Bone Strength Not Controllable With Close Pixels?

[ccarden]

I've rigged a single image using Region Binding and have played with bone strength to no avail. The image could be broken into layers, but this should be a fast rig job, in and out. The project is to take another artist's work and build a walk cycle, without having to edit the image.

I'm having issues with what looks like the bones's influence over-reaching the bounds of the set strength. I've read every help file and web tutorial that I could find on the subject.

Short of cutting up the image and binding layers, can you offer any advice? Images attached show bone strength and undesirable deformation after they are moved. Note how close the inner feet are. I have taken the strength to all extremes and in-betweens, with no improvement.

The way that I understand it, bone strength should be able to be tightened down to the edge of the strength oval in Region Binding with a 1:1 relationship between the bone strength shape and its influence on the bound pixels. But I don't see that happening, at all. Flexible binding is worse, with much cross-influence.

None of the tutorials discuss possible problems, so I'm hoping that someone else has experienced this. Smith-Micro support claims this is a training issue, but I'm pretty sure I can prove it's a bug. Any known workarounds?

[Genete]

Flexible binding is worse, with much cross-influence.

What about to use Bone offset?
If you bind your model (region or flexible) using bone offset you are sure that if the bones are separated enough they don't have influence beyond to the things that have been offset with them.
http://www.lostmarble.com/moho/manual/t ... index.html
-G

[jahnocli]

One of the things you could have a look at is the unwitting creation of tiny bones, which are difficult or impossible to see, but have an effect like you see in this picture.

[muffysb]

I find this always happens unless I use bone offset. I no longer suffer connected-feet syndrome.

[ccarden]

I'll try offset again. I just spent some time with that and noticed no difference. As for tiny bones, is there an object list that shows them? How can you find them? Selection tools seem limited, too. I'll play around with Select All and hopefully ctrl-Click to de-select the visible bones.

Thanks for the input.

[muffysb]

Ccarden, when you have the Select Bone tool active, you can use the "Select Bone" drop-down at the top of the workspace to select your bones one-by-one. If you haven't named your bones then they'll be numbered in the list.

If you still notice some "connected feet" when using Bone Offset, try using the Translate Points tool to tweak some of the points. I find that moving the offending point just slightly can stop the problem.

Cheers,
Muffy.

[ccarden]

Thanks for the pointer to the bones list. I didn't catch that, before. For some reason, the list shows only <None>.

I'm not using vector graphics, though, just a PNG, and I wouldn't want to move the image, anyway, as it is another artist's original. The exercise is to get bones to work without altering the image.

I have been testing breaking the image into layers, but then the deformations don't look as cool. I'm sure I'll get it, eventually.

[muffysb]

Hmmm, I've never seen the bones list display <None> when there are bones in the layer...are you sure you have the bone layer selected when you're looking at the list?

Good luck with your tests!

[ccarden]

Yes, definitely the bone layer is selected. That is the only way that I can get the Select Bone button to be active. It's almost like the bones aren't really in the layer, but they must be. I'll figure it out later today. I reckon I need to test a few things that I'm doing. I'll let you know what I find.

[Genete]

Hmmm, I've never seen the bones list display <None> when there are bones in the layer...are you sure you have the bone layer selected when you're looking at the list?

Good luck with your tests!

To obtain that just start a new file with the "auto number bones and shapes" turned off in the Menu>Edit>Preferences dialog
-G

[Genete]

As for tiny bones, is there an object list that shows them? How can you find them? Selection tools seem limited, too

I think that Edit>Select all would select all the existing bones. To discover where is the tiny one you can modify its strength to a big value. It would reveal the pink area around the center of the bone.
Other solution is to unslect the bones that aren't the tiny one and press DEL to delete any eventually tiny selected bone.

-G