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842 Chapter 14: character studio
You can a lso specify a freeform period in a footstep
animation, using Tr ack View - D ope Sheet. This
allows you to take advantage of footsteps and
dynamics for part of an animation, then switch
to manual keyf raming during the f reeform
period. This approach can b e particularly useful
in animations where there is a mix of animation
where the feet are on the ground and then off.
Examples of this type of animation include
running and diving, or walk ing and then sitt ing
down.
Keyframe adjustment tools allow you to find the
next or previous key for the selected biped b ody
part, use the Time spinner to slide a key back and
forth in time, change Tension Continuity and Bias
for a key, and to display trajectories.
You can place arms and legs into the coor dinate
space (page 3–924) ofanotherobjectortheworld
to simulate interaction with fixed or moving
objects. In Freeform mode, for example, putting
the char a cter’s legs into world space (page 3–1036)
prevents them f rom sliding or moving when the
animator is keyframing the character’s center of
mass. Putting a character’s hand in the coordinate
spaceofaballallowsthehandtomovewherever
the ball moves.
Many tools in 3ds Max can be leveraged with
character studio. For example, the Select and
Link tool can b e used to attach objects to the biped.
If a character is to pick up and c arry an object
and then put it down, the Link controller can be
used to animate the duration of the attachment.
3ds Max b ones can b e used to animate character
subassemblies, like pistons, and to create extra
links for Physique.
Use the Motion Mixer to Mix Animations
Yo u c a n u s e t h e Motion mixer (page 2–604) to
combine motions on a biped. For example, you
could combine a walking motion w ith a cheering
motion, and cause the biped to walk while
cheering.
Use Motion Flow to Combine Animations
After you have created and modified various
animation sequences, and stored them in biped
motion files (BIP format), you can use Motion
Flow mode (page 2–1043) to combine various
motion files into longer animations that can be
quickly previewed and edited. Motion Flow mode
automatically places the animations end-to-end,
allowing you to mix and match b oth freeform and
footstep-driven motion files. Transitions between
successive motions are automatically created for
you, to provide a firs t-pass blending between
overlapping frames of animation.
The Motion Flow transitions use velocity
inter polation (page 3–1030) to create seamless
transitions between clips. You can use the
Transition Editor (page 2–1051) to modify a variety
of blending parameters, including transition start
frame, length, and angle b etween clips.
R efini ng Your Char acter
Great character animation is a result of many
refinements that tune the overall personality of
your character. You will find the need to refine
progressively both the skinning behavior and
the animation timing of your character studio
character. Biped and Physique ma ke this iteration
pro cess straig htforward by fully using the 3ds Max
modifier stack and undo methods.
In addition, Biped’s ability to map motions
between characters makes it easy to interchange
great animations with existing charac ters, and
tune their behaviors to achieve true integration of
motion with character motiva tion and personality.