7.12.13

Back to basics

A list of tools and where they are on Maya. I will update this as and when.

Shortcuts 

Alt W = Move tool
Alt E = Rotate tool
Alt R = Scale tool

Shift E – Set keyframe rotate
Shift R – Set keyframe scale
Shift W – Set keyframe translate

Shift and drag = Highlight timeline and right click snap

E & left mouse button = choose different rotate settings

Useful settings

Show > Nurb curves on

Preferences > Settings > keep keys at current frames = when the framerate is changed it adjusts it to match and keep to a whole frame.

Key Modified Attributes = Will only keyframes in the selected controller (ie translate X or Rotate Z)

Rotation Interpolation > New curve default > Quaternion = to prevent gimble lock where the rotation axis overlaps

Tangents > change tangents like auto, linar, stepped

Camera Sequencer > good selections for camera cuts in a scene.

Time Slider > Key ticks > selection for channel box will show only selected controller.

>Tick span = set to 1 and can see all frames numbered, 4 every 4th frame and 0 is default.

Playback > All = playback animation in all views

Set key options > Set keys at: prompt will transfer a key to another frame(s)

Graph editor

pin rotate or translate to keep showing on graph editor

Shift, Alt & right mouse button to stretch view in GE (like using F)

View > Buffer curves = outlines the last place the graph editor was

Breaking tangent – tangent > break tangents

Re-timing tool (stop watch icon) > double click to create a timer handle = space out to speed up an animation or slow down

Preferences > Settings > Animation > Graph editor: Snap value to adjacent keys

Cycle animation tips:

  • First and last frame the same
  • playback range – last frame off timeslider
  • 33 frames is good for breathing cycle, halfway (frame 17) for down
  • Graph editor – shift click on both first and last keys and hold shift to grab both out tangents and adjust
  • more important to get look rather than have clean values

Bake Cycle Animation

Getting an animation to stop after a walk cycle:

  1. highlight all character's controls and go to graph editor
  2. Graph editor > Curves > Baked Channel > reset settings
  3. set start and end time
  4. sample by > click sparse curve bake channel – to match the keys done already
  5. Bake
  6. Curves > Pre and post-infinity >constant
  7. done

Motion Trails

Animate > Create editable motion trail > reset settings > create

Highlight key on the screen to change keyframe of position

Turn on modify keys > put to 1 > click on screen to add a key frame > don't forget to turn off

Pinning keeps the control in view when de-selected

Beads on are useful




17.11.13

Horse walk wip

Very slowly getting there. Though far too many setbacks when I think I corrected something.

12.11.13

Walk cycles

Cats and horses do not have the same walk and maya doesn't like the keys moved around too much.

11.11.13

Workflow for quadrueped walk cycles

Samy Mandrake Fecih on the facebook group Bring your own Animation - London  posted up his workflow he uses and the video he uses to teach his students.
http://vimeo.com/79022941

I'm going to follow his video and try his way to make a walk cycle, as it will help my own and looks like it will be a lot quicker than the way I've been animating. If it's not, I will take some points that I like and use it with my own.

8.11.13

Horse walk test 2D

I used the Animators Survival guide book to produce this as a reference for myself in 2D.
I think the up and down movement is too much and shouldn't be as obvious unless the legs are pulled up higher and the head should be lower and more horizontal to the body. Although it does look like a foal (baby horse) and not an adult, which is not what I wanted as my model is of an adult horse.

But it served it's purpose to visualise the movements from these.