2010

cycled to make longer animation sequences. When you cycle a clip, the clip is
extended in length with duplicate animation from the original clip over a
defined interval of time.
If you want to cycle a clip, you must first determine areas within the animation
sequence where the clip repeats seamlessly. For example, if you want to create
a walk cycle from the motion capture data, you need to determine the time
(frame) where the right foot is planted on the ground, and then move forward
in the Time Slider, frame by frame, until you find the next frame where the
right foot is planted on the ground in exactly the same (or very similar)
manner, and then create a clip. The resulting clip will contain two steps of
the walking motion. The clip can then be cycled to produce a motion that
repeats. How seamlessly it cycles depends on the original motion capture data.
In the steps that follow you create a walk cycle from the motion capture data
by:
■ Creating a clip from the walking portion of the motion capture sequence
that can be repeated.
■ Cycle the clip to create a longer walk sequence.
To create a clip that can be cycled
1 In the Time Slider, drag the current time indicator to frame 6.
The skeleton updates in the scene to a walking pose where the right foot
is planted on the ground.
2 Drag the current time indicator forward in the Time Slider until you reach
frame 45.
At frame 45, the skeleton is posed in a similar manner as it appeared at
frame 6. If you use this range of frames (6 to 45), you can create a clip
that can be cycled.
3 In the persp view ensure the skeleton is selected.
4 In the Trax Editor menu, select Create > Animation Clip >
.
The Create Clip Options window appears.
5 In the Create Clip Options window, click Edit > Reset Settings to set the
tool to its default settings, and then set the following:
■ Type WalkCycle in the Name field.
■ Put Clip in Trax Editor and Visor: On
262 | Chapter 6 Animation