CompuServe Thread

Paul, I have a bit of experience with what you're trying to do and you have a couple of choices of how to do it. I'll assume you're using version 2.0 or later of Imagine and version 3.0 or 3.1 of LightWave since I'm not sure this would work with earlier versions of either program. The first method is to render the human in Imagine with a black background. You load the series of images into LightWave as a sequence and make that your forground image in the effects menu. This method takes a bit more work to get good results since you have to match the perspectives of Imagine and LW. I suggest writing down the camera's position and angle when you set up the scene in Imagine and using the same settings in LightWave. This mathod is very difficult to use with a moving camera. The second way to do it is to use morph objects. You can save poses out from the cycle editor in Imagine. You simply save out the man at each keyframe. (make sure to write down the keyframe numbers.) Then you convert all of the objects through Interchange. (assuming you HAVE Interchange) You then load all of the key objects into LightWave and morph them in the proper sequence. Let's assume you have 5 objects saved from 5 different keyframes of the cycle editor. The entire cycle took 50 frames in Imagine and we'll set it up to take the same 50 in LW. The objects are named key_0 to key_4 Key object 0…..1…..2…..3…..4….. Frame # 0…..10….20….30….40…..51 First enter LightWave and set the number of frames to 50 in the scene menu. Then you load key_0 to key_4 into LW. Set the dissolve level on key_1 to key_4 to 100% and leave key_0 at 0%. Also make key_1 the parent object of all the other key objects. This keeps all of the objects in 1 place and makes sure you can only see 1 of them. Now the tricky part: The Morphs: In the object menu of LightWave, select key_0 and make the metamorph target key_1. Then select key_1 and make the morph target key_2. Select key_2 and set morph target to key_3 and set key_3's morph target to key_4. Key_4 has no morph target. Now, reselect key_0 and press the "E" (envelope) button. You want to add keyframes to this envelope. The envolopes should be set up like this: Frame # Morph level Key_0 : 0 0% 10 100% 40 100% 51 0% Key_1 0 0% 10 0% 20 100% Key_2 0 0% 20 0% 30 100% Key_3 0 0% 30 0% 40 100% Key_4 >>> No morph envelope! <<< As you can see the envelopes overlap at each keyframe. The reason you have no morph envelope for key_4 is that after frame 40 Key_0 starts to morph back to it's original shape. When you render you do from frame 1 to 50. The reason Key_0 finishes morphing back to original on frame 51 is so that frame 50 is NOT the same as frame 1. That would cause a glitch. Note: I've left the end behavior of each envelope at Stop. It will loop properly on a 50 frame animation, but on a 100 frame anim it won't work properly. I'm still experimenting with this method to make a repeating morph cycle. Basicly what happens is this: Key_0 morphs to key_1. While it's morphed, Key_1 morphs to Key_2, which morphs to Key_3, which morphs to Key_4. Then Key_0 un-morphs again. I realize this might seem a bit confusing at first, but if you stick with it till you understand you'll be able to morph easily between any number of objects. :^) By the way, if you leave the morph surfaces button off LightWave will use all of the surface settings for Key_0. This means that if you add brushmaps for clothes, hair, or change any of the surfaces you will only have to work on Key_0. This also means that you should load Key_0 last. Surfaces are loaded with each object. When a surface loads it overrides any other surface with the same name. If you had a surface called 'skin' on Key_0 that was brushmapped and you loaded Key_1 that also had a surface called 'skin', the new 'skin' would override the old 'skin'. Good Luck! Jeff H…