8

Importing and Exporting A nimation Data 775
There are several ways to create or acquire . bip
files:
•Byloadingoneofthesampleanimation
files that come w ith 3ds Max. Refer to the
installation and support guide for more details.
•
By creating your own animation with
footsteps or freeform methods, and saving the
animation with the Save button in the Biped
rollout. See the procedures that follow.
•
Byloadingandfilteringamotioncapture
file, then saving the animation with the Save
button in the Biped rollout. See
Filtering
Motion-Capture and Marker Data (page
2–912)
.
When y ou save a Motion Mixer (p age 2–581)
file (.mix) or a Motion Flow Editor (page 2–878)
file (.mfe), the paths to the referenced BIP files are
alsosaved.Ifthesepathsarebroken(iftheBIP
files have b een moved or renamed for example),
a Missing Motion Mixer Files dialog or Missing
Motion Flow Files dialog opens up respectively, in
which the missing files are listed. To rectify t his,
open the
Asset Tr acking dialog (page 3–492) and
set a new path of the missing files.
Pr ocedur es
To load biped motion fr om an existing BIP f ile:
1.
Select the biped you want to animate,
andgototheMotionpanel.
2. On the Biped rollout, make sure y ou are
not in Figure mode, and click Load File.
Note: When Figure mode (page 2–835) is act ive,
the Load File option loads figure (FIG) files.
Anything done in Figure mode changes the
basic shape and struc ture of the biped. When
Figure mode is turned off, the Load File tool
loads BIP files, which animate the figure.
3. Inthefiledialog,choosetheBIPmotionfileto
load, and then click OK.
4. The biped repositions itself in the scene, as it
assumes the initial p os ition of the animation
file. You might need to use Zoom Extents to see
the biped after it is repositioned.
Tip: The Biped keyboard shortcut ALT+R sets
the animation range to that of the currently
selected biped. Since the length of the
animation can change after loading a BIP fi le,
this keystroke can be useful. To use it, m ake
sure that the Keyboard Shortcut Override
Toggle is active.
To save a nimation you have created or impor ted to a
BIP f ile:
1.
Animate t he biped with footsteps and/or
freeform animat ion.
2. Selec t the biped that has the anim ation
you want to save, and go to the Motion panel.
3. On the Biped rollout, make sure you are
not in Figure mode, and click Save File.
4. Inthefiledialog,enteranameforthemotion
file, a nd then click OK.
Importing and Exporting
Animation Data
Yo u c a n u s e character studio w ith the 3ds Max
Export To Kaydara FiLMBOX feature to simplify
the animation of 3ds Max bones. By exporting
to FBX and then importing your file, you can
transform an animated biped into a set of animated
bones.