CompuServe Thread

>> 1. How are animated brushes applied to STATE objects? Steve, I've applied FLC and FLI files (on the PC) to objects as I would a brush. To apply it to a specific STATE just LOCKSTATE it to the state you want. >> 2…I'm not asking to MORPH a brush, but rather play it as I've animated it while my OBJECT morphs. Is this possible without having to create individual objects for each frame of the ANIM brush? << I haven't tried what you are doing, but if what you say is true, then try using the ANIMBRSH.IFX that is new to Imagine 3.1. It allows you to define the range of frames of the anim that are used. This way you can pick and choose which sequence of anim frames are used for the specified range of object frames. This can be ideal for creating different "lip synching" anims. Say in anim frames 1-10 you have a smile, 11-20 a frown, 21-30 an open mouth, etc. Using ANIMBRSH.IFX you can shuffle around the order of these anim ranges. I haven't tried this either, but it sounds valid. Let me know if you try it. >> 3.The QUICK BONES commands are reversed. SB makes BB and BB makes SB. Impulse knows about it. Thanks for reinforcing the problem. >> Also cannot find anything about CONSTRAIN in the manual. I believe I have a very simple and basic runthrough of it. I'll try to dig it up and repost it for you. >> Any info on how POP MORPH works would help. POP morph is identical to what it was before. If you try to morph an object with one brush map, to another brushmap say over 10 frames, in frames 1-9 you see the first map, in frame 10 you see the second map. When animated it looks like the second brush just POP's into existence. >> I haven't figured out how to make an eye blink in a STATE OBJ yet Create the face with 3 states. The DEFAULT state that should not be used for animating purposes. An OPEN eye state, and a CLOSE eye state. Then morph from OPEN to CLOSE to OPEN, etc. If the eyelids are seperate objects you only need to have the GROUP button selected when creating the states. >> That's it. Thanks to GreG tsadilas for his help on bones. Saw his SpiderMan. Good job. << Thanks Steven. Glad I could be of some help. Thanks on the SpiderMan. That was one of the first characters I ever made, and I'm not too proud of him. <g> Since him I've refined my character creations. MYTH1.JPG & MYTH2.JPG show a few mythical character. COMUNE.JPG shows a demon and a religious figure, and CREATE.JPG shows some Aliens (greys). -GreG

Steve Here's a repost of a message I posted in the Imagine section of GUGRPA forum a while back. Hope it helps. ——————-snip—————— The constraint system currently in Imagine is rather immature…and thus at times can be unpredictable. I'll share as much as I know, but the only way to really get a grip on it is to take what I share, and then go experiment. Here goes nuthin!… FREEZE – When an object is selected, and this menu item is picked it comes up with a requestor that allows you to define the constraints (restrict motion and rotation.) More on this later. RELEASE- When an object is selected, this menu item will erase the constraints for this object set-up with FREEZE. RELEASE ALL- When a group is selected, this menu item will erase the constraints for each object in the group. CONSTRAIN – When this is selected, all constraints set up with FREEZE will be enabled when the objects are manipulated. Deselecting it, will disable the constraints, but will not RELEASE (erase) them. The FREEZE dialogue has three areas. Transformation: Local & World Rotation: Local & World Joint Locks: Local Selecting any of the X,Y or Z boxes will FREEZE(constrain) the object from Rotating, or being Translated (moved), along that axis. The Joint Locks is a quick way of constraining an object. Unfortunately, it can become very overwhelming to discuss every permutation of the dialogue. Instead..here's a short example to get you up and experimenting. ** Quickie: Add three sphere's and stack them as shown in the FRONT view. Save the object. A __z__ A is the parent. B is grouped to A, C is grouped to B in / | \ this Hierarchy. In SELECT OBJECT mode, select A, and pick | y-x| FREEZE from the menu. Click under JOINT LOCKS the Z & Y. \_____/ A will now Rotate and move only along it's X axis. | B __z__ Select CONSTRAIN from the menu. While in SELECT OBJECT mode / | \ click in C. Press M for move, and in the RIGHT view move the | y-x| C sphere with the mouse. A & B will react accordingly. If \_____/ you do this in the front view, the B joint will also rotate | and move along it's Y axis. To stop this. Reload the default C __z__ object. Select B, then FREEZE, and JOINT lock it's Z & Y. OR, / | \ you can click on ROTATION LOCAL & WORLD's Z & Y buttons. | y-x| This is something you must really play with to understand. \_____/ By specifying how EACH object can move, you can create rather complex movements. In the example above, the C sphere will not rotate unless you specifically rotate it. To have it react without your intervention, add an AXIS under the C sphere, and make it's parent C. Then use this AXIS to manipulate the entire group. First see how the above example functions, then try adding this null axis. NOTE: You can use the simple object made in the BONES quickie tutorial in place of the object group in the CONSTRAINTS example above. Just note that in that object, the A object is the axis at Z=0 (bottom/parent), the B object is the axis at Z=30 (middle), and the C object is the axis at Z=60 (top). Also, once you move the objects using constraints, you will have to select the entire object in GROUP mode, and select BONES UPDATE. -GreG P.S. Hopefully I haven't totally confused you. Play with it a bit, and let me know if you are still having difficulty.