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Basic animation concept?
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Basic animation concept? // New Users
Post by Musikman // Mar 31, 2009, 6:30am
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Musikman
Total Posts: 88
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Hey Friends,
Been spending lots of time configuring some new audio software, so I've been slacking a bit with spending time learning TS. Hope to get back to it soon!
Just a question to check to see if I have this basic concept accurate.
I'm assuming the process for animation that includes moving characters & also moving background seems to be to save/render everything separately?
Everything that moves, regardless of what it is should be saved as a separate item?
For example to first use the Model screen to build characters/objects or scene props, then save that to character or scene library accordingly.
Next, animate the character & render animation movements to animation library. Then build background & save that to background library. Then finally, put them all together in one screen and render out to file?
I'm a bit unclear also about where the skeleton comes in, and how to lay a skeleton onto a character and save char w/skeleton as one so movement can be applied using skeleton points.
Also can I move/animate just a background/scene and save that as animation to library? I know the cameras come into play here somehow, but I'm also a bit foggy on using them still.
Example: Background of a city street where the street is saved with movement, so when I enter a character running in place over it, creating the illusion that the character is actually running down the street, but it's the background of the street that is actually moving forward (or left to right if you will), the character is just moving arms & legs (running in place). Did I explain that ok? :rolleyes:Hope so!
Thanks in advance, I know I have much to learn! :rolleyes:
Musikman (Paul) |
Post by TomG // Mar 31, 2009, 6:48am
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TomG
Total Posts: 3397
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No need to save the background separately etc. You can if you like just make the whole thing at once - so you have the actual street, the character running, and he really is running down the street.
You can choose to do it separately if you like, there is no right or wrong. Rendering separately can have advantages - eg rendering just your character will be faster than rendering a whole street, so if you are happy with the street and want to try different things with the character, you could render the street once then use it as a background, reducing render times as you experiment with different things the character can do.
You could render separately for post processing - eg add glow to the night scene of your city street so the windows and streetlamps have a glow, but not to the character as he is in a separate layer.
Generally though you would just do it all at once, creating the full 3D scene with everything in it. Has advantages - shadows fall properly from background to character, and character to background, the character can be reflected in windows, you can see exactly how everything looks and interacts, etc.
You can save objects separately, again if desired, or just save the whole scene. Sometimes it helps to work in a cut down version of the scene for speed, without all the animated background while you work on the character for instance, so you can work on each in isolation, saving separately, if you choose, and then bring it all together at the end to render in one pass (or render separately, as discussed before).
So it's a matter of knowing what you want to achieve, what works best for you as an animator, what hardware limitations you may need, etc. But there is no right or wrong answer here. You certainly don't HAVE to split things up and render separately though.
HTH!
Tom |
Post by Musikman // Mar 31, 2009, 7:14am
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Musikman
Total Posts: 88
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Hi Tom, thanks for the reply:)
I get what your saying regarding the advantages of everything in one for shadow accuracy, etc...makes sense, just would probably be a bit longer process I guess.
Two questions....
1.Was I correct to assume the process of first Model screen, add Skeleton & color/changes within that screen then render the character or object. (How do I layer a skeleton over character or object that has none? That must be in the manual, correct?)
2.Would I use the widget to animate/move the city street or any background I choose, or do I use the camera tools to do that?
Thanks!
Musikman |
Post by mrbones // Mar 31, 2009, 7:15am
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mrbones
Total Posts: 1280
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Hi There,
I would start by using the panorama background that is in the Garage thread.
As far as skeletons go, You can attach a handmade skeleton or a premade skeleton to your character mesh. If it is a handmade skeleton, then you may have to use manually keyframe the attached character by posing and setting keyframes. WIth a premade skeleton, you can apply premade animations or BVH files to make your character mesh move.
Cheers |
Post by Musikman // Mar 31, 2009, 7:35am
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Musikman
Total Posts: 88
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Hey Bones...
That thing looks very cool, but Rich told me to stay away from messin' with the LE! :D I think because I "linked" myself into a corner with it one day & he helped get me back out! Kidding aside, I'd love to download & try it out. Thanks!
Musikman |
Post by Musikman // Mar 31, 2009, 7:43am
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Musikman
Total Posts: 88
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Just have to download the PanoViewer file, then copy or import to any library, or create a separate library for it? I'm jumping way ahead of my limited knowledge of TS, and may not be able to figure out how to use it yet, but this Panoviewer looks like a cool tool! |
Post by mrbones // Mar 31, 2009, 12:30pm
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mrbones
Total Posts: 1280
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It is a cool tool.
All you have to do is drag the pano object from your library to the 2d LE window.
Then just change the panoramic scene image to suit your tastes.
Cheers
Just have to download the PanoViewer file, then copy or import to any library, or create a separate library for it? I'm jumping way ahead of my limited knowledge of TS, and may not be able to figure out how to use it yet, but this Panoviewer looks like a cool tool! |
Post by Breech Block // Mar 31, 2009, 1:30pm
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Breech Block
Total Posts: 844
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Hi Musikman. When it comes to animation, as the previous posts have all indicated, there is no set way or method. My advice would be if your going to embark on an animation project, create detailed storyboards of the whole thing and then analyse each separate shot to determine the best technique to achieve the desired scene. And by best, I mean that you can take into account the amount of assets/props visible on screen, camera movement, lighting, dialogue, SFX etc etc and thus determine what would work best, be the most economic/efficient and help determine if any hardware restrictions you may have will apply. It will also allow you to determine how much time you will need to invest in order to create that scene model/texture wise and whether an alternative method may be more viable.
In addition, you may want to consider if there is a particular visual style you are going for ie photo realistic or cartoony and whether that is going to influence how you want your scenes to look. In tandem with the style your aiming for, you may also want to assess the range of actions/emotions your characters will need to portray (good storyboarding is the key here) and how you will set about modelling them in order to achieve that.
Once your charaters range has been determined you can then decide whether your characters are going to have to be solid mesh characters in order to utilise bones/BVH or simple, jointed objects placed in a hierarchy that can be easily key framed or a mixture of the two. This again is where good storyboarding at the start will save a lot of time and grief in the long run.
To see an example of a non-solid mesh character, see my Reboot/Cyrus thread below:
http://forums1.caligari.com/truespace/showthread.php?t=7508
To see a movie made in tS that uses a whole host of differing techniques for each shot, see my Last Tomorrow movie (its the one on the left).
http://www.caligari.com/gallery/animations/2007/jan/default.asp |
Post by Musikman // Apr 2, 2009, 7:14am
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Musikman
Total Posts: 88
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Hi Breech, thanks for the reply
I appreciate the tips & agree that a good storyboard would save alot of time and help in determining the approach to each scene and which tools would be most useful. I'm also going to check out the links you posted later today. Thanks again...
Musikman :D |
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