 | | | An idea to a path | An idea to a path 2004-05-06 - By Vincent Brumback
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Forgive me if you already know this.
You can draw out a spline and use the curve to path tool to turn the
spline into a path. There are also curve conversion options to
determine how the keyframes are divided between the spline points.
Tweaking the spline before converting it will be a lot simpler as there
are way less control points to contend with.
Cheers,
Vincent D. Brumback
-- -- Original Message -- --
From: Dave Angelini <mailto:dpangelini@(protected)>
To: truespace@(protected) <mailto:truespace@(protected)>
Sent: Thursday, May 06, 2004 6:25 AM
Subject: [TSML] An idea to a path
One of the biggest stumbling blocks for me is the creation of complex
paths that go "exactly" where I want them to go during all frames of the
animation. True...you can keyframe in the major parts, but invariably
there is something that happens in how the entire path gets created from
those key frames which always result in some tweaking...and
tweaking....and then even more tweaking.
So I had this idea pop into my head while I was creating a skeleton in
Motion Studio.
Wouldn't it be neat to create an animation path in a similar manner to
how Motion Studio creates IK chains using bones. With MoStu, you can
quickly create long IK chains and then push and pull them around in 3D
space to form whatever path you desire. It is very intuitive and
responsive and you quickly get a perspective on where that chain lies in
3D space. What's best is that fine adjustments are possible for each
and every link in that IK chain.
So in an analogy to creating 3D IK chains, why couldn't this same method
be used to create 3D animation paths? Rather than bones, you use path
segments with each segment representing some number of framess. The
joints represent the major key frames. But like bones, you can grab
these individual segments and push and pull them around and have the
entire path respond in exactly the same manner that a MoStu IK chain
responds.
What would be even neater is to actually use the MoStu IK chains to
create this path, and then have it converted to an animation path for
that IK chain. That way, every link in the MoStu IK chain would follow
that path! This would be a great way to animate snakes, tentacles,
water flows, etc.
Just a thought.
Thanks,
Dave Angelini
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<DIV style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">
<DIV>Forgive me if you already know this.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>You can draw out a spline and use the curve to path tool to turn the
spline
into a path. There are also curve conversion options to determine how the
keyframes are divided between the spline points. Tweaking the spline
before converting it will be a lot simpler as there are way less control points
to contend with.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Cheers,</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Vincent D. Brumback</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT:
#000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">-- -- Original Message -- -- </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>From:</B> <A
href="mailto:dpangelini@(protected)">Dave Angelini</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
href="mailto:truespace@(protected)">truespace@(protected)</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Thursday, May 06, 2004 6:25
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> [TSML] An idea to a path</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>One of the biggest stumbling blocks for me is the creation of complex
paths that go "exactly" where I want them to go during all frames of the
animation. True...you can keyframe in the major parts, but invariably
there is something that happens in how the entire path gets created from
those
key frames which always result in some tweaking...and tweaking....and then
even more tweaking.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>So I had this idea pop into my head while I was creating a skeleton in
Motion Studio.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Wouldn't it be neat to create an animation path in a similar
manner to how Motion Studio creates IK chains using bones. With
MoStu, you can quickly create long IK chains and then push and pull them
around in 3D space to form whatever path you desire. It is very
intuitive and responsive and you quickly get a perspective on where that
chain lies in 3D space. What's best is that fine adjustments are
possible for each and every link in that IK chain. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>So in an analogy to creating 3D IK chains, why couldn't this same method
be used to create 3D animation paths? Rather than bones, you use path
segments with each segment representing some number of framess. The
joints represent the major key frames. But like bones, you can grab
these individual segments and push and pull them around and have the entire
path respond in exactly the same manner that a MoStu IK chain responds.
</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>What would be even neater is to actually use the MoStu IK chains to
create this path, and then have it converted to an animation path for that IK
chain. That way, every link in the MoStu IK chain would follow
that
path! This would be a great way to animate snakes, tentacles, water
flows, etc.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Just a thought.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Thanks,</DIV>
<DIV>Dave Angelini</DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV></BODY></HTML>
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