Can I use TSM?

[josema]

Hi folks:

 

Some time ago, I purchased the Set up Machine but have not been able to use it as much as I would like to.

 

With this said, I'm building a Sea turtle character and am in the process of rigging it. My question is, can I use the setup machine for this? The reason why I ask is because although I'm using the naming of bones that TSM will understand, the anatomy is quite different. To better illustrate this, I've included a picture of the model in bones mode and the PWS with the names given to the bones used. You will notice that it has two shoulder bones (designated one and two), and the back fins have strange proportions as far as bones are concerned.

 

I am really lost with this, so any suggestions or input you guys can give will be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks in advanced.

[Morgan]

Unusual proportions are generally not a problem, but TSM isn't designed to support multiple shoulders within one arm. "Right shoulder 1," "2," etc. may appear to follow a general TSM naming convention, but the shoulder isn't one of the areas where that convention applies. You might try repositioning the shoulder to about where your shoulder3 is, and seeing if that's enough. If it isn't, and you really need that many joints, then you'll probably want to use a tail instead.

 

For the lower limbs, my question would be whether or not the character is going to walk on them. If not, then you really don't need legs, per se -- you might consider switching them to arms, or again, tails. The TSM legs are IK based, and that's probably not what you want if this is actually a swimming character.

 

Overall, whether this will work with TSM depends on what you're going for. But as long as you don't save over your pre-rigged version, there's no reason you can't just run it through TSM and see how it looks. If it's not what you wanted, you can always go back, change your pre-rigged model, and try again.

 

Hope that helps, but if you have any more questions, feel free to ask.

-Morgan

[josema]

Mostly he will be swimming and not walking, so you're right in your suggestion. I'm going to do a few tests following your suggestions. Thank you Morgan for your help.