In MotionBuilder, you
can animate characters by setting keyframes manually or by using
motion-capture data. This lesson shows you how to do both.
NoteIf you already know
how to animate characters in MotionBuilder, you can skip this lesson
and go to the
next
lesson.
Load Pepe with characterization:
- In
MotionBuilder, from the
main menu, choose File
New.
- In the Asset Browser
Export folder, click to highlight pepe_biped_characterized.fbx.
This file contains the
Pepe character you worked on in the last few lessons. To speed things
up, he has already been characterized and saved in MotionBuilder,
so he is ready to receive animation.
- Drag pepe_biped_characterized.fbx to the
Viewer.
- On the pop-up menu that appears, choose
FBX Open
<All
Takes>.
MotionBuilder has the
ability to store multiple animation “takes” or sequences within
the same project, and this option would open all of them if they
existed. Alternatively, you could choose <No Animation> or
Take 001.
- With the cursor in the Viewer, press A to zoom in to the Pepe character.
- Press Ctrl+Shift and
drag to orbit until the Pepe’s right side is in view.
Pepe is ready to accept
keyframe animation using control-rig input from the Character Controls
window. But in this case, you will retarget animation to Pepe from
one of the motion-capture files that ship with MotionBuilder.
Animate the Pepe character using motion-capture data
- From the Asset Browser
Export folder, choose iceslip and
drag it to the Viewer.
- A pop-up menu appears. Choose FBX Merge
IceSlip.
- Zoom out until the yellow skeleton that
represents the motion-capture animation is visible.
NoteIf you do not see
the yellow skeleton, place your cursor in the Viewer and press Ctrl+A to exit Models Only mode.
- On the Transport Controls, click
(Play) to view the animation.
You will now assign this
movement to the Pepe character. In MotionBuilder, this task is easy
to accomplish.
Apply the animation to the Pepe character:
- On the Character Controls window
Character Controls pane,
make sure PEPE is displayed in the character list.
- Choose Edit
Input
Skeleton2,
which is the yellow skeleton containing the motion-capture animation.
- Scrub the animation either by dragging
the animation slider bar, or by holding down the J key and dragging left or right
in the viewport.
The skeleton’s animation
now drives the Pepe character.
Identify a problem area:
The skeleton is a good
deal larger than Pepe, and when scales are mismatched in this way,
you can expect that some motion doesn’t translate correctly.
- Press Ctrl+A until
only Pepe is visible.
- Drag the timeline indicator (equivalent
to the 3ds Max time slider) to frame 92. You can also use the
Play Controls to find the right frame.
- Zoom in on the Pepe character.
If you look carefully,
you will see how one of Pepe’s hands passes into his face. You might
need to orbit the Viewer and scrub the animation a few times to
see the problem.
This behavior occurred
because the animation driving Pepe’s bone movement is based on the
skeleton, which has a very different physiology. (Pepe’s head, hands,
and feet, for example, are much larger than the skeleton’s, while
his shoulders are much narrower.)
In the next procedure,
you will correct Pepe’s hand movement.
Correct the hand-in-the-face problem:
- On the Character Representation, click
the right hand effector, then press T and
try to move Pepe’s hand in the viewport.
Nothing happens because
Pepe’s animation is controlled by the skeleton, not the control
rig. Before you can go any farther, you need to bake the skeleton
animation onto the Pepe character’s control rig.
- On the Character Control window
Character Controls pane
Edit menu, choose Plot
Character.
- On the Character dialog, click Control
Rig.
On the second Character
dialog, leave the default values unchanged, and click Plot.
Now you can edit the
Pepe character using his control rig.
NoteThe Plot command
creates a key at every frame at the base layer of the animation
track, which makes edits difficult. Because of this, you will edit
the keyframing on a different layer.
- On the Key Controls window, click the
Base Layer list and choose Layer 1.
The keyframes are hidden
on the timeline, clearing your workspace.
- Go to frame 80, which is the start of
the problem hand movement. On the Character Representation, click
the right wrist effector, then on the Key Controls panel, click
Key.
TipYou can also create
a key by placing your cursor anywhere in the Viewer and pressing K.
- Go to frame 105, the end of the problem
hand movement, and click Key again.
All character movement
before the first key and after the second will remain unchanged.
Only the character movement between frames 80 to 105 will be modified.
- Go to frame 94, the midpoint between
the two new keyframes you set.
- Make sure the right hand effector is
still active. In the Viewer, press T,
move the hand away from Pepe’s face on its X and Z axes, and create
another key.
- Hold down J,
then drag back and forth to see how the hand reacts to the keys
you just created.
Pepe’s hand no longer
intersects with his face while he is falling.
Correct the hand position after Pepe
has fallen:
- Advance to the last frame of the animation
and adjust the Viewer until you can see the right side of Pepe’s
body.
- Move the hand away from the body and
create a key.
- Press R and
use the rotate gizmo to modify the hand’s position until it rests
flat on the ground, then create another key.
- Go to frame 114 and position the right
hand farther away from the head and create another key.
-
Play back the animation
to see the result.
When you are satisfied
with the animation, proceed to the next lesson. There, you will
save your work and prepare it for import back to 3ds Max.