United3dArtists Archive

jeffroig · Post by **jeffroig** » 25 May 2009, 13:39

Just finished modeling this original character for an upcoming animation.

Finis · Post by **Finis** » 25 May 2009, 14:41

How did you do his hair?

Will you use TS for the animation?

jeffroig · Post by **jeffroig** » 25 May 2009, 15:26

I used a bolean subtraction operation and used a plane as the subtracting piece to separate a area of his head from the rest. I then used an old plugin that was originaly for TS4.3 by primitiveitch called hair plugin 1.2 and used Z faces only.
Next are morphs for the following actions.
Mouth, eyes open and closed, brows up and down, misc facial expressions, hair movement, belly bounce and chest bounce.

jeffroig · Post by **jeffroig** » 25 May 2009, 18:58

Here is a test video of beach bum bob walking.
Pay attention to the belly and hair, this is done with a morph target.
<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/-tQISjDgys0&hl ... ram><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/-tQISjDgys0&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>[/youtube]

jeffroig · Post by **jeffroig** » 25 May 2009, 21:47

Here is yet another render of facial expressions.
All parts are able to be animated including ears and clothing can be animated separate from body.<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Aa9oIHRfe4w&hl ... ram><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Aa9oIHRfe4w&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>[/youtube]

3dfrog · Post by **3dfrog** » 25 May 2009, 22:16

Very nice Jeff. Are you doing the face morphs on model side??? What are you using to create the face morphs? Great looking character. I like his belly and big floppy feet.

Post by **WIZARD** » 26 May 2009, 03:55

Looking good Jeff - he's a character with character (sort of reminds me of 'The Dude' from The Big Lebowski). Nice walk cycle the belly and hair bounces are great.

jeffroig · Post by **jeffroig** » 26 May 2009, 10:52

As for the facial morphs, I used a program called Argile. you can find a trial version of it at http://www.n-sided.com" . It works perfect with TS. You will have to export your model as a OBJ, but when you import it back into TS you will find that it is in the same location as the original part you exported and the size is exactly the same. Its a great piece of software, after trying MUdbox and Zbrush I stumbled upon Argile and it works great. It has a user interface that looks like Poser and is very straight forward. It is not just for sculpting, but it also does texture maping, 3d painting. I mainly use it just for the sculpting of it. Try it and you will see that it will make a world of difference in you modeling.

Délé · Post by **Délé** » 26 May 2009, 13:47

I agree, it's looking good Jeff.

Did you rig and animate him in tS also? Did you use the new IK2 in the 7.61 release?

jeffroig · Post by **jeffroig** » 26 May 2009, 16:36

The model itself in OBJ format is the complete morph.
Using Argile allows you to create a morph over a period of time.
When exported into your favorite application the morph becomes available through the time line and allows you to adjust it.
Its like dealing with one model that has several shapes that you can adjust on the fly.
I would suggest taking a look at Argile and see what you think.
I have using it now for about 8 months and I had several other people ask what I used in the past and as much as I wanted to say I couldnt until I was able to use to completely myself and understand how it works.
I like to be able to not only tell the person what it is by explain to them how it is used.

jeffroig · Post by **jeffroig** » 26 May 2009, 16:38

Sorry I forgot to add I use TrueSpace 6.6, I tried 7.6 and I didnt like all the extra stuff in it or the extra amount of HD space it takes up.

3dfrog · Post by **3dfrog** » 26 May 2009, 19:34

That looks like a great program to create morph targets with. I just have no idea how you are applying the morphs with morph targets in ts. Are you using a plugin for that? I don't see any native options there.

jeffroig · Post by **jeffroig** » 26 May 2009, 20:10

You have to export it out as an OBJ from Argile and then bring it in to TS.
The morphs will be attached to the object through the Hierachy and allow you to adjust them.

jeffroig · Post by **jeffroig** » 26 May 2009, 22:55

What would a beach bum be without a starfish. Here is a sample of a starfish, it doesnt use any bones to move, its all done with morph targets. Take a look, I will in the hopefully near future put together a tutorial on how to use morph targets. Until then please be patient and continue to ask your questions, I will be happy to answer. <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/nmcAXK_xCbU&hl ... ram><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/nmcAXK_xCbU&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>[/youtube]

Steinie · Post by **Steinie** » 26 May 2009, 23:33

So can this Starfish Morph and have a walk cycle at the same time?
Was that the technique for the bouncing belly?
Can this Morph be used with the new bone system or old?
You've got my interest!!!

jeffroig · Post by **jeffroig** » 26 May 2009, 23:35

I am not sure if I included this information in any of my previous posts, so I thought I might share this information.
Beach bum bob took about 3 1/2 hours to design and the reason why: I have created a vast library of body parts in all sizes and shapes and I have base models that I developed that I work from, while each face/head is designed from scratch I will re-use body parts, legs, arms, torso, feet etc... and just resize them or sculpt them to fit the character. For years I designed everything from scratch and each character was a whole new model. Then I found that I was repeating myself in most occasions and decided to create a library of parts from characters I had previously designed. This method saves time and my work flow is much better. I would suggest that you do the same as it will save a lot of time in the end.
The star fish took less than an hour to design and animate, how hard is it to take a sphere and pull points and then squash to create the desired look.
I am also looking for people to help out with a project, if you are interested you can email me at jeffroig@yahoo.com or just post a reply here.

jeffroig · Post by **jeffroig** » 26 May 2009, 23:40

Hey Steine,
The starfish walks by using morphs and not a bone system as this creates a more fluid motion to the animation. The belly on Bob is set so that when the hip sways one way it goes down while the other way it goes up. The morphs work in TS 6.6, I am not sure about other versions as I have not tried it.

Post by **Mr. 3d** » 27 May 2009, 21:47

Someone get BoB a beer !!!

jeffroig · Post by **jeffroig** » 27 May 2009, 22:27

Someone throw one in the garbage can so he can get it.

3dfrog · Post by **3dfrog** » 27 May 2009, 22:58

A tutorial on 6.6 morphs with morph targets would be great! I still have no idea how you are doing it. I downloaded the argile software trial, man thats some cool software!!!

Steinie · Post by **Steinie** » 27 May 2009, 23:40

I admit this is a different approach for me too. We need to be educated!
Is there a time limit on the free demo? What are the limitations?

jeffroig · Post by **jeffroig** » 28 May 2009, 01:40

Once I get some project out of my way I will be able to put together a tutorial on how I use it.
Here is a link to the limitations of the trial version of Argile http://www.n-sided.com/3D/demo.php?txt=argile

jeffroig · Post by **jeffroig** » 28 May 2009, 02:01

Here is yet another character. I dont do animals much. I am still working on this one and then will be time for the morphs.<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/uOPa_e3zW38&hl ... ram><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/uOPa_e3zW38&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>[/youtube]

jeffroig · Post by **jeffroig** » 13 Jun 2009, 13:35

After several request to know how I create the morphs and apply them I will now give a very brief tutorial on this process.
You will need the following tools for this TrueSpace and Argile
1) Create your base model in TrueSpace, I use 6.6.
2) Export your base model out as a OBJ format.
3) Import your base model into Argile and begin transforming it the way you want.
4) Export your work from Argile in OBJ format.
NOTE: to make this all work correctly you want to export gradual variation at a time, you may end up with 50+ models that you export.
5) Import the obj file into your scene in TS, good thing to remember is this, that when you import the object back into TS that it will be the exact size and position as it was when you exported it.
6) Render off your scene and save it as an image file for example: Frame_001.tga,Frame_002.tga etc...You will need to import and render a new frame for each model variation you have created.
Animation is just a series of still images put together to create a motion.
Once you have all your frames exported you will need to combine them back into a AVI or MPG file or whatever you use.
I use VirtualDub to combine all the images and I dont use any compression until the final product which is produced in Adobe Premiere.
The advantage you have on doing single frames is that if you have one frame that get messed up you can easily render a single frame off where as with and AVI or MPG you will need to create it all over again.
One more advantage is that while it may seem quicker to do a AVI while it is creating the AVI there is some information that is stripped from it that is not stripped from the still image.
ALWAYS MAKE SURE YOU BACKUP YOUR WORK ON A REGULAR BASIS.

Jack Edwards · Post by **Jack Edwards** » 13 Jun 2009, 15:46

Jeff, why not use the Morph mesh modifier in Workspace? It stores poses and lets you keyframe blends between them?

You can load the obj files into different morph poses for the same mesh as long as they are the same geometry. It requires a bit of link editor work but Noko used to do this for his Poser models all the time.

Steinie · Post by **Steinie** » 13 Jun 2009, 16:54

Jeff works on the Modeler side for one of the answers.
The reason I want to know this procedure is because as you say
"It requires a bit of link editor work"
If the controls aren't there I'm not interested. If someone would like
to design a complete set of morphing tools, sliders etc. I would be interested.

Thanks for the quick tutorial Jeff.
P.S. Rocky said to say "YO"

Jack Edwards · Post by **Jack Edwards** » 13 Jun 2009, 17:20

The morphs have sliders Steinie.

The link editor part is connecting the Mesh output from the imported OBJ to the Mesh input on the Morph that you want to match. I'm not entirely sure how to do it myself, so we'll need to get noko to write a tutorial. It was fairly straight forward if I remember correctly.

Could be worth writing a plugin to automate the process.

jeffroig · Post by **jeffroig** » 14 Jun 2009, 00:06

Wow,
Its seems like I have started something here.
I would love to see a plugin to aid in this process.
I will make a deal out there to the person that writes a plugin to do this.
I will write a in-depth tutorial with video content on the process between TS and Argile and how I achieve the effects that I use and will post it on youtube for all to view.
This would be a great addition.

Jack Edwards · Post by **Jack Edwards** » 14 Jun 2009, 03:12

Probably can even be automated with script and might not need a plugin. Need to see from Noko how he did it first though. It was on the beta forums that he demonstrated it, and those are gone now.

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