Hey Guys,
I'm sorry for the lack of updates. I was feeling really good about moving forward on the movie with my last post but this month has been tough on my free time and it has really halted the movie.
Don't worry. I'm still working on it. I'm just not able to work on it as much as I would like. I was hoping to have the Max model done weeks ago and instead I'm still working on cleaning up the rig.
Still, I'm having a lot of fun working on the model when I can. Despite my lack of updates these last few weeks I still feel as though I'm moving forward. My goal is to do another test animation with the Max model once I have completed cleaning him up.
I will try to do better keeping you in the loop.
Later!
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Monday, May 7, 2012
Cleaning Up the Rig!
Hey guys,
I'm still working on cleaning up the Max rig.
So, what does that mean exactly? Basically, now that I have the rig finished I've applied the rig and created an armature, or system of controls that allow me to move and pose the model. In order to do this, I join the rig to the model and apply automatic weights that basically use the location of each bone to decide what part of the mesh will move when I adjust the controls.
The automatic weight feature really makes this process move along quickly, but the problem is the software doesn't always apply the weight where you want it applied. So, when I move one control, at least initially, some parts of the mesh will move when I don't want it to. In order to fix this, I have to clean up the weight painting to apply only to the parts of the rig I want.
This is what it looks like...
As you can see, when I move the selected bone in the model the colored area is what is affected. I took this pic shortly after cleaning up the area that makes up Max's left eye brow. Now, only his eyebrow will move. That wasn't the case before I took this pic. Initially, parts of the top of his head moved when adjusting the brow and that made it look like he had horns. A few minutes later, after I cleaned up the eyebrows, only the brows move.
As you can see in the picture above, there are a lot of bones in this model and I have to go through this process of cleaning up the weight influence for each bone.
This is going to take a little while.
I'll keep you posted.
I'm still working on cleaning up the Max rig.
So, what does that mean exactly? Basically, now that I have the rig finished I've applied the rig and created an armature, or system of controls that allow me to move and pose the model. In order to do this, I join the rig to the model and apply automatic weights that basically use the location of each bone to decide what part of the mesh will move when I adjust the controls.
The automatic weight feature really makes this process move along quickly, but the problem is the software doesn't always apply the weight where you want it applied. So, when I move one control, at least initially, some parts of the mesh will move when I don't want it to. In order to fix this, I have to clean up the weight painting to apply only to the parts of the rig I want.
This is what it looks like...
As you can see, when I move the selected bone in the model the colored area is what is affected. I took this pic shortly after cleaning up the area that makes up Max's left eye brow. Now, only his eyebrow will move. That wasn't the case before I took this pic. Initially, parts of the top of his head moved when adjusting the brow and that made it look like he had horns. A few minutes later, after I cleaned up the eyebrows, only the brows move.
As you can see in the picture above, there are a lot of bones in this model and I have to go through this process of cleaning up the weight influence for each bone.
This is going to take a little while.
I'll keep you posted.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Sad Kitty, Sleepy Kitty...
Hey guys,
Well, I was able to get some more done on the Max rig!
I've cleaned up the view of his eye controls and adjusted the influence of his ear controls so now I can shut his eyes and move his ears. Here's what I'm able to do...
That's right. We got sad kitty followed by sleepy kitty.
I'm having too much fun but I still have a lot of cleaning up to do so now it's back to work.
Talk to you later.
Well, I was able to get some more done on the Max rig!
I've cleaned up the view of his eye controls and adjusted the influence of his ear controls so now I can shut his eyes and move his ears. Here's what I'm able to do...
That's right. We got sad kitty followed by sleepy kitty.
I'm having too much fun but I still have a lot of cleaning up to do so now it's back to work.
Talk to you later.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Making Tremendous Progress on Max Rig!
Hey guys!
Man, I took some time off the movie these last couple of weeks and the payoff was terrific! A small break must have been exactly what I needed because when I started working on the rigging this week suddenly everything made sense.
Here's a sample...
I know, this looks like some of the other pics I've done but the truth is I have made some major changes behind the scenes and this pose only took me seconds to make.
I still have some cleanup to do on the controls but I am very excited and I feel as though I'm back in business.
I'll keep you posted!
Man, I took some time off the movie these last couple of weeks and the payoff was terrific! A small break must have been exactly what I needed because when I started working on the rigging this week suddenly everything made sense.
Here's a sample...
I know, this looks like some of the other pics I've done but the truth is I have made some major changes behind the scenes and this pose only took me seconds to make.
I still have some cleanup to do on the controls but I am very excited and I feel as though I'm back in business.
I'll keep you posted!
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