2009
Creating Freeform Animation
The topics in this section deal with the creation of freeform animation for
bipeds. They are:
Selecting Biped Tracks on page 4236
Animating by Moving Links on page 4239
Animating by Rotating Links on page 4242
Rotating Multiple Biped Links on page 4249
Using Controllers on page 4252
Using Props on page 4255
Selecting Biped Tracks
To animate your character with freeform methods, you need to know how to
select the body part you want to animate, as well as the type of movement
you want to affect for that part of the body.3ds Max and Biped provide a
number of different methods for selecting and moving these animation tracks.
Several involve using the 3ds Max Track View, a powerful environment for
viewing and managing the geometry and motion data in your scene.
For each biped body part, motion data is viewable in Track View or on the
track bar. Once you've selected the biped object, using one of the methods
described below, you can see its associated motion data on the track bar or
displayed in the Transform branch for that object in Track View.
Biped lets you expand and collapse certain animation tracks to give you more
control over your character's movement as you set keyframes. For example,
tracks for body parts in the arms can be animated using five separate tracks
for maximum control.
You can also collapse these tracks for simplicity, and use a single key to pose
the entire arm. Tracks can be expanded or collapsed in this way for the arms,
legs, ponytails, neck, tail, and spine.
In 3ds Max, you have the ability to display the motion data as function curves.
You can see and manipulate function curves either in the Track View – Curve
Editor, or by using
the Workbench on page 4483. The Workbench provides
specialized tools for analyzing and fixing motion problems found in the curves.
4236 | Chapter 17 character studio