Questions about actions

[Roger]

When exactly do you want to use an action? I have a bit of confusion as to when you would want to use them. I am guessing something like walk or run cycles would best be handled by an action, while blinks, winks or hand clenches could be driven by pose sliders.

 

Am I correct in assuming that most animation you are (in general) going to want to do pose-to-pose in the choreography?

[John Bigboote]

YES, you have the general idea correct!

[robcat2075]

Am I correct in assuming that most animation you are (in general) going to want to do pose-to-pose in the choreography?

 

Yes. Almost all.

[Vertexspline]

So what's the best or most used things one would do in actions? are they only the walk and run cycles?

[thumperness]

So what's the best or most used things one would do in actions? are they only the walk and run cycles?

 

Most anything that cycles or happens more than a couple times. I'm thinking about a bunch of contraptions that will load an arrow into an archery bow, draw, and fire multiple times during an animation. Each time I want it to load and fire, I'll just drop the action onto it so all I have to do then is change it's target and trajectory.

 

Or maybe think Gladus Knight(sp) and the Pips. Animate 1 Pip in an action, then drop the action on the others and they will all fall into sinc. (Assuming flocking won't do the job)

 

Your milage may vary...

 

If there are better ways of doing what I have descibed, I'm very open to suggestions.

[robcat2075]

When people were inventing CG animation they probably thought the tricks and shortcuts of 2D would transfer well, but unfortunately they don't hold up. There's something about the preciseness of CG that makes exact repetition more painfully obvious than in hand drawn animation.

 

Extreme repetition was pretty rare in fine animation anyway, it was TV limited animation that sort of got us to accept the notion of characters just walking and walking and walking while they talked. Think of all the walking and talking scenes in Scooby Doo.

 

If you consider well-done animated features like Disney was doing in the 90's they just don't have shots like that. They're stories are more visual so the need for characters to deliver long verbal dialogs ( and yet appear to be not completely still) is greatly reduced.

 

 

I'm thinking about a bunch of contraptions that will load an arrow into an archery bow, draw, and fire multiple times during an animation. Each time I want it to load and fire, I'll just drop the action onto it so all I have to do then is change it's target and trajectory.

 

That's a good candidate.

 

Or maybe think Gladus Knight(sp) and the Pips. Animate 1 Pip in an action, then drop the action on the others and they will all fall into sinc.

 

That too.

 

Actions like that made the parade scene in TWO possible. Ken Heslip created an action for the leg motion that was used on all teh band members and then created upper body actions for each of the instruments they played. Mark created actions for the bystanders too.

 

Crowd scenes are a good venue for actions.

 

To make the band members less robotic many of them are offset by a frame or two from their neighbors. that helped loosen it up a bit.

[Vertexspline]

ok --thanks that all makes sense.

 

Funny ---from the outset I always thought I would be doing more in the action tab. But I agree --Robert- repetitions are all so more obvious in 3d work and so the precision of more independent and precise animation becomes much more important to be done in the Chor.

[robcat2075]

Funny ---from the outset I always thought I would be doing more in the action tab. But I agree --Robert- repetitions are all so more obvious in 3d work and so the precision of more independent and precise animation becomes much more important to be done in the Chor.

 

Also... the biggest reason to animate in the chor is that you can see how the camera sees your animation. That's all the audience will see and you need to look good for that viewpoint.

[Vertexspline]

As I slowly get more into things and start actually making some scenes to animate ...I do have to always keep that major principle in my head --The camera's view. (The audience view) . So thanks for that reminder Robert.

 

That's what makes this stuff so challenging yet so neat and fulfilling. There are so many facets , so many details to attend to , sometimes seemingly overly so. That is why I marvel at some of the things I see done here. I appreciate the work , the details put in.

 

Actually, anyone who tries their hand at animation in 3d ( besides being a little wacky for trying) is given one advantage over those who have not - a deeper appreciation of the craft and those who dwell within.

[Fuchur]

I started to do more with Poses than I did before.

For example you can create a quite nice walk-cycle with a pose and it is easier to handle different and blending speed with that, than with normal actions. It is however only a matter of taste, if you ask me...

 

Still I like "Pose-Cycles" more than Action-Cycles... the disadvantages is, that A:M won't handle the step-length for you like you can do with a path and the "Stride Length"-Features.

 

See you

*Fuchur*