Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted August 31, 2011 Hash Fellow Share Posted August 31, 2011 Based on a suggestion by Rodney! EggBot_Warp.mov Basically... -Create a new Action for your model -in the Action create a new Distortion Box -in the D Box's properties select a "target" bone that is parent to all your model's mesh -edit the CPs of the D-Box to make the squshing you want -drop the Action on your model (previously animated to move around in the chor) -the D Box will normally move with the model, so it must be constrained to a Null in the chor to hold it in one place ( a place the model will pass thru) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Rodney Posted August 31, 2011 Admin Share Posted August 31, 2011 Gives a whole new meaning to the term "Squash and Stretch" does it not? Very nicely done Robert. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted August 31, 2011 Author Hash Fellow Share Posted August 31, 2011 Here's one more like Rodney's "funhouse mirror" concept, in wireframe view so you can see the DistortionBox... DboxWireB000.mov Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Rodney Posted August 31, 2011 Admin Share Posted August 31, 2011 You are getting very good at this... and perfectly demonstrated. I like how you've got the wireframe showing to demonstrate where the Distortion Cage is positioned. When I was experimenting with Distortion Cages my immediate goal (before I got distracted by something else shinier) was to have a super car peel out from a dead stop and take off like a bat out of hell. I was looking for Tex Avery style squash and stretch but realized I'd have to rig the wheels separately with a different set of Distortion cages to gain the full effect (distorting the body and tires separately). At that point I just set the experimentation with distortion cages aside for sometime later when it was actually needed. Added Off Topic: Something that I don't think we can do anymore in A:M but could before was to export sequential models (one for each frame) out of an Action. If you think about the results for a moment given Robert's current demo, this would create a distorted robot at it's current location for each frame in the action. I think we can still do this with .PLY format and perhaps a few others but not .MDL format. The beauty of having the .MDL format was that the rigs were still part of the exported/distorted/sequential models and could still be used with reusable actions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted August 31, 2011 Author Hash Fellow Share Posted August 31, 2011 You can still export the chor as a model. Models have their bones. You do have to run it through a text editor to fix name paths for constraints. However D boxes don't distort bones so bones may not be anywhere near where they need to be in the exported, distorted model. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Rodney Posted August 31, 2011 Admin Share Posted August 31, 2011 You can still export the chor as a model. Models have their bones. You do have to run it through a text editor to fix name paths for constraints. One at a time though right? Not one exported model for each frame of animation automatically? However D boxes don't distort bones so bones may not be anywhere near where they need to be in the exported, distorted model. Here I was interested in only the final distorted mesh with the original bones. Think of Bruce Banner morphing into the Hulk... with A:M spitting out a model for each frame in the transformation. As the export was all or nothing, usually what I'd do is pick every sixth model created in the sequence and delete the rest. My thought at the time was to use these key poses/models to move into and out of. Sorry... we are straying off topic. Back to Distortion Boxes. There use to be an online tutorial for basic Distortion but it went away with the move to the new server. I think the content from that is distilled in Holme's tutorial on Animated Distortion Cages however. Page 209 of the Technical Reference has a short write up which hints at the power of Nested Distortion Cages: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bigboote Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 When I was experimenting with Distortion Cages my immediate goal (before I got distracted by something else shinier) was to have a super car peel out from a dead stop and take off like a bat out of hell. I was looking for Tex Avery style squash and stretch but realized I'd have to rig the wheels separately with a different set of Distortion cages to gain the full effect (distorting the body and tires separately). At that point I just set the experimentation with distortion cages aside for sometime later when it was actually needed. Funny you should mention a cartoony car... I remember when I first saw the distortion box feature that is exactly what i did... make an exaggerated peel-out. Here is a movie i made back in (sounding like an old man now)... back in 2004!!! I don't believe I distorted it using this new method... I did it in a pose and had a slider for squash-stretch... takeoff.mov Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bigboote Posted August 31, 2011 Share Posted August 31, 2011 Basically... -Create a new Action for your model -in the Action create a new Distortion Box -in the D Box's properties select a "target" bone that is parent to all your model's mesh -edit the CPs of the D-Box to make the squshing you want -drop the Action on your model (previously animated to move around in the chor) -the D Box will normally move with the model, so it must be constrained to a Null in the chor to hold it in one place ( a place the model will pass thru) THANKS ROB! I would have never figured all that out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Rodney Posted August 31, 2011 Admin Share Posted August 31, 2011 Hey, I remember that cartoon spin out. What was the main character's name... Bombob? Now those were some fun characters! In my wanderings I stumbled across this image where David Walker was experimenting with Distortion Boxes for use in "Tin Woodsman of Oz". I don't recall them being used in the final facial rigs but the tests sure produced some nice extremes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Rodney Posted August 31, 2011 Admin Share Posted August 31, 2011 ...and here is another oldy but goody that expands upon the Tech Ref write up! http://www.hash.com/daily_dose/feature_foc...istortionboxes/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsjustme Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 Great tests! It is a very powerful feature. In my wanderings I stumbled across this image where David Walker was experimenting with Distortion Boxes for use in "Tin Woodsman of Oz". I don't recall them being used in the final facial rigs but the tests sure produced some nice extremes: None of the TinWoodsman of Oz faces used Distortion Boxes (they were either bone or muscle movement). They can be added to a character easy enough, but there was some aspect that made them difficult to standardize in an installable rig...if I'm remembering correctly. That may not have been the reason though...the rig design and installation process went very quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bigboote Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 Yeah... it works rather well. This needs be explored further. Thanks for the instructions, Rob! The only hitch I encountered was when i made an action, I thought all I had to do was to go into distortion mode and I would see a 'select target' option in the properties... it took me a minute to try 'New/Distort'... Here is my initial test on Marcos soccer ball... SoccerBallDistorto.mov Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Rodney Posted September 1, 2011 Admin Share Posted September 1, 2011 Here is my initial test on Marcos soccer ball... A very cool and subtle effect. I'm not sure if anyone looking at that without prior knowledge would have any idea that a distortion box was used to get that effect. They'd be guessing how you did it. IMO that generally is the absolute best kind of effect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted September 1, 2011 Author Hash Fellow Share Posted September 1, 2011 I believe it is also possible to assign the CPs of D Boxes to bones so you don't have to animate them directly in muscle mode. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyGormezano Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 I believe it is also possible to assign the CPs of D Boxes to bones so you don't have to animate them directly in muscle mode. This looks to be more useful to animate, as well as makes it easier to reset the distortion. Probably only need to assign the "middle" cp's of the DB to bones (top, right, left, front, back, bottom) EDIT: What I have also found is that one doesn't have to use the original action that was used to create the original DB action object. It appears once a DB has been created, one can drag the DB to any chor action and animate the DB bones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Forwood Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 Just my little test: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mouseman Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 I thought of a subtle use for distortion boxes. For a vehicle, use a distortion box to make the tires flatten slightly on the ground. If the distortion box stays still, the part of the wheel touching the ground is always distorted a bit. Variations can be done to simulate a tire that is slightly low on air. Edit: I wikified some of the info above in an existing page. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsjustme Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 I thought of a subtle use for distortion boxes. For a vehicle, use a distortion box to make the tires flatten slightly on the ground. If the distortion box stays still, the part of the wheel touching the ground is always distorted a bit. Variations can be done to simulate a tire that is slightly low on air. Edit: I wikified some of the info above in an existing page. Yessir, that is a great use, Chris. Thanks for adding that to the Wiki! I'm going to try to do that as well...I think we all should, it would greatly add to the online documentation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason1025 Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 Anyone willing to do a quick vid tut on this subject? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bigboote Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 What software is preferred for the vid-tuts, again? HOW can I get the action/new distort box to have more grid sections... I tried changing it in the Tools/Options/Modeling tab but it did not take... is it only the default distortion box (3rows X 3 rows) ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Rodney Posted September 2, 2011 Admin Share Posted September 2, 2011 HOW can I get the action/new distort box to have more grid sections... I tried changing it in the Tools/Options/Modeling tab but it did not take... is it only the default distortion box (3rows X 3 rows) ? In the original Distortion Box's properties (under Objects in the PWS) look for the Resolution setting. You can then change the number of CPs in the box in the X, Y and Z settings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bigboote Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 Yup- you guys amaze me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bigboote Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 Here is that clip I saw where a similar feature is touted as 'new' in Cinema4DR12... theirs is more of a 2D mesh warp like you would see in AfterEffects... OURS is actually much, much more versatile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bigboote Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 This effect works better on rounded splines rather than peaked splines... (example of peaked text.) I guess this would be a case where more denser geometry would react better... TextDistorto.mov Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted September 2, 2011 Author Hash Fellow Share Posted September 2, 2011 This effect works better on rounded splines rather than peaked splines... (example of peaked text.) I guess this would be a case where more denser geometry would react better... How about if you put that Text MDL out through a PLY export with maximum subdivision and reimported it to a new model? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bigboote Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 How about if you put that Text MDL out through a PLY export with maximum subdivision and reimported it to a new model? Yow! Good idea! I'll give it a twirl after the holiday... HAPPY LABOR DAY, Americanos! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bigboote Posted September 6, 2011 Share Posted September 6, 2011 How about if you put that Text MDL out through a PLY export with maximum subdivision and reimported it to a new model? Yow! Good idea! I'll give it a twirl after the holiday... HAPPY LABOR DAY, Americanos! Rob's idea to put the A:M text into a polygonal exporter was a good one... TextDistorto.mov Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason1025 Posted September 6, 2011 Share Posted September 6, 2011 How about if you put that Text MDL out through a PLY export with maximum subdivision and reimported it to a new model? Yow! Good idea! I'll give it a twirl after the holiday... HAPPY LABOR DAY, Americanos! Rob's idea to put the A:M text into a polygonal exporter was a good one... it worked perfectly for that application. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason1025 Posted September 6, 2011 Share Posted September 6, 2011 Hey Rob. Can you make a quick vid tutorial on how to do this distortion stuff? After all I cast a spell that fixed your netrender issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted September 6, 2011 Author Hash Fellow Share Posted September 6, 2011 Rob's idea to put the A:M text into a polygonal exporter was a good one... What exporter did you use? I tried PLY and i couldn't get the corners not get rounded when I brought it back in, no matter what setting I used for the "peak if greater than" angle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyGormezano Posted September 6, 2011 Share Posted September 6, 2011 Rob's idea to put the A:M text into a polygonal exporter was a good one... That looks terrific Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bigboote Posted September 6, 2011 Share Posted September 6, 2011 I believe twas the OBJ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted September 6, 2011 Author Hash Fellow Share Posted September 6, 2011 I believe twas the OBJ. I always get rounded corners like this... What settings are you using? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted September 6, 2011 Author Hash Fellow Share Posted September 6, 2011 Hey Rob. Can you make a quick vid tutorial on how to do this distortion stuff? After all I cast a spell that fixed your netrender issue. Well, it ain't quick... Passing_Thru_a_Distortion_Box.mov Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtpeak2 Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 I believe twas the OBJ. I always get rounded corners like this... What settings are you using? I think he peaked the cps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason1025 Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 Your the best Rob! After I asked you I felt a little bad for doing so. I thought I was being lazy. But now that I see how involved it is I feel you were the perfect man for the job. This is a much needed tutorial for a powerful yet lessor known feature of AM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agep Posted September 7, 2011 Share Posted September 7, 2011 Well, it ain't quick... Passing_Thru_a_Distortion_Box.mov Premium tutorial as always Robert, you are the best! I need to start collect them all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hash Fellow robcat2075 Posted September 7, 2011 Author Hash Fellow Share Posted September 7, 2011 After I asked you I felt a little bad for doing so. That spell better keep working.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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