after starting a choreography.......

[bravo2080]

After buying books and CDs, there are times when I see just how much of a newbie I am and I apologize for posting this.

I started a new choreography and rendered to a file. Then I went back to modeling it is showing with all the lights making it hard to adjust the model. Is there something I need to turn off?

Thanks

[Caroline]

If you are editing the choreography and moving the control points, then you are in 'muscle mode' in the choreography.

 

You should be editing the model itself, not the choreography. Models shouldn't (usually) have lights associated with them.

 

Choreographies and actions use 'shortcuts' to the model, so if the model is changed, then the chor and action are automatically updated.

 

To edit the model, make sure your PWS (Project Workspace) is showing - that's View Menu > Project Workspace.

Click the + next to Objects, then double click your model name. You are now editing the model (as long as you are in Modelling Mode - that's the yellow man depressed or F5).

 

Have you worked through the exercises in The Art of Animation:Master? That should point the way.

[bravo2080]

If you are editing the choreography and moving the control points, then you are in 'muscle mode' in the choreography.

 

You should be editing the model itself, not the choreography. Models shouldn't (usually) have lights associated with them.

 

Choreographies and actions use 'shortcuts' to the model, so if the model is changed, then the chor and action are automatically updated.

 

To edit the model, make sure your PWS (Project Workspace) is showing - that's View Menu > Project Workspace.

Click the + next to Objects, then double click your model name. You are now editing the model (as long as you are in Modelling Mode - that's the yellow man depressed or F5).

 

Have you worked through the exercises in The Art of Animation:Master? That should point the way.

 

Got it. Thanks very much for your help.

[phatso]

I wonder about other people's opinions on this...

 

It seems to me that the reason Hash makes lights available for a model is that, if you're going to be rendering a still frame of a single model, there's no reason to go to a choreography. You can render straight from modelling, so you need to be able to light it.

 

But if you are going to do a choreography, putting lights in a model will tie your hands later. You can still light the model to see how it will react to lights - good idea - but you want to remove those lights before you start the chor. At least that's what I do.

 

There are always ten ways to do anything. Do others have different methods?

[jpappas]

phatso,

 

I always thought the advantage of adding Lights directly into a model were more evident in cases where the light was an intrinsic part of the model, like a car's headlights, or the beam from a flashlight, or a large spaceship with lights around it's hull. In these cases it seems easier to add those lights right in the Model window. I mean, you can do these type of lights in a Chor and use Constraints to tie them to the model, but it seems like an extra complication. Otherwise I totally agree with you, that if you're aim is to actually light a model then stick with using Lights in the Chor only.

 

-Jim

[HomeSlice]

I had about 30 choreographies once that used the same lighting setup, but different light colors.

I made an empty model and placed all my lights in that model (about 20 of them).

Then I made a percentage pose for each light that changed the light's color from red-orange-yellow-green-blue-purple-indigo.

This saved me time in a couple of ways.

When I needed to fix something in the light rig, I just changed it in the model and all the chors that included my "light rig" model were automatically updated.

All my light colors were on a series of pose sliders. It was quicker to have the pose slider window open and drag sliders back and forth, than to crack open the Properties panel for each light I had to change the color on.