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OptimoMaximo

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Posts posted by OptimoMaximo

    Small problem with max slav and 3ds max

    in Mesh

    Posted

    did you try to change the measurement units? probably you need it to be set to a different unit (meters, cm, feet, inches etc). I don't use 3DSMax, i'm used to Maya and Blender. Maybe the naming that Maya uses might be closer to 3DS's. After you applied the changes you needed (scale and rotation), try to "freeze transformations". if it doesn't work, try "delete history" on all models you want to export to collada. Another thing that can cause problems, is the orientation of the avatar: in Second Life it takes the orientation of Maya, where the Y axis is up and Z axis is forward, while 3DSMax uses the same default as Blender, Z up and X forward. I use SLAV only to import avatars, but i never tried to export any as i use Blender's plugin for SL Collada. So i can't be of any furhter help i'm afraid.

     

    I hope you get this solved

    Cheers

     

    fine rotations not registering in SL

    in Animation Forum

    Posted

    Even if there won't be data loss using your product, so fine rotations wouldn't even be noticeable, causing an unnecessary overload of data normally dropped by the uploader, reason for it was designed with a clean up in the process. Too much data would result in a decreased animation efficiency (time to download from the server to be played in the viewer, strictly related to filesize) for long animations. I'm not for unnecessary burden on SL servers to stream unnecessary data. Furhtermore, using bvh files enables animators to sell their animations on other platforms like Animeeple, where people would be able to retarget the skeleton to a character for their own purposes.

    Blender Animations

    in Animation Forum

    Posted

    Are you sure that animations can be bulk uploaded? what about loop and ease in/out values then? Assuming that the animation gets eported in .anim format, so it would include hand and face blend shapes (or shapekeys in Blender), so that step is naturally skipped, the other fields in the exporter are the actual way to interpolate non-linear animations. So if bulk uploading is possible, skipping the entire process of upload settings, the animator wouldn't be able to make a set of animations, each of them having different uses and need of different values. If instead it is not possible to bulk upload, then there must be an upload window which let you insert those values. So, as far as i'm concerned, the animation in this case would be passing through an uploader, which i definitely doubt that the developers fixed the loop bug and the too high delta rotation limit for data to be dropped. Not mentioning that if the uploader is patched, it might be capable of priority 5 animations uploads, thing which should be concerning you, given the large amount of people who uses your products. Just my opinion.

    Blender Animations

    in Animation Forum

    Posted

    Yep, it looks like that Domino. In fact, the official release of my BVHExporter 2_1 is ready, complete of its manual which i'm now going to assemble inworld. 

    I strongly doubt, though, that .anim format would be lossless during upload. Even if using a patched viewer that allows that, i don't believe that it will skip the processing step to drop keyframes not matching the minimum delta rotation, what i call "the uploader clean up", leaving a considerable amount of keyframes that usually would be dropped. Not considering the rig arrangement that i saw, which is the usual type applied on characters used normally for movie making, not for online, realtime game engines animation production. All the animation features described there are fully available via the standard operations that an animator does (without scripts). Curve Editor's features also. IK and FK behavior is switchable as well, plus the presence of non-inherited bones to help quicker posing. But i supply a manual to learn HOW to use these features and what's the animation workflow a professional animator uses for handcrafted animations (it's my job in RL for advertisements in local TVs). All the other features i've read of, give creators much more playground in other fields; as stated in a previous post, my work was only towards animation production.

    Blender Animations

    in Animation Forum

    Posted

    Hi again!

    So, i thought to an early access program. Here is another video which explains it

    https://docs.google.com/open?id=0BzZTVbsQ7mtTMTVlY2I5YmUtYTQyMy00NDYyLWI1NTctZWEwNGMwZjQ1YTU1

    To answer your question, my work on this file was aimed exclusively on animation production, this means that my knowledge went only towards skeletal structure set up to make working for an SL animation much easier and complete, with the least amount of animation data being dropped during upload, due to the "clean ups" that the uploader does. The avatars, both male and female, are not weighted to avoid influences on playback performance, as for the total materials and UV's lack. If you get the import files for archetype xml files you will be able to import it. The rig has been designed to line up perfectly with SL grid, all the test animations i tried kept the avatar's feet exactly leaning on the ground and never ever feet sink in the ground, not even a tiny part. Motion accuracy guaranteed at 97% for each animation you do following the building and optimization system described in the book (the process is the same of my previous publication). There are so many animatable settings now that this will need explanations or you won't even see them. Also, with 2.5x Blender serie there has been the introduction of character motion curves modifiers. If you're confident with your selflearning skills go ahead and click the link above. :)

     

    Cheers

    Blender Animations

    in Animation Forum

    Posted

    Hi Monica :)

    I'm glad that you find this useful for you. Unfortunately i can't give out any timeline for the final release, because the package has to include a manual. The previous published book was 103 pages, and there's so much more that needs an explanation that i don't feel to be comfortable with timelines. Roughly it will take me the next two months, but here i say it and deny at once^^.

    By the way, once released you'll get a working exporter with animation manual, so please be patient :) My rig is designed to work professionally and with particular settings on the skeleton that, besides the workflow explained in the manual, will get you to have an optimized animation for SL upload with the least effort. 

    I'll plan an early access program for those who want to start poking it without instructions

     

    Stay tuned :)

     

    Cheers

     

    fine rotations not registering in SL

    in Animation Forum

    Posted

    It all also depends by which FPS rate you use. In pretty lowframerates animations 3 degrees would work, but the higher you set the FPS the higher the minimum rotation has to be set. Anyway, the minimal rotation for each joint can vary, from my experience, between 6 degrees when at 30FPS downto 3 degrees when at 6-10 FPS. Make sure that the rotation of each joint is set on all 3 axis, because the degree's gap which is calculated during upload to drop "unnecessary"data is calculated among all 3 axis. To clear up a bit this concept, assuming that at 30FPS you need a 6 degrees rotation difference between previous and next keyframe, if you split those 6 degrees among the 3 axis (+2 on x axis, -2 on y axis and +2 on z axis for instance, but any distribution would work) you save that data from being dropped.

    Blender Animations

    in Animation Forum

    Posted

    Hi Monica!

    I'm actually developing a new file at the moment, which includes both male and female avatars. The rig will be totally different in its constraints concepts, allowing more flexibility of animation. But this one won't be free, since it will come along with a manual. No worries, the price will be fair ;) Anyway, i will also update the current free version to better align SL coordinates. Stay tuned ;)

    Blender Animations

    in Animation Forum

    Posted

    As promised, here is a link where you can download the necessary material to get you started. Feel free to share this link with anyone

     

    https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0BzZTVbsQ7mtTMjY3YjY5MjItZGYwOC00NWI2LWE4MzEtNzc3OWU5ZWM1Nzkz&hl=en_US

    Should you have any problem, do not contact me since i don't support this product. It's free and aimed to help the community members who like animating, but i assume that the end user knows how to animate with Blender with a professional IK setup.

     

    Cheers

     

     

    ETA: this is the link you can find also below, directing to the version 2_0_1. Previous versions were taken down.

    ETA: This set up is an object-based work around to avoid SL skeleton breakage during export, since the exporter was designed to include all bones, causing it to output an error. The next release though will have a full skeleton-based rig, coming along with a manual. This won't take a short time unfortunately, because Blender 2.6 animation features are much richer than the previous versions (2.49)

    Blender Animations

    in Animation Forum

    Posted

    Hi there all!

    I've just created a working IK rig for a SL skeleton that works correctly in Blender 2.6. I will release this file shortly for everyone's benefit BUT i won't support it (it's free^^). The package will also include modified exporter scripts that (finally!!) work with any kind of BVH files, including SL compatible ones.

    Also, in the next future i will publish an inworld manual to explain extensively how character animation works within Blender, but in the meantime you can always follow my classes at Builders Brewery, which are based on Blender 2.49 BVHexporter by Jacek Antonelli. A manual on animation is available for sale for that version, with extensive explanations on how to properly build an animation in Blender. 

     

    An introduction video can be found here https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0BzZTVbsQ7mtTYzc4YzE1NjctYmZhYy00OTI1LWIwOTYtYTJkNjdjNDQ2NjE5&hl=it

    This version shown in the video is NOT free ;)

     

    I hope this would be of help to Blender Animation Artists :)

     

    Cheers

    Create and edit BVH animations using Blender 2.58a....

    in Animation Forum

    Posted

    Hi all,
    I have just created a.blend file with a working IK rig added to it to better work on animations. I will release it shortly BUT i won't give support if not able to handle the needed skills to animate a fully IK rigged character. You will need anyway to install those scripts mentioned above.
    If you are interested in IK based animation skills using blender, you can follow my classes at The Builders Brewery, which is based on 2.49 with a guide book available for purchase. In the next future i'll also release a new guide book based on this new version :)

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