Friday, September 12, 2014

week 3 notes_weds

WEEK 3
WED:
1.        Session Goal: To familiarize you all with Maya’s animation tools and basic technical concepts such as rigging

2.        Fun Fact! Every piece of geometry has two nodes: a shape node and transform node
a.        The shape node is where the geometry’s structural information is stored and manipulated, such as the number of edge loops to make up the polygons
b.        The transform node is where the geometry’s special information is stored, such as its translation, rotation, scale, etc.

3.        Intro to rigging
a.        Create a joint chain
b.        it’s good to click and drag when selecting things (help to keep you from injuring your wrist)
c.        Naming conventions
                                                               i.      Very important especially as rigs and scenes become more complicated
1.        Basic naming convention: rootName_element_TYPE
a.        Ex: maleBG_body_GEO
2.        Complex: rootName_element_subElement_subElement01_sideOrientation_relativeOrientation_TYPE_#
a.        Ex: littleDaughter_eye_lash_wavyHair02_R_top_GEO_01
3.        Types examples:
a.        _GEO = geometry
b.        _CTRL = control
c.        _MAT = material
d.        _ETC…
                                                              ii.      Search and replace names on a joint chain
1.        Select the first joint >>> modify>>>Search and replace
d.        CTRL+shift shortcut creation
                                                               i.      adds shortcut buttons to your active shelf (try to only add to your custom shelf)
                                                              ii.      We did delete history, freeze transform, center pivot, and the outliner in class

e.        Pick walking
                                                               i.      When you have an object selected, press the up and down arrows to move up and down the hierarchy

f.         Basic Parenting
                                                               i.      Select the object you want as the child>>> then select the parent object>>> press P

g.        Constraints
                                                               i.      when creating contraints, the selection sequence is the opposite of basic parenting: you select the parent first then the child. 
                                                              ii.      Constraint nodes in the outliner appear as a red !
1.        parent constraint
2.        point
3.        aim
4.        orient
5.        scale
a.        expressions = purple =
b.       muted = brown –
c.        blended = green –
d.        constrained = blue
e.        locked = blue gray
f.         connected = yellow
g.        keyed = red
h.        nonkeyable = light gray
h.        Joint Attributes
                                                               i.      Will point down the hierarchy
                                                              ii.      Joint radius can be adjusted per by changing the radius attribute
1.        Global joint radius can be adjust by going to display>>>animation>>> joint size

i.         Skinning
                                                               i.      Create a joint chain
                                                              ii.      Create a plane and scale it so it spans the joint chain
1.        NOTE: do not change your plane’s subdivisions to 0! Some of you did this in class and it caused your mesh to not deform with the joint chain)
                                                            iii.      Delete history, freeze transformations, and center pivot on the mesh ONLY
                                                             iv.      Select the first joint in the chain and type “select –hi” (without quotes) into the command line
1.        Make sure the box to the left of the command line says MEL and not Python.  If it says Python just click that text
                                                              v.      Once all the joints are selected shift + select the plane geo
                                                             vi.      Skinning
1.        Animation set menu (or hold space for the hotbox shortcuts)>>>Skin>>>smooth bind options>>>

4.        Intro to Cycles
a.        Controllers
                                                               i.      The rig has 8 controller
1.        Root_MOVER – only translates the rig (from the waist)
2.        Hips_CTRL  - only rotates the waist
3.        PVC : pole vector constraints – these move the knees
4.        IKFK switches – switches the rig from IK mode to FK mode
5.        Foot – only translates the foot
6.        Ball Roll – keeps the toe on the ground, but picks up the heel
7.        Toe_Roll – pivots the whole foot from the tip of the toes
8.        Heel_Roll – pivtots the whole foot from the heel

b.        IK vs FK
                                                               i.      Inverse kinematics vs forward kinematics
1.        IK animation is when the child node effects the movement of the parent node
a.        E.g. you move the foot control and the knee and hips will follow
2.        FK animation is when the parent node effects the child node
3.        IKFK switch will blend your animation between IK and FK animation.

c.        Start the walk cycle
                                                               i.      The first and last frames must be exactly alike
                                                              ii.      Start with the contact poses, then move onto the in-betweens, then the finer interpolations

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

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