bubba Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 I have finished the "rough draft" of my Warhawk BattleMech. This is the upper body portion. I put the following bones in Here is the PWS showing the relationship of these bones But when I try to move the lower arm bone (we would call it a forearm bone) all I can do is rotate it - but I want to translate it to move back and forth - either extending or retracting the "hand". Here is the lower half It will require a "chicken walk" I have looked at the Technical Reference, ToAM manual, the 2000 A:M manual, the "lets take a walk" tutorial, David Rogers book, ... Thanks so much for all the past help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted February 14, 2011 Hash Fellow Share Posted February 14, 2011 Your "lower Arm bone" is "Attached to Parent" (probably desireable) so normally it can't move from where it is attached. If your arm has a an IK ("Inverse Kinematics") rig like you did for your legs (?) then you would be able to lead the arm around by just moving one target. Absent that, you need to pose the bones above the lower arm to get it to the position you want. (FK or "Forward Kinematics") Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted February 14, 2011 Hash Fellow Share Posted February 14, 2011 Also, I presume you are trying to animate your character in a chor or action, not in the model window. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba Posted February 15, 2011 Author Share Posted February 15, 2011 Yes I tried working in both the Action and Choreography window. Yes, the arms should have a IK rig (lower arm) attached to the upper arm. The big bone in the center of the model I call the "body bone" and restricted it to only turn in the horizontal. Since it is the parent of all the arm bones (but only the two arm bones are attached), can this restriction be flowing down to the arms? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted February 15, 2011 Hash Fellow Share Posted February 15, 2011 I'd need to see a screencam of what you are doing, the written description unclear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba Posted February 15, 2011 Author Share Posted February 15, 2011 Here is a short rendering. This is all I can get the lower arm bone to do. Armmovement.mov Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted February 15, 2011 Hash Fellow Share Posted February 15, 2011 But I can't see from that what you're trying to do while you're in the chor window. If you want to send it to me I'll look at it. Do Project>Embedd All and save the Project under a new name and send it to me at theguy (at) brilliantisland.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba Posted February 15, 2011 Author Share Posted February 15, 2011 Done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted February 16, 2011 Hash Fellow Share Posted February 16, 2011 I can't recreate the problem of being able to only move that bone on one axis. I can turn it anywhere. I'd have to see a screencam of you trying to do it to see what you are doing differently here's how i do it and how I think you should proceed with your model Adding_IK_Leg.mov Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xtaz Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 amazing tutorial Robert .. thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba Posted February 16, 2011 Author Share Posted February 16, 2011 Yes Robert I agree amazing tutorial. Thank you also. You are correct I was trying to translate the "hand". And I was not using the rotate manipulator rings, I was just trying to grab the hand and push/pull it. The only way it would go is in a horizontal circle. For the leg you suggest a null. What about the manipulator properties - rotate or translate? Select rotate and restrict to just the x (or y?) axis? Finally I tried to save the movie but failed. Would you be kind enough to send me a copy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Rodney Posted February 16, 2011 Admin Share Posted February 16, 2011 Finally I tried to save the movie but failed. Would you be kind enough to send me a copy? Did you try to Right Click and then Save As? Saving from the online movie never works for me. (I seem to recall I could do that before. Must be a browser thing.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba Posted February 16, 2011 Author Share Posted February 16, 2011 Finally I tried to save the movie but failed. Would you be kind enough to send me a copy? Did you try to Right Click and then Save As? Saving from the online movie never works for me. (I seem to recall I could do that before. Must be a browser thing.) Neither is working for me today. My browser is Firefox. If I Right Click on the link is see several open selections, save links, send links; but no Save As... If I right click on the link the quictime movie opens and plays. If I right click on the movie I can "Save as Quicktime Movie" but what is really saved is a script, not the actual movie. Hash must store the uploads on another server. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba Posted February 16, 2011 Author Share Posted February 16, 2011 Robert - You mention another IK chain posting. I cannot remember it and I tried searching on IK chain but the Forums do not allow 3 or less words. Can you help again. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted February 16, 2011 Hash Fellow Share Posted February 16, 2011 "Simplest IK Leg" is in the the screencam tuts in the link in my signature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeSlice Posted February 16, 2011 Share Posted February 16, 2011 I'm using Firefox on WinXP and I just saved the movie to my hard disk without any problem. Right-click on the link and choose "Save Link As". If that isn't working for you, you have something weird going on with your computer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted February 16, 2011 Hash Fellow Share Posted February 16, 2011 You are correct I was trying to translate the "hand". And I was not using the rotate manipulator rings, I was just trying to grab the hand and push/pull it. The only way it would go is in a horizontal circle. I'd have to see you doing it to know exactly why you only got a horizontal motion. For the leg you suggest a null. What about the manipulator properties - rotate or translate? Select rotate and restrict to just the x (or y?) axis? I think... manipulator properties only limit the manipulator possibilites, but another bone acting on the bone could still move it anywhere. A target null is my simple solution that will also work for characters that need to be able to point their knees. For a robot that would never do that an Euler constraint might be an option to limit rotation on a bone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted February 16, 2011 Hash Fellow Share Posted February 16, 2011 Apparently the movie is too large for me to e-mail. Try right-click>Save Link As Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba Posted February 17, 2011 Author Share Posted February 17, 2011 Thank you all for pointing out the "Save Link As..." I really thought this would just save the Link. 24MB is almost pushing the limits of Hash too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted February 17, 2011 Hash Fellow Share Posted February 17, 2011 Once you get your two IK legs rigged you can animate a walk like this... Simple_IK_Leg_Walk.mov the walk rendered: WarhawkWalk.mov Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba Posted February 17, 2011 Author Share Posted February 17, 2011 Robert, as you will see from the attached video, I am doing something incorrect but I do not know what. IKLegChain.mov Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted February 17, 2011 Hash Fellow Share Posted February 17, 2011 Robert, as you will see from the attached video, I am doing something incorrect but I do not know what. IKLegChain.mov Thanks. That movie appear to be empty. Are you on a mac? I think that one needs to be flattened. Look for something like "make self-contained." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba Posted February 17, 2011 Author Share Posted February 17, 2011 Sorry about that. The original screen capture was 397MB and I thought I was shrinking it down to a manageable size. For some reason, the Hash Forums software does not like .m4v (MPEG-4) video. Lets give this new one a try. I am using the 19 January release of V16. Comparing your video with my result it looks to me like "turning on POSE" does nothing. Question: can't the IK constraint be done in the choreography window? Also, what about adding a target bone and leaving the foot pedestal attached to the chain? My system is a MacPro 8-core machine with 20GB or RAM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted February 17, 2011 Hash Fellow Share Posted February 17, 2011 Sorry about that. The original screen capture was 397MB and I thought I was shrinking it down to a manageable size. For some reason, the Hash Forums software does not like .m4v (MPEG-4) video. Lets give this new one a try. I am using the 19 January release of V16. Comparing your video with my result it looks to me like "turning on POSE" does nothing. Question: can't the IK constraint be done in the choreography window? Also, what about adding a target bone and leaving the foot pedestal attached to the chain? My system is a MacPro 8-core machine with 20GB or RAM. I don't see a link to a file. 397 MB would definitely be too big. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba Posted February 17, 2011 Author Share Posted February 17, 2011 I got it down to 10MB but it still wouldn't upload. I emailed it to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted February 17, 2011 Hash Fellow Share Posted February 17, 2011 10 MB may be too big for my mail box. Try putting it in a zip if the forum wont take it as an .mv4? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba Posted February 17, 2011 Author Share Posted February 17, 2011 Here is the 4 M version but it looks sort of fuzzy to me. Mailed you the same. IKChain.mov Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted February 17, 2011 Hash Fellow Share Posted February 17, 2011 OK, i was able to see that. I presume there was no sound - try saving the PRJ, closing it, then re-loading and see if the constraint works. I have found some occasions where the last constraint I make doesn't get recognized until i force a save. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba Posted February 17, 2011 Author Share Posted February 17, 2011 No I am sorry there was no sound. Quicktime X has screen capture but not audio recording (I don't think.) Anyway I don't have a microphone either. I will try the sequence again saving the PRJ this time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markw Posted February 17, 2011 Share Posted February 17, 2011 No I am sorry there was no sound. Quicktime X has screen capture but not audio recording (I don't think.) Anyway I don't have a microphone either. I will try the sequence again saving the PRJ this time. Qucktime X can record audio as well. When the small record window opens in Quicktime X, click on the little white triangle to the right of the central record button. This gives you a drop down menu for some settings including audio options. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba Posted February 18, 2011 Author Share Posted February 18, 2011 Whoa - cool. I guess I will have to buy a microphone. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba Posted February 18, 2011 Author Share Posted February 18, 2011 OK, i was able to see that. I presume there was no sound - try saving the PRJ, closing it, then re-loading and see if the constraint works. I have found some occasions where the last constraint I make doesn't get recognized until i force a save. I closed/saved the project after establishing the pose relationship. Re-opened the file and drug the lower body model into the Choreography window. Still doesn't work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted February 18, 2011 Hash Fellow Share Posted February 18, 2011 OK, i was able to see that. I presume there was no sound - try saving the PRJ, closing it, then re-loading and see if the constraint works. I have found some occasions where the last constraint I make doesn't get recognized until i force a save. I closed/saved the project after establishing the pose relationship. Re-opened the file and drug the lower body model into the Choreography window. Still doesn't work. Send me the PRJ that you saved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted February 18, 2011 Hash Fellow Share Posted February 18, 2011 the good news is it works fine here! the bad news is, i don't know why it's not working for you. Try this and see what happens: IKSeemsToBeWorking2.mov Also to try ....move the time slider to something other than 0:00 then move it back and see if the constraint works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba Posted February 18, 2011 Author Share Posted February 18, 2011 Strange, very strange. First of all, are we using the same version of A:M? Second, are there options/preferences that are unique to poses/constraints? Third, would you return the project just to see how it works on my system. Fourth, I don't know much about Community but it sounds like it might be a way for us to chart "real-time." If this is a "bug" in the Mac version of 16 I want to nail it so that Yoda64 can make the fix as soon as he can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba Posted February 18, 2011 Author Share Posted February 18, 2011 Robert - I tried to finish up the two nulls but my PWS looks strange. Also, there does seem to be some action with the constraints. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted February 18, 2011 Hash Fellow Share Posted February 18, 2011 I've sent your PRJ to you after a resave. I'm on PC and you're on Mac so there's that possible difference. I may have a slightly later build. But you're the only mac user so far that hasn't been able to get constraints to work. Install v15 and try your PRJ in that. You can have both installed. Copy the master0.lic file that is in the A:M folder over to the new install to enable it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted February 18, 2011 Hash Fellow Share Posted February 18, 2011 Robert - I tried to finish up the two nulls but my PWS looks strange. Also, there does seem to be some action with the constraints. The "Aim at" constraints are something you do to the upper leg bones not the lower ones. Also the nulls need to be added and placed in the model window rather than in the Pose window. That may be why they are regarded as "action objects" in your version. Not that that couldn't work but it's a bit non-standard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba Posted February 18, 2011 Author Share Posted February 18, 2011 I've sent your PRJ to you after a resave. Did you send it (the PRJ) yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba Posted February 18, 2011 Author Share Posted February 18, 2011 Thanks for the "Aim at" and null correction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba Posted February 18, 2011 Author Share Posted February 18, 2011 OK, I am posting two screen capture videos - one for the version 15.0j+ and one for the 19 January version 16rc 01. I could use some more eyes on but it looks to me that there is a definite problem with constraints not working in version 16. The exact same file was used in both cases; and is the same file that RobCat2075 used in his demos. v15_I_can_believe.mov V16_You_will_not_believe_this.mov In the version 15 video, would manipulator options keep the leg from moving all around the place? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeSlice Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 Maybe these two rigging tutorials will help. They were both done in A:M version 16. http://amfilms.hash.com/video/196/Building...irst-Rig-Part-1 http://amfilms.hash.com/video/300/Building...irst-Rig-Part-2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba Posted February 18, 2011 Author Share Posted February 18, 2011 Thanks Homeslice, but if there were made with the Windows version of version 16 you won't see the problem, as evidenced by RobCat2075's postings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeSlice Posted February 18, 2011 Share Posted February 18, 2011 Oh OK, so it's a Mac thing. Sorry, can't help with that one. Perhaps you should change the title of this thread to something like "Mac Rigging Issue" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted February 18, 2011 Hash Fellow Share Posted February 18, 2011 For now, can you get by with v15? V16 is really just a beta right now, but it's good to find these things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba Posted February 19, 2011 Author Share Posted February 19, 2011 Should I send it in to Yoda64 (you could send in your video for comparison.) Version 15.0j+ has one issue with titles in the Library, which I don't use anyway. So I will see how it goes with version 15. Homeslice - I downloaded your tutorials and will give them a study. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba Posted February 19, 2011 Author Share Posted February 19, 2011 How (why) did this get moved to this form from the Newbees? As I mentioned to someone, animation is my hobby not my profession, so I don't mind being on the "bleeding" edge of technology. Finds issues and helping to correct them gives me a sense of accomplishment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted February 19, 2011 Hash Fellow Share Posted February 19, 2011 Maybe because it's a genuine AM report thing and not new-guy-doesn't-know-what-he's-doing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted February 19, 2011 Hash Fellow Share Posted February 19, 2011 I'm looking at your two videos... In "v15 I can believe" the project has the title "WarhawkAlt6_TwoKeysAddedv15" and in the other vid the title is only "WarhawkAlt6_TwoKeysAdded" so there's some difference between the two. What changed... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba Posted February 19, 2011 Author Share Posted February 19, 2011 I'm looking at your two videos... In "v15 I can believe" the project has the title "WarhawkAlt6_TwoKeysAddedv15" and in the other vid the title is only "WarhawkAlt6_TwoKeysAdded" so there's some difference between the two. What changed... I simply re-named the file. It also allows me to have a PRJ file for each version. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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