2009

Freeform animation also provides animated pivot points on the feet and hands.
This makes it possible for you to simulate the roll of a foot from heel to toe,
or create detailed finger animation.
You can convert back and forth between footstep and freeform animation
within some limitations. While it is easy to convert any footstep animation
to freeform, there are limitations on the conversion from freeform animation
to footsteps.
Because of these limitations, a common workflow is to use footstep animation
to rough out the animation, then convert to freeform to finalize the motions.
The totally freeform animation is not bound by the rules of the footstep
method, so it's easy to do anything you want, such as add keys at the beginning
or end of the clip.
See also:
■
Footstep Animation on page 4176
■ Freeform Animation on page 4232
Freeform Animation Between Footsteps
For certain types of footstep animation, it is necessary to suspend calculations
of gravitational effects on the biped.
For example, if you want the biped to run, dive into a pool then climb out of
the pool, you would create footsteps for the running and climbing portions
of the animation but not the swimming portion. When you activate footsteps,
the biped will become airborne during the swimming period, jumping high
in the air between the running and climbing footsteps.
If you don't suspend gravity during the airborne period, you won't be able to
change the biped's Body Vertical position to bring it down and place it in the
pool. For more information on how the biped behaves during airborne periods
between footsteps, see
Adjusting Vertical Motion on page 4217.
To suspend gravity during an airborne period, you can create a freeform period
in your animation. During a freeform period, you can animate the biped in
freeform mode, which includes positioning the biped anwhere in the scene
regardless of the length of the airborne period.
The Track View - Dope Sheet editor is used to insert a freeform period between
footsteps. During a freeform period, vertical dynamics (gravitational effects)
are suspended, and Body Vertical keys use
spline dynamics on page 8135 instead.
Footstep Animation | 4227