Path contrained to a not flat ground

[JohnP]

I have followed exercise 5 "Take a Walk" and everything works fine. I made walk action for Rabbit and then used it after creating a path for rabbit to walk on and everything was fine. I even used a 'stock' action and still everything was fine. As I experimented with actions using a path I chose a new ground (the ground that is slightly hilly that comes with AM) and then applied the path and Rabbit (as well as other actors) to the path with a walk action, his feet are in the ground and NOT on the serface of the ground. I have tried constraining rabbit to the surface of the ground; I have tried constraining the path to the ground but I cannot get rabbit to follow the path AND be on the surface of the ground (that is not flat). Aaarg. What am I missing? I have searched the forums with key words of [path ground constraint] and find nothing useful to try. Thanks a head of time for any assistance.

[Rodney]

It would help considerably if you could collect your project (Embed or Consolidate all important parts) and share it with us. Then we can see exactly what you are seeing and optimally resolve the problem.

 

Without knowing more specifically, I see two approaches immediately available to you:

 

1. Pursue Surface Constraints

2. Use the Surface as the Path Constraint

 

There are topics here in the forum on both of these but I'm not sure how easy they'll be to find. If someone doesn't have a reference handy I'll try to ferret it out. (Edit: Here someone else was pursuing info about Surface Constraints and the Tech Ref has some good info on it at page 88)

 

The easiest in my opinion is number 2 but... for that to work ideally a part of your surface needs to be the intended path. Applying a Path Constraint to a grid line will have the Object/Character only moving up and down over the surface while following that straight line... not the ideal in most situations.

[markw]

I think this might be a good example of choosing the right technique for different situations.

Whilst walk cycles can work on the flat, as in "Take A Walk", over an irregular and or sloping surface strait ahead animating, pose to pose would be better, taking care that each footfall has popper contact with the ground and that the correct body angle is maintained. Think this may give much better results.

To use the spline-path method from the "Take A Walk" exercise the path would have to follow exactly the same undulations as the ground Rabbit is walking on and there would still be no guaranty of the feet hitting the ground properly.

[Fuchur]

I think this might be a good example of choosing the right technique for different situations.

Whilst walk cycles can work on the flat, as in "Take A Walk", over an irregular and or sloping surface strait ahead animating, pose to pose would be better, taking care that each footfall has popper contact with the ground and that the correct body angle is maintained. Think this may give much better results.

To use the spline-path method from the "Take A Walk" exercise the path would have to follow exactly the same undulations as the ground Rabbit is walking on and there would still be no guaranty of the feet hitting the ground properly.

 

You used a Surface-Constraint and a Path-Constraint, right? If both didnt work you may want to try a surface-constraint with a pose-slider-walk-cycle...

 

See you

*Fuchur*

[robcat2075]

Welcome to the forum JohnP!

 

I have tried constraining the path to the ground but I cannot get rabbit to follow the path AND be on the surface of the ground (that is not flat).

 

AFAIK, you dont' really constrain a path to a surface. A path is a spline and you would have to manually shape that spline to follow your ground surface. (There is a tool coming in v17 that will conform a spline to another mesh's shape.)

 

However, the path constraint itself is a fairly basic thing, it moves an object through space along a path, it's not aware of character animation issues like re-posing feet or a character's posture to accommodate walking up or down an incline.

 

I remember sitting through a Softimage demonstration several years ago where they showed a path constraint that was a bit more aware of this than A:M's. But it still didn't look right. It would not have been acceptable for anything but the most undemanding pre-vis work.

 

In finer animation most walks, inclined or otherwise, will be posed out step-by-step.