8

Working with Transitions 595
Foot-Based Transitions with 3ds M ax
Objects
For foot-based motions, follow this overall
workflow:
• Find a good place to start and end the
transition.
• Create the transition with this timing.
• Choose the parent object to be a velocity blend
object.
• Choose the model’s feet to be sub-blend
objects.
• Optimize the transition.
Pr ocedur es
To crea te a tr ans iti on between two clips :
1.
Right-click an existing track to inser t a
Transition track or convert the current track
to a Transition track.
2. Right-click the track and choose New Clips >
From Files from the pop-up menu. Choose at
least two clips to load.
The clips are placed on the t ransition track with
transitions between them.
3. Drag the transition to move it, or drag its ends
to resize it.
4. Before adding the next clip, move the last clip’s
transition bracket to the next desired transition
location, then load the clip.
To optimize a transition:
With foot-based clips, you can use the Optimize
command (page 2–606)
to help you find the best
timing for a transition. The Optimize command
exhaustively searches the specified time period for
times when the foot positions match most closely.
Tip: Agoodworkflowistolookattheclips
individually to find the best approximate time for
a tr ansition, then use Optimize to fine-tune the
timing.
1. Create a tra nsition between clips at
approximately the right location on the track.
2. Right-click the transition and choose Optimize
from the pop-up menu.
The
Transition Optimization dialog (page
2–618)
appears.
3. Choose Search Near Existing Transition and
click OK.
The best trans ition is calculated, and the
transition changes position and/or length in
the Mixer to reflect the change.
Tip: If you aren’t sure where you want the
transition to take place, you can choose Search
Entire Clip. This option can place the tr ansition
anywhere in t he two clips. Check the motion
afterward to ensure the transition takes place
at an appropriate time.
To change the focus on a foot-based tr ans ition with
Biped animation:
1.
Scrubthetimeslidertothemiddleofthe
transition.
2. Zoom in on the feet in any viewport.
3. Right-click the transition and choose Edit from
the pop-up menu. Alternately, you can select
the transition and choose Transitions > Edit
from the Motion Mixer menu.
The transition editor appears. In addition, two
stick figures appear in viewports to show the
bipeds’ positions in the two clips. The yellow
stick figure shows the biped’s position in t he
firstclip,whiletheredfigureshowsthesecond.
4. On the dialog that appears, choose a different
Transition Focus f rom the list.
As you change the Transition Focus, you
w i ll see the foot positions change. The
Transition Focus sets a center or focal point
for the transition, changing the biped’s
position slightly depending on the setting. On
foot-based transitions, try different settings