8

852 Chapter 14: Character Studio
Convert to Fr eefor m or Footst eps
Dia logs
Select the Biped. > Motion panel > Biped rollout >
Convert
When you click Convert on the Biped rollout of
the Motion panel, a Convert To dialog displays:
Convert to Freeform or Convert to Fo otsteps ,
depending on the animation method of the
currently loaded motion. Use Convert to Freeform
for unrestricted key editing or Convert to
Footsteps to take advatage of footsteps.
Note: By default, Jumping or airborne perio ds
between footsteps are calculated by character
studio based on gravity strength (GravAccel) and
time between footsteps. Biped elevation during
thesejumpingandairborneperiodswillbelost
when converting to freeform from footsteps
(unless you create a vertical COM key in the
airborne period in the footstep animation), a
freeform animation uses spline interpolation for
the center of mass position and does not account
for gravity. Elevation in airborne periods is
restored if you convert back to footsteps.
When to Use Conver t
• Use Convert after using Save Segment in
Motion Flow mode to save a script as a
.bip
file. Exit Motion Flow mode, load the .bip file
and click Convert to extract footsteps. Save
Segment applies IK Blend va lues of 1 to the
biped fo ot keys for the keys at footsteps. If
a freeform animation is part of the script in
Motion Flow mode, and you want to convert
the entire script motion to footsteps, then use
theSaveKeysateveryFrameoptioninSave
Segment and use Load Motion Capture File
on the Motion Capture rollout. This will allow
you to extract footsteps using the proximity
method.
• Use Convert if y ou are working on a footstep
animation and want to switch to a freeform
animation.
• Use Convert if you have started a freeform
animation and want to covert to a footstep
animation. In order to convert a freeform
animation to a footstep animation, the file must
be properly set up by locking the feet to world
space using IK Blend before converting to
footsteps. When creating freeform animations,
you should set your leg keys to IK Blend=1.0
during the periods you want the feet to be
planted, and set the move keys to IK Blend=0.0.
Thiswillinsurethatthefeetarelockedand
rid of unnecessary foot sliding as the body is
moved. When convert ing, if the leg keys have
been set up t his way, Biped will extrac t footsteps
during any duration where IK Blend=1.0.
Interfa ce
Convert to Freeform dialog
Gener ate a key fr a me per f ra me—Creates keys at
every frame.
Note: Converting footsteps to freeform creates
foot IK Blend values of 1 for the biped feet for the
original footstep keys. This simplifies keyf r aming
by putting the feet into world coordinate space,
which prevents them from sliding when the biped
ismoved.ThesefootIKBlendvaluesarealsoused
when you click Convert (on t he Biped rollout) to
convert back to footsteps.