What I'm working on...

[yoda64]

I think it's a sideeffect from

#0005442: [Realtime] Bones and Null objects should be colorable too.... and it should work in Chor-Window too

 

I'll look into this .

[itsjustme]

I figured I should mention how the tail setup is going. I've made a lot of progress, but there may be a couple of minor (I hope) tweaks that still need to be made. Today I went through some attempted animations to see if I can get a handle on the workflow required to use the rig...it'll take some more practice for me to get it sorted out, but I haven't run into anything that wasn't operator error. I'll spend a couple more days knocking it around and then see if I can finally show something.

[mtpeak2]

Looking forward to seeing what you came up with.

[TNT]

Hey David!

Looking forward to the newer, better tail.

You are one dedicated and talented rig developer.

I appreciate all you do for this forum on top of your own projects.

[itsjustme]

Hopefully, what I end up with will be worth the long wait. If you have the time, it would be very helpful if you could point out my mistakes, Mark...a peer review would be a good thing before releasing it. I'm thinking I'll have it at a point where it can be reviewed in a couple of days, barring any unforeseen problems. At that time, I'll post a video showing what it can do as well. Then, once it gets through a thorough review, I'll post the tail rig by itself and then start trying to integrate it into the Squetch Rig.

[itsjustme]

I still have a few things to track down in the tail rig (which will also work as a snake rig or tentacle) that didn't "take" when I copied some constraints, but I slapped together an Action that shows some of what it can do. Everything I show can be done on all axes, I just didn't have a lot of time. The resizing and translating of sections can be done both manually and automatically...I show the 'Y' auto translating (it can also do 'X' and 'Z') and both the 'X' and 'Y' auto resizing. The paths can be manually reshaped using the null controllers and the automated translating and resizing can be done from any position (it was just easier to see the auto resizing with the tail straight). There are seven settings, one non-path and six path (three non-auto and three auto).

 

After I've tracked every issue down, I'll put together a demo showing how the controls work and send the rig for peer review. Here are some videos of the Action I made from two angles and two render modes.

tail_demo_bird_11_30_2009_H264_.mov

tail_demo_bird_wire_11_30_2009_H264.mov

tail_demo_side_11_30_2009_H264.mov

tail_demo_side_wire_11_30_2009_H264.mov

[TNT]

That's impressive David!

Your contributions always are.

[Shelton]

I look forward to include this on one of the last characters I will be working on

 

Steve

[HomeSlice]

That is certainly an impressive demo David!

[Paul Forwood]

Wow! That looks amazing, David!

[steve392]

Clever stuff David ,makes me go dizy just thinking how it was done

[itsjustme]

I think I tracked down all of the problems in the tail rig...I just have one more to completely figure out. It acts like I may have fixed it, but I'm not 100% sure yet. I'll have to run more tests.

 

I also ended up adding more controls to the automated portion of the rig...probably some overkill in there that may get eliminated eventually.

[itsjustme]

After the last entry, I found out that my problem still existed, so I had to do a re-working of some of the roll targeting setup. I'm "close" again. With some luck, I'll know if I got it right sometime tonight. So far, I've made 278 versions of the tail rig setup...I figure there can only be solutions that work now, since I've probably tried everything that doesn't.

[mtpeak2]

LOL, I hope to see it soon.

[HomeSlice]

So far, I've made 278 versions of the tail rig setup...I figure there can only be solutions that work now, since I've probably tried everything that doesn't.

That reminds me of stories about how Thomas Edison used to work

[itsjustme]

I (once again) think I've gotten my roll problem solved. It appears I did a little over-thinking and then got crazier and crazier with the setups attempting to fix things. I've got to do some resetting of things, then I want to add a couple of settings to see if they'll work. Over the next couple of days I should get quite a bit done...it's been a very busy couple of months.

[itsjustme]

It took me a lot longer than I thought to figure out a few things and implement them. Part of the problem was tracking down some errors I introduced when doing some text editing on the main settings Pose (it would have taken less time just re-doing things in A:M)...there are a lot of constraints in there. I also did some cleaning up of a few things and added two more FK settings. I've got one more setting I'm going to try to add and then do a lot of tests to make sure things are working the way they appear to be in the limited testing I've done so far. I'm starting to see the finish line on version one of the tail rig, I'm thinking...then it should be in a state where I can get some critiques.

[thefreshestever]

freak.

[itsjustme]

Another quick update...still working through a problem, actually the same one that has been there for quite a while. I have been at "almost" using several different solutions. Once again, I'm at another almost that might pan out...we'll see. I added the additional settings and they work fine if I can solve my one problem. It comes down to hanging something on nothing, sort of. I keep bumping my head on things, but it gets a little better with each knock on my noggin...I've learned quite a few things up to this point and I think I've still got a couple of things to learn before I'm finished with the tail rig.

[HomeSlice]

I know just what you mean David.

Rigging is a bit like solving a series of puzzles that all relate to, and affect, one another.

[itsjustme]

I know just what you mean David.

Rigging is a bit like solving a series of puzzles that all relate to, and affect, one another.

 

Yessir, it's like doing a crossword puzzle sometimes. The solution I'm dealing with at the moment makes me think I've solved the problem, but I need to do more testing late tonight to confirm it...I'm more confident this time than I have been though.

[mtpeak2]

What's the problem you're having?

 

You can always send it my way and I'll take a look at it.

[itsjustme]

What's the problem you're having?

 

You can always send it my way and I'll take a look at it.

 

I think I've got it solved...there were a couple of times I thought about raising a white flag though. The problem is/was roll targeting issues caused by the way the quaternion math solves for the rotation of everything...including the path. Another part of the issue is that two paths side by side (when twisted up with all the ways a tail can move) were not always the same length...which meant controlling the placement of the targets on the second path would require different ease settings (making an adaptive ease for everything was one attempted solution).

 

The present setup attempts to solve the problem using a couple of methods. First, the target ease is controlled by a base that is on the same path as the bone that needs a roll target (making the ease the same), then the base of the actual target is tied to that bone using Expressions excluding the 'Z' rotation (that gets the placement along the length of the tail and avoids flipping) and then the target bone is a child of that with a path constraint on it tied to the second path (which gets the rotation on the 'Z' axis).

 

I'm pretty sure there are some things that could be improved by another set of eyes, so it will definitely be headed your way, Mark. I'll see if I can get things tied up into a neat package late tonight.

[itsjustme]

I can't say 100%, but I had no problems with the targeting at all this evening...it really looked good. I thought I would be able to finish a video explanation, but I ran out of time. I should be able to get it finished tomorrow night and then shoot the rig your way, Mark. There's a lot of room for improvement, I'm sure.

[itsjustme]

Well, the rig made a liar out of me. First, I found that problem where you have to add a bracket to Expressions in v15, I corrected that and then found out that the latest fix only partially did the job. The bases for the roll targets are rock-solid and follow the path fine, but the actual targets aren't moving with them enough...it's the ease on the path for the targets. I've been thinking that a gimbal could be set up on the roll target bases for the targets themselves that would work better.

 

Once again, I ran out of time...I'll have to clean up the mess I've made working on it and package it up for you tomorrow, Mark.

[mtpeak2]

I'll be waiting.

[itsjustme]

Another update on where things stand at the moment. The tail rig is being looked at by Mark Skodacek to see if he can see what I'm not seeing on the problem I've been having. A video showing the present controls is here...of course, some things will probably change. I'll be looking at it over the next couple of days as well...as soon as I can clear my head from the lack of sleep.

 

To get my mind off of the tail temporarily, I've been working on an arm/leg rig that will have soft IK and at least one more trick to it...still a couple of things to do on that. If I can get enough time, I'll make a tutorial to keep the eye modeling tutorial company.

[itsjustme]

It's been hard to find enough time to get finished, but, here's where the arm rig stands at the moment. I've got it able to bend backward in IK and have a soft IK that I adapted from one made by Andy Nicholas for another program...there's one difference that I made that would allow for the bicep and forearm to be scaled differently and I'm sure the constraints used and the way they are combined would be different. I'm going to add the resizing next, then I'll see about putting it in Squetchy Sam and running a bunch of tests.

 

Here are a couple of quick clips showing the arm and some of what it does.

elbow_with_soft_IK_03_22_2010.mov

elbow_no_soft_IK_03_22_2010.mov

arm_test_03_22_2010.mov

[Shelton]

Very cool David!

 

Steve

[itsjustme]

I actually had a little free time yesterday and got a few things worked out on the arm rig. I've got the resizing worked out, did some overall tweaking and then put it into Squetchy Sam to do some more testing. Tomorrow, I'll do some more testing on the arms and see if I can get the legs updated as well.

 

Here is a quick example model that shows how the exponential decay equation will soften the IK...this version isn't adjustable, it slows the movement of "Bone1" once it reaches 80% of what would be the length of the test arm. Since the test arm is ten inches, it will start to delay/decay at about eight inches.

 

Once I get things roughed-in a little better, I'll post a more complete setup.

exponential_decay_example_04_08_2010.zip

[itsjustme]

Here's the arm rig I've been using for testing. I still have more testing on the Squetchy Sam that has this installed...I'll do some of that tonight.

 

 

------------------------

EDIT

------------------------

 

Updated the posted rig...Thanks again, Mark!

arm_rig_04_09_2010b.zip

[mtpeak2]

Something is not working correctly, David. I'll take a closer look tonight and see if I can track it down. There seems to be a circularity issue.

[itsjustme]

Something is not working correctly, David. I'll take a closer look tonight and see if I can track it down. There seems to be a circularity issue.

 

Hmmm, when does it happen, Mark?

[mtpeak2]

As soon as I open it in an action. The forearm seems to aim at the bicep. (15j+)

[itsjustme]

As soon as I open it in an action. The forearm seems to aim at the bicep. (15j+)

 

That has got to be the adding of a paretheses thing...I didn't double-check in v15, doh! I've been doing all of my testing in v13t. I'll see if I can fix it quick and repost it. Thanks, Mark!

 

 

-----------------------------

EDIT

-----------------------------

 

Okay, I went back in and added some paretheses in the Expressions, did a fast check in v15 and then posted the updated model. Sorry for my bone-headedness...it should work fine in v15 now (unless I missed something else).

[mtpeak2]

Works now.

[itsjustme]

I think I've got Sam's arms updated correctly...still have to run more tests though. I've got the legs updated as well, but there's still at least one more thing to track down in them. Here are a couple of clips showing a test of Sam's arms with and without soft IK. If I had spent a little more time on it, I could have made the transition from front bend to back bend smoother in the soft IK clip, but it'll do for a simple test.

Sam_04_09_2010_elbow_no_soft_IK.mov

Sam_04_09_2010_elbow_with_soft_IK.mov

[itsjustme]

The legs in Sam have been corrected, now I just have to run a bunch of tests before adding the updates to the installation rigs...so far, I haven't run into any problems. Here are a couple of quick clips with and without soft IK on the legs.

04_13_2010_legs_no_soft_IK.mov

04_13_2010_legs_with_soft_IK.mov

[NancyGormezano]

Interesting - looks terrific!

 

What is controlling the direction of the knee or elbow bend? a switch?

[itsjustme]

Interesting - looks terrific!

 

What is controlling the direction of the knee or elbow bend? a switch?

 

Yes ma'am, it's a switch. The test rig I used for the arms is here...both the arms and legs are pretty much that setup which I'm adapting to the Squetch Rig in Sam.

[itsjustme]

I did some testing to determine if I needed to add a tweak to the soft IK to smooth the change from forward bending to backward bending. After messing with it a little, I decided that the present controls would do the job. Here are two clips showing the results.

 

The soft IK settings are set up so that the percentage slider equals the length of the arm/leg at 100%. The math used doesn't like anything at 100%, so, "off" is 99.99% on the slider. The position of the slider determines the point at which the soft IK begins to kick-in...if the slider is set to 75%, it will start at 75% of the length of the limb. For this leg test, I set the slider to 98.75% and didn't adjust it...I'm thinking it looks pretty smooth on the transition and still provides a little softness to the IK at that setting.

04_14_2010_no_soft_IK.mov

04_14_2010_minimal_soft_IK.mov

[robcat2075]

I'm not sure I detect a difference. Is there a previous post where you went into that?

[itsjustme]

I'm not sure I detect a difference. Is there a previous post where you went into that?

 

Here is a clip with both of the previous leg clips side by side...the difference is pretty subtle, but that is without adjusting anything. A few of the earlier clips in this thread show a stronger setting on the soft IK. The clips in this post show a little stronger setting and there is a post with the arm test rig attached here...it's the same thing that is in both the arms and legs of this test version of Sam.

 

My main concern with this test was to see if the transition between forward and backward bending could be smoothed out. If it wasn't possible with the present controls, I had a tweak I was going to do some testing with.

leg_comparison_04_14_2010.mov

[itsjustme]

I just posted the test version of Squetchy Sam I've been using here. Knock him around if you get the time...there are probably some things I missed.

 

I nearly have the biped installations updated, next I'll work on the Quad installations. If things go well, I'll release a biped rig update in a week or so...I want to wait on the Quad update until I get the tail rig finished, so that will be delayed.

[itsjustme]

The biped update for the Squetch Rig is posted here...lots of improvements, it's been long overdue. If you get an opportunity to double-check to make sure I didn't miss something, please do.

 

Next, I'm going to update the Quad Rig to match the biped rig. I also have to update the videos I made outlining how things work in the rig, get the installation videos done (finally), see if I can figure out the problem I had with the tail rig update, knock out a tutorial or two and see if I can get some odds and ends started back up on Bertram. I think if I can start doing a little bit in all of those directions, I'll get more done...we'll see.

[Shelton]

Thanks David for all the hard work. Looking forward to starting again.

 

Steve

[itsjustme]

Since posting the latest version of the rig, I've done some work on adding Mark's suggested improvement to the arm geometry bone rolling and a fix for some bone flipping when rotating a limb more than 90 degrees with bowing turned on (Mark pointed that out too). I think I've got everything working without problems, but I'll do some more testing before I post another rig update.

 

I've also done some tweaking to Bertram's face and am trying my hand at a tree...I want to start forcing myself to get something on the actual project rolling besides the rigging.

[itsjustme]

I spent a little time making a cigarette butt receptacle. Then, I wanted to texture it, but I wanted to use lighting similar to the set it will be in...so I decided to make a sky dome for it. I didn't want to use any of the sky images I've seen and figured I could just hand paint a few scattered clouds and decal them onto the dome.

 

The clouds aren't great and this is just a quick turnaround clip of the inside of the dome to check it, so the curvature of the dome is apparent. Also, here is an image of the cigarette butt receptacle before texturing.

sky_dome_05_19_2010.mov

[itsjustme]

It's been too long since I last posted an update...so I'll post a "so far" on the set I'm building tomorrow. I would do it now, but it needs some cleaning up at the moment. The set is helping me improve at mechanical modeling (which I haven't done very much of in a long time).

[Shelton]

Good for you David. thanks for all you have done for the community. Looking forward to your project!

 

Steve