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Finished Works and Works in Progress / Playing with IK
« on: September 23, 2016, 08:49:34 pm »
Not sure if this is the best location for this but I didn't want to hijack other threads. With the development of IK in release 1247-1250 I couldn't resist giving it a go, since it's something I've been hankering for since 2007 or thereabouts! I've used the T-Rex model I built for the skertches a while back since it was already boned and already had most rotation limits applied.
There are 22 separate IK chains in this beast:
There's a bunch of faults in the motion and I have no idea how a T-Rex actually moved (does anybody?) but that's not what this was about; it was all about playing with the IK system. The process of defining the chains, setting keys, tweaking positions etc. was absolutely seamless and from a workflow perspective it's hard to find anything to criticise. I had so much fun with this and it's testament to the process that the walk cycle sequence (repeated twice in this video) was completed from start to finish in 3-4 hours. There was no back-tracking, no unexpected functionality, no frustration... it all just worked!
The only thing I would like to see (and it may already be there, I could easily have missed it since I've been away from Anim8or for a while) would be the ability to lock the motion of an IK chain with elements rigged to rotate in multiple directions (eg. a spine) to a certain plane. So, if I'm working in Front view, it would be handy to be able to move the effector knowing that the chained bones will only move in the X-Y direction and not in Z. This would allow more precise positioning but should definitely be switchable somehow, as full motion in all 3 dimensions would also be required in many cases (in other words, 'IK chain locked to view plane' ON/OFF).
I haven't had so much fun on a project in ages as I did with this over the last couple of days. Whenever I'm working with Anim8or I always have a big smile on my face, which somehow sums up Anim8or to me.
There are 22 separate IK chains in this beast:
- Legs X 2
- Toes X 6
- Arms X 2
- Fingers X 4
- Neck
- Spine from shoulders to pelvis
- Tail X 6 (includes one from pelvis to halfway along the tail to overcome the max number of bones in a chain issue)
There's a bunch of faults in the motion and I have no idea how a T-Rex actually moved (does anybody?) but that's not what this was about; it was all about playing with the IK system. The process of defining the chains, setting keys, tweaking positions etc. was absolutely seamless and from a workflow perspective it's hard to find anything to criticise. I had so much fun with this and it's testament to the process that the walk cycle sequence (repeated twice in this video) was completed from start to finish in 3-4 hours. There was no back-tracking, no unexpected functionality, no frustration... it all just worked!
The only thing I would like to see (and it may already be there, I could easily have missed it since I've been away from Anim8or for a while) would be the ability to lock the motion of an IK chain with elements rigged to rotate in multiple directions (eg. a spine) to a certain plane. So, if I'm working in Front view, it would be handy to be able to move the effector knowing that the chained bones will only move in the X-Y direction and not in Z. This would allow more precise positioning but should definitely be switchable somehow, as full motion in all 3 dimensions would also be required in many cases (in other words, 'IK chain locked to view plane' ON/OFF).
I haven't had so much fun on a project in ages as I did with this over the last couple of days. Whenever I'm working with Anim8or I always have a big smile on my face, which somehow sums up Anim8or to me.