2009

Using Controllers
character studio lets you add 3ds Max controllers to the biped object tracks.
This allows you to mix the biped animation with standard 3ds Max animation
techniques.
Why Add Controllers
Adding controllers to biped body parts lets you create animation that is difficult
to do with character studio alone. For example, you can create “stretchy”
cartoon arm or leg animation by adding a Scale controller to animate the
bipeds arms and legs. You could make a character shaking by using a Noise
controller for its limb rotations or for a Scale controller on the spine objects
to make a character breathing. An Audio controller could be used to
synchronize movement with sound.
Biped SubAnims
Different controllers can be added together, blended or sequenced in a list
called a Biped SubAnim. These are the same as the weighted list controllers
in 3ds Max. By animating the controller weights you can increase or decrease
the effects of the different controllers. You can enable, disable or collapse the
list controller animation tracks. If you collapse the track, you can then bring
them into the Motion Mixer, Motion Flow, or Layer editor or export them to
a game engine.
NOTE Biped SubAnims exhibits different behaviors based on whether you assign
a controller or a constraint as the SubAnim. A SubAnim with a controller assigned
will layer the controller animation with the existing biped animation. If you use a
constraint, however, this will replace the existing Biped Animation.
TIP SubAnims are best used when combined with freeform animation. You can
use them with footstep animations but you may experience unexpected results.
If this happens, simply convert the footstep animation to freeform before applying
the SubAnims.
Assigning SubAnims
Biped SubAnims can be applied several different ways. You can assign
controllers to the Biped SubAnim in the
Assign Controller on page 4328 rollout
of the Motion panel.
4252 | Chapter 17 character studio