So you were moonlighting as a booth babe for both companies? Shame on you Vern, you have no scruples, (whatever they areThe last NYCC I went to I was bouncing back and forth between the Hash booth and the efrontier booth.
).Maintain volume joint proposal
Moderators: Víctor Paredes, Belgarath, slowtiger
I'm glad my nagging is good for something <bg>.Genete wrote:Thanks to mkelley's insistence-G
This is all I really want "fixed" (not really right to say it's broken) in AS. *Everything* else I can live with (well, I can live with how this currently works in AS as well, but if we could have this new functionality I'd be TONS more productive and I'm pretty productive as is).
I just hope Mike is paying attention here <g>.
I will probably start a new topic for this in the scripting section but since it started here I thought I would post my results.
This is early testing and it uses a bone instead of a point on a vector but it's proof that the concept works.
In the animation I am controlling the position of a bone based on the rotation of another bone and the the path of another vector. Notice you can change the path during animation. This is just like the bone joint feature Genete demonstrated from Synfig. Still quite a ways to go to make this simple to use but it is definately doable.
http://www.lowrestv.com/anime_studio/sc ... -curve.mov
-vern
This is early testing and it uses a bone instead of a point on a vector but it's proof that the concept works.
In the animation I am controlling the position of a bone based on the rotation of another bone and the the path of another vector. Notice you can change the path during animation. This is just like the bone joint feature Genete demonstrated from Synfig. Still quite a ways to go to make this simple to use but it is definately doable.
http://www.lowrestv.com/anime_studio/sc ... -curve.mov
-vern
I'm kind of excited about this too. Even if I have to use a layer script this will really clean up all the bones needed for nice joint bends. Imagine a smoothly bending nice joint that only has just the two bones in it.
I think the script would ultimately use point groups for this. Just name matching point groups, a name for a line with a point that matches to follow it. You could even add in lines that go "up" and "out" from the sides of the joint to easily create bulging. And since you use a vector to define the motion of the point you can very easily change the resulting shape and see it happening, unlike what I've been doing using bone constraint values which is hit or miss and lots of trial and error.
This technique would be "exact" and precise. No guess work. You draw that line and that's exactly where the dang point goes and it's all automatic. Bone constraints don't have that ability. It's all LINEAR motion or complex placement of chains of bones that rotate around creating the needed motion... pain in the arse.
This script may fix my "Aim Bone" problem. Aim bones with foreshortening was LINEAR. So you couldn't "rotate" the bone and have it maintain length. If I use some sort of path constraint for aiming I might be able to fix that. Just thinking out loud at this point.
Thanks for showing that Synfig feature Genete. I would never have thought of this without it. I love it already.
-vern
I think the script would ultimately use point groups for this. Just name matching point groups, a name for a line with a point that matches to follow it. You could even add in lines that go "up" and "out" from the sides of the joint to easily create bulging. And since you use a vector to define the motion of the point you can very easily change the resulting shape and see it happening, unlike what I've been doing using bone constraint values which is hit or miss and lots of trial and error.
This technique would be "exact" and precise. No guess work. You draw that line and that's exactly where the dang point goes and it's all automatic. Bone constraints don't have that ability. It's all LINEAR motion or complex placement of chains of bones that rotate around creating the needed motion... pain in the arse.
This script may fix my "Aim Bone" problem. Aim bones with foreshortening was LINEAR. So you couldn't "rotate" the bone and have it maintain length. If I use some sort of path constraint for aiming I might be able to fix that. Just thinking out loud at this point.
Thanks for showing that Synfig feature Genete. I would never have thought of this without it. I love it already.
-vern
Brain Storm!
Use VECTORS to drive bone animation! Imagine motion paths on a layer that drive the movement of bones! You would draw paths on a layer. Say a path for a foot bone. The foot bone is bound to that path and follows it.
Instead of moving bones to animate you could "draw" the motion. It might not work for everything but it could be fun.
-vern
Use VECTORS to drive bone animation! Imagine motion paths on a layer that drive the movement of bones! You would draw paths on a layer. Say a path for a foot bone. The foot bone is bound to that path and follows it.
Instead of moving bones to animate you could "draw" the motion. It might not work for everything but it could be fun.
-vern
Layer paths? Don't need no stinking layer paths with this! Woohoo! 
This could be linked to layer motion as well but I think someone already might have written that script. First things first though. I want to finish a working maintain volume joint script. That will be awesome. Kick arse.
All of the other discussions for joint solutions weren't working for me because they involved "absolute" settings. A "one size fits all" kind of thing. There wasn't enough room for odd shaped limbs or weird rotations.
I had another cool thought about this. It will work for those "lines" that cut into the limb as it bends. You can have a little "crease" that sticks into the joint only as it bends past a certain point.
I'm all giddy now.
-vern
This could be linked to layer motion as well but I think someone already might have written that script.
First things first though. I want to finish a working maintain volume joint script. That will be awesome. Kick arse.All of the other discussions for joint solutions weren't working for me because they involved "absolute" settings. A "one size fits all" kind of thing. There wasn't enough room for odd shaped limbs or weird rotations.
I had another cool thought about this. It will work for those "lines" that cut into the limb as it bends. You can have a little "crease" that sticks into the joint only as it bends past a certain point.
I'm all giddy now.
-vern
Oh freaking heck in a handbasket!!!!!
My face rig! This will be able to eliminate dozes and dozens of bones for my freaking face rig!!!!!!!! I can define curves or paths for bones to follow to create circular rotations!!!!! Good grief! This will do amazing stuff for head turns. You could "force" points to conform to a profile shape of a side view. The skies the limit.
... I'm getting light headed... better lie down for a bit....
-vern
My face rig! This will be able to eliminate dozes and dozens of bones for my freaking face rig!!!!!!!! I can define curves or paths for bones to follow to create circular rotations!!!!! Good grief! This will do amazing stuff for head turns. You could "force" points to conform to a profile shape of a side view. The skies the limit.
... I'm getting light headed... better lie down for a bit....
-vern
