" and "right" in the name. I don't mean "r" and "l", I mean, "left", "right" or "LEFT", "RIGHT" or "Left", "Right". Have you tried that?

 

That's it, David! Thank you. Makes sense, but I was unaware of the need for consistency in naming. Strange that this is the one model I've been working on that I didn't stick to naming the bones correctly, but then, of course, there's no accounting for some of the things I do and don't do.

 

Thanks all for the help.

 

-Chris

[cribbidaj]

I haven't actually tried doing a copy/paste/mirror with your model, Chris....but, in order for it to work you have to be consistent in your naming convention and the bones have to have some form of "left" and "right" in the name. I don't mean "r" and "l", I mean, "left", "right" or "LEFT", "RIGHT" or "Left", "Right". Have you tried that?

 

Hi Niels and David -

 

As a follow up - I've renamed my bones conventionally, but some weirdness is still happening. Naturally, I've had to delete my constraints and re-constrain the bones now that they are named correctly. However, the new constraints show the target bones as being named something different than the newly named targets. Such as, "Orient Like lR FootControl" as opposed to "Orient Like Right FootControl". So I then right-click and "select target" and everything seems named correctly once more, but then often (not always) when I select a constraint the target bone appears named wrong again. Lastly, the new constraints with the newly named bones now "copy/paste mirror" correctly in an action, but I get some cp weighting issues that are not apparent in the model window, only in the action window. Does this sound familiar or should I send this to A:M reports?

 

Thanks. I may just re-rig this model from the beginning since the rig is not that complex.

 

-Chris

[itsjustme]

Hi Niels and David -

 

As a follow up - I've renamed my bones conventionally, but some weirdness is still happening. Naturally, I've had to delete my constraints and re-constrain the bones now that they are named correctly. However, the new constraints show the target bones as being named something different than the newly named targets. Such as, "Orient Like lR FootControl" as opposed to "Orient Like Right FootControl". So I then right-click and "select target" and everything seems named correctly once more, but then often (not always) when I select a constraint the target bone appears named wrong again. Lastly, the new constraints with the newly named bones now "copy/paste mirror" correctly in an action, but I get some cp weighting issues that are not apparent in the model window, only in the action window. Does this sound familiar or should I send this to A:M reports?

 

Thanks. I may just re-rig this model from the beginning since the rig is not that complex.

 

-Chris

 

I would delete the constraints and make new ones, just to make sure you don't have something fighting you, Chris. As for the CP Weighting...I would check to make sure that some of the percentages on the CP's didn't default to the entire model, that can happen when renaming things.

 

Hope that helps.

[cribbidaj]

I would delete the constraints and make new ones, just to make sure you don't have something fighting you, Chris. As for the CP Weighting...I would check to make sure that some of the percentages on the CP's didn't default to the entire model, that can happen when renaming things.

 

Hope that helps.

 

After deleting the constraints and creating new ones I still ran into some problems, so I've deleted the entire bone structure, created anew, re-rigged, and everything works fine. Thanks for the help - I'm glad I ran into this problem on a simple rig.

 

Thank you,

Chris