Anim8or Community

Would the ability to bind a modifier to a group be a good idea? Useful if you want to modify a lot of objects and don't want to join them, as you have to do for now if you want to modify them at once. Just a thought.

Another thought I have is that since I requested a rotation value for objects in obect mode, it would be useful if objects could have a scale-value as well. If possible, please make this request is an extension of the last one and not as a separate request.

It would be good with a fracture script like the fracture tool in blender

I have figured out some other requests lately, the thirst is that the orientation for an object in scene mode could be split up in a X, Y and Z rotation what you animate individually. Then it would be a lot easier to animate orientation.
Also it would be helpful if you individually per object could switch their "rotation order", the order the X, Y and Z rotation is counted. This wouldn't just be in scene mode but also work for bones in sequence mode.

Another request I have is that objects in object mode will have an orientation value, like in scene mode. It would make things a lot more flexible.

Hi, I cant believe I have even more requests since yesterday, but I'll share them as well.
But first I'll give my +1's, they go to...

Tier 1:
"Move faces", "copy and paste objects in scene-mode".

Tier 2:
"Animated texture maps", "alpha maps cast shadows", "ASL - read, edit and create morph targets",.

Tier 3:
"Audio track capability" and "ASL-events".
Unfortunately I didn't really understand the "ASL - Object Script Controller" since I'm not familiar with scripts. Does it let scripts to affect objects orientation, position and morph targets in scene mode? If it does I give it a +1.


Now for the resquests :

CTRL + S to save
The name says it all, a shortcut to save your project. Additionally "ctrl + shift + s" could mean "save as".

Background-movie in scene-mode
It would be great if you could not just have background images but also background movies in scene-mode.

Some way to arc-rotate around a specific object, maybe by holding down CTRL and clicking on the object when you arc-rotate.

Camera import/export
If you're working with anim8or together with other softwares you probably need a camera import/export option so you to easier can integrate the the works with each-other.
For example, you are working with a scene there you'll create parts of it in anim8or and other parts in an additional software. You'll render the both works out and edit them together to a final scene in a film-editing software. Mostly it work fine, but it would be problematic if you want a camera movement in the scene. Then you would need need two cameras in both softwares, what moves exact similarly. To do that you have to create the camera in one of the softwares and export it into to the other, which as it is now is impossible in anim8or since it neither support camera import or export.


Scroll-selecting
By holding down the right-mouse button it let you select all objects/points/lines/faces you scroll over with the mouse-cursor. So instead of have to press the right-mouse button each time you want to select something, you can just hold it down and scroll over that you want to select. It's not revolutionary, but makes your work more comfortable.


I have another odd, and I mean ODD, request that I understand if its either impossible or to far-fetched. Its about controlling morph-targets in sequence mode. It would work like morph-targets do in scene mode, you find them beneath the object and keyframe them as usual. If you for example have a character with a horn that you want to be stretched out while the characters head is moving, you would first create morph-targets to stretch the horn. Then you would armature the character as usual and animate the head as with the morph targets, all in sequence mode. To clarify, the morph-target-changes is counted before the "usual" changes that is made by armature.

I know it has been a loooong list, but hopefully it has been helpful for you. Thanks!

Hi, first of I want to say that I'm really exited about all this, and secondly that I have some requests of my own to share.

1. Transparent rendering.
Its already possible to render a luma-matte, which works well in most cases when you want to get rid of the background in your film. The problem is that if you render a transparent model, a luma-matte won't work correctly, it will get rid of a part of the background and a part of the model itself. Additionally it would be much easier with a transparent-rendering option.

2. Possibility to rotate around the Z-axis.
I think the rotation works well as it is now, except for that if you turn of rotation around the X and Y-axis you can't rotate at all. I think it would be practically to be able to rotate around the Z-axis when the other axes are turned of. Otherwise the rotation would works as now.

3. Possibility to parent an object to a bone.
As it is now you can only parent an object to another object in scene mode, and I think it would be practically if you also could parent an object to a bone. For example, if you were animating a character who is supposed to carry something, like a hat, it would be much easier to parent the hat to the characters hand-bone instead of animate it frame by frame.
When an object is parented to a bone it simply acts as if it was attached to it by armature.

4. Possibility to keyframe a parent-influence.
I was thinking that even if you can parent an object to follow another objects movement, you may want it to stop following at some point of time.
So I was thinking about a function that let you keyframe the value of influence a parenting has on the parented object. It would work much similar to morph-targets, that you can set the influence-value to 1 if you want a normal parenting, and set it to zero if you want the parented object to stop follow the object its parented to. If you set it to a value between 0 and 1 it will move at the same direction as the object its parented to, but not as much.
For example: you have character who is supposed to pick up a hat, and therefore you parent the hat to the characters hand-bone (assumes that you are able to parent to a bone). But in the beginning of the animation you want the hat to lay down still on the floor, so search the frame there the character pick up the hat and set the value for the parent-influence to 1. Then you go back one frame and set the value to 0, and so you get the hat to lay still on floor until the character picks it up.

Furthermore, it would be great if you also could have an object to have several parents. It may sound odd, but it would be necessary if you want a character to not only pick up a hat but also put it on his head. Then you could add the characters head-bone as an additional parent to the hat and keyframe the influence-values for the hand- and head-parentings so the hat changes from follow the hand to follow the head. More specifically you would search the frame there he puts the hat on his head and set the influence-value for the head-parenting to 1 and the hand-parenting to 0. Then you go back to the last frame and set the hand-parenting value to 1 and the head-parenting value 0. This way it will change parenting during these frames.

As you see its very similar to morph targets, you keyframe the parentings influence, and I was even thinking that you would find the parentings beneath the object as you do with morph-targets.
It would not be necessary to set the values each time you parent, its an option to keyframe.


I know its much I have asked about, and I may not have explained clearly, but at least I have shared my ideas.  Thanks!

      I have also created some examples of the 2'nd and 4'th request so you more clearly can se what I mean. I did it by editing the screen
      recordings I did, in after effects.

Hi, I wonder if there is anyway to mirror your process while you are working. I don't mean a way to mirror objects, as with the mirror-tool, what I mean is a way to mirror the changes you do to models, lines, points, extrusions etc.

For example, if I want to model a head which is similar on the both sides I likely want to just model one side of the head and then mirror it. The problem is that the two sides would act as separate models, even if I join them their points won't be connected.
Additionaly its hard to make the "middle" of the head, there the two sides is supposed to meet, perfectly flat so the two sides will match eachother perfectly.
Instead of trying to adjust the middle-points, alternatively by scaling them down on the x-axis (or whatever axis you mirrored on), it would be much easier if you simply could have whatever change you do on one side also happen on the other side as well. So if you would extrude a face on one side, a correspnding face would extrude similary at the other side of the object as well.

I've seen this technique in other softwares, like Blender. Since I'm not used to Blender I can't tell how it works in detailes, but I think it's similary to what I described above.
So again, is there anyway to mirror your modeling-process, and changes, you do to a model in anim8or?

                                                                                                                        Thanks in advance

Sorry, I forgot the textures

Hi, I've got a request for a script that allow you to export a 3d model from sequence mode.
 
Currently the only way for me to export a 3d model from sequence mode is by exporting it as a 3ds file.
The problem is that there is a "point" limit for the 3ds file exportation, I cant export big or detailed models.
Thats why I need a script so I can export a certain frame from the sequence as a 3d model.

Another solution is a script what makes a certain frame in the sequence mode into a morph-target in the models morph-target list. Then you could switch to it in object mode and export it as a 3d model if you want to.

I understand if its too much I ask for, but I'm glad if someone can help me. Thanks!