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1.
Introduction:
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AdvancedSkeleton
is a collection of Maya tools for doing character setup.
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Main Features:
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Unlimited body
configurations, 3 heads, 5 legs, 100 fingers, & anything
goes.
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You can at any time
go from AdvancedSkeleton, back to the FitSkeleton, make changes,
and rebuild.
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SelectorDesigner,
tool that lets you easily create custom `Selector` user
interfaces.
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AnimationLibrary,
tool for storing and retrieving poses and animation.
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FaceSetup allows
quick setup of both realistic and cartoony faces.
2.
Installation:
Option
1: Run the AdvancedSkeleton.exe file
(*windows
only)
- Choose the
Destination Folder
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NOTE: destination
folder must be your Maya user directory
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e.g.:
C:\Users\$user\Documents\maya\2013\
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Finish installation.
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Option
2: Manually copy the
files:
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files are located in the Manual_Install
folder
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Copy
the files and folder to your Maya user directory, and make sure
to preserve the icons/scripts/shelves folder structure.
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(Windows)
C:\Documents and Settings\$user\My Documents\maya\2013\
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(Mac OSX)
/Users/$user/Library/Preferences/Autodesk/maya/2013/
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(Linux)
/home/$user/maya/2013/
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Mac OSX note:
    The "Library" folder is hidden on Mac,
    To get to it Option-click the Go Menu in the Finder and choose Library
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After installation,
start Maya, and you will find a new Shelf called
'advancedSkeleton`
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3.
Overview:
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The key functionality
of AdvancedSkeleton is to:
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Generate a complex
motion system (AdvancedSkeleton) from a simple joint chain
(FitSkeleton)
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Joints that are on
the `negative X` side of origin, gets read as the characters
right side,
and will mirror these to the left side.
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The following
information gets read from the FitSkeleton joints:
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names, positions,
rotations, rotation axis, rotation orders.
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It also reads the
following from the joints to determine the high level controls:
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labels and
dependencyGraph input/output connections.
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The following joint
labels will create high level controls:
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FitSkeleton
joint labels:
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AdvancedSkeleton
high level controls:
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"Hand"
& "Shoulder"
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Arm IK
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"Hip"
& "Foot"
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Leg IK
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"LegAim"
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3 bone (dog
leg) IK
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"Heel",
"Ball" & "Toe"
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FootRoll system
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"BigToe"
& "PinkyToe"
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Foot
rock-side-to-side system
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"Root"
& "Chest" (optional:"Mid")
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Spine IK
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"Eye"
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Look at.. aim
system
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"0",
"1", "2", etc..
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Spline IK. (for
tails, trunk, ponytails, etc.)
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FitTools also let you
add the following attributes to the FitSkeleton:
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"TwistJoints"
: will generate joints for distributing twist rotation along
a bone.
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"Global"
: will generate a control for maintaining world space
orientation.
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"FreeOrient"
: will preserve joints orientation, instead of auto orienting to
X down.
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dependencyGraph
input/output connections:
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AdvancedSkeleton will
read any input/output connections from the FitSkeleton joints,
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and recreates the
dependencyNodes on both left & right side on the
AdvancedSkeleton.
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A example of this is
on the yellow “Fingers” curve in the "biped"
FitSkeleton template,
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This is a simple
set-driven-keys setup, and it gets read by AdvancedSkeleton,
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and implemented in
the full rig.
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You can create your
own custom attributes to control any parts of the FitSkeleton.
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And it is not limited
to setDrivenKey, but any nodes connected in any way.
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Symmetry:
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By default all joints
and controls will be mirrored when building the AdvancedSkeleton.
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To identify joints on
the FitSkeleton not to mirror, set the “.side”
attribute of the joint to “None”.
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The “.side”
attribute can be found in the attribute editor, under the “Joint
labeling” section.
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The Tools:
BodySetup
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Start: Browse through
available FitSkeleton, and import any of them to the scene.
You can add a your
FitSkeleton to the list of available FitSkeletons, by saving it
to the installDir/FitSkeletons/ folder.
Here you also find buttons for adding or removing FitSkeleton attributes and labels.
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Build: Builds the
AdvancedSkeleton from selected joint hierarchy.
Select the top joint of the FitSkeleton before running this.
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Rebuild: The FitSkeleton is always kept with the AdvancedSkeleton,
allowing for adjustments of joint placement at any time.
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To expose the
original FitSkeleton, click "Toggle Fit/Advanced".
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This will
display the FitSkeleton, which allows you to modify the original
joint placement.
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Run "Rebuild
Skeleton" after you made the modifications to the
FitSkeleton.
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Any objects
that have been parented to the skeleton, will be re-parented to
the newly built skeleton.
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And by turning
on the "Rebuild Connections" option, AdvancedSkeleton
will also re-link hypergraph connections.
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The Rebuilding
of Connections means that all anything added (e.g skinning) will
be maintained in the newly built rig.
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Skinning: Go
to Build Pose: applies all the values stored when the
AdvancedSkeleton was first build.
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Select
DeformJoints: selects
the joints intended for binding (skinning).
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This can also
be done by selecting all members of the "DeformSet"
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Hide /
UnHide MotionSystem: Allows
you to display ONLY the joints intended for binding.
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Useful when
using `edit membership` or `paint weights` tools.
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SkinCage:
Creates a polygon
mesh from the AdvancedSkeleton.
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The SkinCage
have automatically assigned smooth skinning (skinCluster), and
the weighs from the SkinCage
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can be copied
to your character with the “Copy skin to selected mesh”
button.
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The SkinCage
comes with construction `history loft curves`, for convenient
controls to scale portions of the cage
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to match your
character.
Once the SkinCage are fitted to your
character, the `history loft curves` can be removed with the
`Delete SkinCurves` button. -
PolyBoxes:
Create/Remove/Mirror Poly-Boxes to fit the character.
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These
boxes can be used as low-res geometry representation of your
character,
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or use the
Boolean function to create a more accurate low-res
representation.
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Character Set:
'CreateCharacter' :Brings together all the essential attributes
of the skeleton and creates a `character set node`,
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for Maya's
non-linear animation tools.
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Control Curves:
Mirrors the shape of the control curves from left to right or
vice versa
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After you
created the AdvancedSkeleton, you might find that the
control curves.
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are not
ideally scaled/positioned for easy selecting.
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So you might
have to sculpt the curves (by moving/scaling the cv`s) to fit
better.
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This mirror
tool allows you to do the adjustments on one side, then mirror it
across.
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Partial Joints:
creates childjoints in the deformationSystem that rotates
partially to its parent,
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Skinning to
these joints provides partial rotation effect without the loss of
volume that occurs when blending weights.
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FitMode:
Preserves X-down joint orientations, and maintains set driven
keys.
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This allows
you to move joints, without loosing it`s X down alignment.
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Also lets you
rotate finger joints, and preserve the `curl` set driven keys.
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Display: Joint
visibility:Switches the visibility of joints.
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It is
recommended to hide the joints once the rig is complete, so
animators do not accidentally select and manipulate these.
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Joint size:
Set the joint display size.
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Face -
This is a
step-by-step guide to setting up a face rig.
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The first steps are
to identify key vertices and edgeloops on the face.
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After the face rig is
built, there are steps for tuning of weights, and configuring
setDrivenKeys.
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SelectorDesigner
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This tool is for
creating `Selection Tools`.
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When you first open
this, it will be blank.
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First step is to
bring in an image of your character as the background
(Edit->Background..)
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Next you need to
create the buttons.
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To create a button:
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1.Select the
animation control object that you want the button to select when
clicked. (e.g. "FKWrist_R")
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2.Use the middle
mouse button to `click and drag` the area you want the button.
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Finally make sure to
save the newly created tool. (File->Save)
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Once saved, you can
add a shelf button that will launch the tool (File->Put on
shelf)
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See animated
gif for how to use create buttons, and access the popup
menus.
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These `Selection
Tools` that are built by the `SelectorDesigner`, can be freely
distributed to animators.
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AdvancedSkeleton is
not required to run these.
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A example `Selector`
called "biped" is provided, click the last button on
the shelf to run it.
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This is what the
"biped" selector looks like:
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Selector Tools comes
with animation utilities
menus.
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PoserDesigner
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This tool is for
creating `Poser Tools`.
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When you first open
this, it will be blank.
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Along the toolbar of
the window are the following controls:
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By using these
controls, you can build up your poser library:
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Finally make sure to
save the newly created tool. (File->Save)
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And like
SelectorDesigner, you can add a shelf button that will
launch the tool (File->Put on shelf)
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`Poser Tools` built
by `PoserDesigner` can also be distributed to animators, and does
not require AdvancedSkeleton.
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Note that if you use
the `only selected` option, then not only does the selected
controls alone get stored,
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but it also looks for
selected attributes in the channelBox.
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If you select 1
object and 1 attribute, and the attribute is of the `Limited
Range` type attribute,
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then a slider will be
generated to control the attribute (useful for blendShape
attributes).
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The "anim"
checkBox allows you to store animation clips instead of poses.
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Applying
poses/animations:
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To apply
pose/animation to your character simply click a button.
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To select or key the
controls that are part of the pose/animation, right>click>..
a button.
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To apply
pose/animation at the characters current position shift>click
a button.
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To apply animation
relative to current time shift>click a button.
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To apply animation
relative to current values ctrl>click a button.
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Poser Tools comes
with animation utilities
menus.
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Help
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Open the help files
in a browser.
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Selectors:biped
& face
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These are samples of
`Selectors`, built with the SelectorDesigner tool.
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5.
Animation Utilities:
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Tools created by
SelectorDesigner comes with a standard set of menu items,
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providing useful
utilities for the animator.
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-Edit>Refresh:
Rescan the scene, and update the character drop down
menu. >Filter:
Set a filter for which rigs to appear in the drop down menu of
the selector. -
-Display>Controls:
Toggles the visibility of AdvancedSkeleton controls.
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>Set
Hotkey: Assigns the “Toggle of controls-visibility”
to the ~ hotkey.
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This
mean that the ~ key must be held down while selecting control.
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As
soon as the ~ key is released the controls will be invisible
again.
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Hold
down the Ctrl key while pressing the ~ key will do a normal
toggle of controls-visibility.
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>Joints:
Toggle the visibility of joints, by switching the “Show>Joints”
in all viewports.
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-Pose>Copy:
Copy current pose. Ctrl/Alt>click will copy selected controls
only.
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>Paste:
Paste pose. Ctrl/ Alt>click keeps the All control in the same
place.
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>Reset:
Go to Build Pose
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>Mirror:
Mirror Pose. Use optionBox to specify side, space & axis.
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-Anim>Copy:
Copy animation. Ctrl>click will copy selected controls only.
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>Paste:
Paste animation. Alt>click pastes "relative to current
time"
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Ctrl>click
pastes "relative to current time & values"
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-Dynamics>Add:
Dynamics can by added to any FK control.
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>Bake:
Bakes all Dynamics.
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6.
The Controls:
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FKIKControlCurves
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For every IK system
there is a FKIKControlCurve.
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These are the
controls that let you blend between FK / IK modes,
The
attributes for these control curves are:
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FKIKBlend:
value 0 = FK and value 10 = IK.
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AutoVis:
Automatically sets visibility from
the FKIKBlend value.
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FKVis: value
On = FK-Control-Curves visible
IKVis: value On =
IK-Control-Curves visible -
The FKVis / IKVis
attributes are used for changing / animating the visibility of
FK- / IK- Control-Curves.
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Useful for
displaying only the ControlCurves needed for the mode you are
working in.
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FKCurves
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The FKCurves are
light-blue circles.
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The following
attributes might be found on this type of control:
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global: for
maintaining world space orientation.
IKCurves The
IKCurves are red boxes. IKCurve can be translated and rotated
(PoleVectorCurves can only be translated).
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The following
attributes might be found on this type of control:
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swivel: sets
the orientation of the knee
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follow: for
switching whether to inherit parent transform or not.
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roll: foot
rolling from heel to toe.
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rollAngle:
the number of degrees to `roll` each transform in the foot roll
system
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stiff:
sharpness of splineIk curvature.
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stretchy: for
blending in/out IK stretching.
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antiPop: set
amount of scale compensating to avoid IK popping.
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See animated
gif for example of antiPop.
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IKCurves(foot-roll)
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Controls for manual
rolling of heel and toe.
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AimCurves
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This controls the
`Look At` aim system.
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Most used for eyes,
were this control is the target that the eyes look at.
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The added attributes
are:
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cross: Amount
of cross eyed. Default is 1, where the eyes will be looking
straight forward (empty stare)
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Set the value to 0,
where the eyes will be converging to focus on the AimCurve
control.
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follow: for
switching whether to inherit parent transform or not.
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BendCurves
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These controls the
`bending` of joint chains.
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To enable these
controls to get built, make sure the fitSkeleton joint has
twistJoints,
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and that the “Bend”
attribute on the fitSkeleton joint is set to “On”.
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CenterCurve
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This controls the
top of the AdvancedSkeleton FK hierarchy.
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The following
attributes might be found on this type of control:
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CenterBtwFeet:
Set whether the center of the character should automatically be
kept between the IK feet.
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MainCurve
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This is the Main
control for the entire AdvancedSkeleton.
With sets the
overall scale and placement for the character. -
The following
attributes might be found on this type of control:
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FkVis:
Visibility off all FK controls.
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IkVis:
Visibility off all FkIk switches (the blue crosses).
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AimVis:
Visibility off all Aim controls (typically the eye look at
control)
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EyeVis:
Visibility for the FK Eye controls.
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FingerVis:
Visibility for all the FK Finger controls (Fingers can still be
controlled with the curl attributes)
BendVis:
Visibility for all the bend controls (the brown
circles) ArrowVis: Visibility for the arrows that
indicates pole-vectors and look-at control directions. JointVis:
Visibility for the joints.
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Extra
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All the animation
controls have a "Extra" control.
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These are accessed
by selecting a curve, then pick-walk up (up-arrow).
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The `Extra-Controls`
can be useful for many situations,
such as avoiding gimbal
lock, ot combining constraints with animation.
The shapes and colors
of all the control curves can be changed, by modifying the file:
"asCurveIcons.ma".
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7.
Referencing:
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The recommended work
flow for rigging and animating characters is to have each
character rig in their own files.
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Then use Maya`s
referencing to bring the character(s) into the animation file.
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Make sure the “Use
namespaces” option is on:
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By using NameSpaces,
the AdvancedSkeleton animation tools recognises the characters in
the scene:
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8.
Customising:
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There
are several ways of customising AdvancedSkeleton to your specific
needs.
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For custom `selection
curves`, you can open the file "asCurveIcons.ma" which
contains the icons,
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and make any changes,
as long as the names remains unchanged.
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For modifications of
the default values of AdvancedSkeleton, you can use the “run”
attribute.
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This is a string
attribute on the top node of the FitSkeleton. e.g. Root.run
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Any mel command
entered here, will get called any time the AdvancedSkeleton gets
built,
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As well as any time
the function “Reset Pose” gets used by the animation
tools.
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For example, if you
would like a character to have its spine set to IK by default,
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then you could add
the following to the run attribute: setAttr
"FKIKSpine_M.FKIKBlend" 10;
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9.
Feedback:
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AdvancedSkeleton is
constantly improving with input from the users.
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If you have any
suggestions/comments about AdvancedSkeleton,
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please do not
hesitate to contact us.
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support@animationstudios.com.au
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Visit AdvancedSkeleton on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/AdvancedSkeleton/114793298585853
Copyright 2013
'Animation Studios'
eula
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