Basic workflow in assigning properties to objects and shortcuts

[dblhelix]

switching emphasis between projects on monday, summing up and after gathering a foundation for troubleshooting one last area is as basic as it is murky. i can't confidently use terminology yet, so this is going to sound a bit weird:

 

lots of people have time and again made the same mistake, as have i - confusing in which window to set the value for a certain thing.

and they are different things. each time someone comes to help asking 'have you set the parameter in this window you have to remove it and do the same in that other window'. (PWS vs. chor window, object properties vs. right clicking etc) this was at its most confusing when reading about lighting a scene.

 

how would one go about learning the relation between all "these windows"? is there a concept for this i can search for? techref isn't helpful. since the windows we newbies misuse exist, someone made it so. understanding why would help in organizing workflow and getting into good habits.

 

another fuzzy thing and in a similar way. although, here i'm expecting a "go test, whatever suits you, it's there!"

the hierarchies for materials.. you can choose your, say, mapping combinations to suit your wishes. "bump on top of diffuse", "i used an environmental for bump", and specularity, HDRI whathaveyou.

it's easy to search for "diffuse map", learn how it differs from a bump map; how to make one and where to put it and what to expect from it.

this is not a problem. this is the tip of the wing of the fly on the top of the iceberg that is mapping. well, you know.

i don't speak math, programming or engineering. anyone fluent in newbie? or do i come back with a situation?

[robcat2075]

lots of people have time and again made the same mistake, as have i - confusing in which window to set the value for a certain thing.

and they are different things. each time someone comes to help asking 'have you set the parameter in this window you have to remove it and do the same in that other window'. (PWS vs. chor window, object properties vs. right clicking etc) this was at its most confusing when reading about lighting a scene.

Almost everything in A:M has "properties"

 

Make a new model and it has many default properties you can see by selecting the model in the "Objects " folder and then looking in the Properties window.

 

You an change those default props. ForEx, you can change the surface color from white to red or the surface transparency from 0 to 50%

 

If you make a group in that model it gets default props too, but most will be "not Set". Group props overide Object Props but if they are "not set" they let the Object prop for that thing pass thru.

 

If my Object surface color is set to red and a group on that model has surface color "not set" then the surface in that group will still appear red. But if the group's surfColor is set to green then the part of that model in that group will be green, everything not in that group will still be red.

 

If I had dropped a Material on that object that set "surface color" to yellow, that would override the Object's red surface color but not the Group's green surface color. Any parameter set at the group level will override a parameter set at the object level, even in if it was a Material at the object level that was controlling the parameter.

 

However, If I had instead dropped that Yellow Material on the Group, that would override the group's Green setting with the Material's Yellow setting. The part o the Object not in that group would still be its original Red color.

 

That Yellow Material has properties too. If I go up to the Materials folder and edit that color setting from yellow to purple, the Group that has that material on it will change to Purple as will any other models or groups that have that Material working on them.

 

if I click on the Material where it appears under the Group (really a "shortcut to") I will see properties in the Properties window that look just like the Properties I saw when i was editing the Material in the Material folder. If I edit the Yellow to Purple here it will only change the one instance of the material on this group.

 

The original material in the Materials folder still has its original Yellow setting and anywhere else it is used it still makes Yellow.

 

When we put that Object in a chor we get yet another layer of ability to over ride. When you "Show More than Drivers" you can see all the groups and materials the object has and you can fool with the parameters again in yet anothe set of property windows that initially look just like the property windows you saw at the group or object level.

 

Why would you want to do this in the chor? Because in the chor you can change these settings over time. You could animate the material to change from Yellow to Purple to Green. You could animate a property that hadn't' been set at all in the object previously like the XYZ position of a material on a group

 

 

So ...

 

Objects have properties

 

Materials have properties

 

Materials properties override Object properties

 

Group Properties overrides Material on Object properties

 

Material on Group overrides Group properties

 

You can change any of these in the chor, it won't change the original saved model or material.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

another fuzzy thing and in a similar way. although, here i'm expecting a "go test, whatever suits you, it's there!"

the hierarchies for materials.. you can choose your, say, mapping combinations to suit your wishes. "bump on top of diffuse", "i used an environmental for bump", and specularity, HDRI whathaveyou.

 

The different kinds of maps don't usually have priority over each other since they control different surface attributes. One exception is you can't have a displacement map and a bump map since displacement maps steal the bump map shading process.

[Gerry]

I'm going to add a little something to Robcat's reply that won't be redundant. but it also won't be comprehensive, and anyone else please jump in to correct me.

 

Windows:

You create a model in a modeling window. You can set the surface properties in the modeling window by creating and naming groups from parts of the model.

 

You also insert bones in the modeling window, by entering Bones mode. This is also where you attach the geometry to the bones.

 

You create reusable actions, in an action window, including walk cycles; applying decals can be done in the model window but they can be applied more easily in an action window because you can move the cp's around without affecting the actual geometry. This is a super flexible process once you have a handle on it. there are some excellent tutorials on decaling; Will sutton has a whole YouTube channel for his tutorials and they're worth spending some time on.

 

When you create an action it's extremely helpful to name them as you go, so you don't end up with Action 1, Action 2, Action 3, etc., without having a clear idea of what each is.

 

You create a material in a material window (the sphere on the checkerboard) but it's often better, once you've started (and named) the material, to drop it on the model or group you're creating it for. It's easier to understand/visualize the material attributes and scale once it's on the model. It's less obvious if you're just looking at the sphere. Once you have it placed on a model or group, you can generally close the material window.

 

Lastly, all actual animation is done in a choreography window. this is where you set up cameras, lights, drop in your models and characters, and tell your story. When you render a scene, it will render from whatever view you were last looking at; what I mean is, it doesn't automatically render from the camera's viewpoint, you have to be looking through the camera (1 on the number pad) to render from the camera.

 

this is just a quick rundown off the top of my head. I hope it helps! Like any 3D app there's a steep learning curve; hang in there and come here with questions.

[Fuchur]

It sounds like you are confusing Shortcuts and the actual objects (may it be a light, model, materials, forces, etc.).

 

The actual model / material / etc. is first created. It will be the place to manipulate anything at first.

After that you use a Shortcut / Link / Reference of these models / materials / etc. to assign them to for example a chor or a model (models can be put in chors, materials for example can be dropped at models / groups).

 

If you change the material itself, all the shortcuts will automatically update themselves too. This is true as long as you didnt override the values of the material on a shortcut.

A shortcut itself can be manipulated to create for example an animation (ie animate surface-color from blue to red). If you did this in the chor (for instance) the model-properties will be overwritten by the shortcut-properties.

 

In Short:

As long as you didnt change anything other than position / rotation / scaling in the chor, the properties of the object will always be referenced by the shortcuts. This is very useful if you need to change something in the middle of the process through all your chors, etc. (actually this is although true for position / rotation / scaling but these are most often changed in the chor...)

 

You created an alien which has a green skin? You already animated it in serveral chors (because you spot will take place in several places, etc) and so on and now you think "It would just look cooler if it was red..."

No problem: Change the model itself and all the shortcuts used in your chors will update. You dont have to set the color for all your chors each by itself again.

 

However: Lets say in one of the chors your aliens head turns from green to yellow (because he is jealous, or so)... Now you have overwritten the basic color of the model in the chor (or a pose...) and you will have to update this chor manually.

 

It is very logical if you think about it: Anything done before is as long referenced till you change it in a later productionstep but you can go to any productionsstep in your process again and change something there.

So in many cases: The first appearance of the property (let it be surfacecolor or something else) should be changed unless you need to do it later (for animation-purpose).

 

Hope this helps

*Fuchur*

[dblhelix]

that's it. all there.

everything just so.

ctrl+s ctrl+p.

ctrl+n

 

robcat, did you write all that architectural beauty just now? you and me are going to have a talk. in a post below. (this site seized while answering, if there's no post after this it's due to techstuff)

 

Gerry, your avatar image is so strong i have to make my first adress about that; everything you say comes through the perpetuity of comfort in that character.

It's easier to understand/visualize the material attributes and scale once it's on the model.

brilliant. ctrl+s ctrl+s ctrl+s

as to learning curves, have you heard about the -this is real not a joke- math formula for a (bell..?) curve that on descending begins to rotate in 3D around x-axis ad infinitum? there's my experience of a learning curve.

 

Fuchur! raising a term from parentheses into a headline while making a mnemonic film of the entire process. nawwwwwww!

(translation: what you did was so brutal there was no allowance and i had to go all the way to the other end of the spectrum for room to respond.)

(see how a "naaaaaw" suddenly seems concise and reasonable?)

 

admin? rodney is it? sir?

this immensely valuable trilogy should be gently pinned for posterity;

headline changed to something like "The basic logic of workflow in assigning properties to objects and shortcuts"

in grey below: "as simple as the headline isn't"

[dblhelix]

(no deleting here; edited away off topic content)

[robcat2075]

i read your member page and your wishlist, and here's what, may i try to surprise you?

 

That would be fabulous! If something appears on my wishlist, then i don't have it yet.

 

 

 

headline changed to something like "The basic logic of workflow in assigning properties to objects and shortcuts"

in grey below: "as simple as the headline isn't"

 

You can change the thread title, if you edit the first post.

[dblhelix]

You can change the thread title, if you edit the first post.

newbies at work: i thought of that but couldn't see the option. ha. ha.

 

right, choosing from the list; something's on its way. chosen to inspire your career in 2D. on three different pages got three different delivery schedules worse by the page; starting with apr 28, last one said may 18 at the latest.. maybe that was a joke. it's used, "shelf-wear, never read" so i'm a little bit curious if this holds true. if not, please, please don't hesitate to return it, put it back on your list and contact me, ok?