I've been searching for a low cost animation tools that could animate character and edit .X and .B3D files. I've stumbled on this site. http://www.goddysey.com/index.htm
Here is a screenshot of the interface:
It seem to have:
- IK (Inverse Kinematic)
- Automatic and manual vertex weighting
- Physics (rag doll possible effects)
- Keyframe animation editing
- Seem to work with B3D and .X files
Have somebody worked with that tool? They have video on the site that demonstrate and teach it, and I never seen a tool that complete so far.
I just fear that the developpement is stopped. Someone as news of this tool? The forum there seem empty due to spam. I have not yet seen a community for it.
I'll second that, even though I haven't tried that particular software. Blender is a little hard to get started on, and it's hard to find the right tutorials, but it's a great package. It takes time and patience to learn it, just like any software. I lucked out and started with a tutorial that made a head from a cube, but I can't tell you which one it was. Even though it didn't look that good when I was done, I had learned almost everything I needed to make low poly models in one tutorial. Animation is the same. Most tutorials show you ways to animate that don't even export well, but it's really pretty easy using the automatic system they set up and you can do a paste reverse for walk cycles, etc.
i still don't know how to do animation in blender. would be nice if i can learn it in one week. it takes time to learn things. as they say in my place: patience is a virtue.
1 .I'm a lightwave modeler and Lightwave is a nightmare to setup for character animation. Having a basic working rig take ages.
2. I want to learn 3DS (I registered to a Level Design program that will include 3DS and Zbrush. I still wait to be accepted (about 500-600 submission and they will take only 15 students). Learning Blender for now is too much. I need a simple thing that will only do the job I need.
3. I've checked this software and it currently ONLY does character rigging and animation. Support for B3D and .X animation (That is pretty difficult to do in Lightwave (.X is possible but .B3D as no export tool). It has predefined skeletons, and lots of features with IK(Working!).
I'll try the demo and decide. I'm mastering about every aspect of Lightwave exept theses tools (character animation rig/vertex weighting ). I'm able to create a basic rig, but it take ages. I've contacted the author to ask if they still work on this. For my project (First-King), this could help me do the character (David as proposed to do them, but I could help him a little)
Alternatively you can try CharacterFX. Its nice little animation tool. Unfortunately they did seem stop to develop it since some years. Its shareware with 30 days trial.
By the way, do not forget Milkshape3D you can animate there too along modeling and UV maping.
I animate in Max(character studio or bones.Export in x, and usually towards b3d using Ultimate Unwrap as intermediate converter (*.u3d->b3d)) , Blender, Gmax, a bit in XSI, and character fx (I think is dead, but has working x and b3d exports. No ik, in practice. Less functional than Blender in many aspects, but also as is quite old now. ) ...And one thing is clear: Rigging is an art by itself, animating, even more. I know as I have firstly been just an illustrator, later modeler texturer, and finally animation part. And took me quite more effort to do natural animations.
In all those that I mentioned, if you actually are gonna have to use 3ds Max in that course, I'd recommend you just go ahead, if you have access, and use max and for example Character Studio. It has a big learning curve, but as you talk, sounds like the kind of UI of blender (happened to me) keeps you far, while the Max one is way more common. Animating and rigging with bones in max is harder, animating and rigging with max character Studio is a bit easier. i did that way, and in jobs: started with cs, then learnt Max bones (but I already knew how to rig and animate with other tools' bones and weights )
This in your case. As you are in a hurry, etc, etc...
in any other case, I'd see more interesting take patience(only thing needed for blender) and some months, dedicating an hour a day to learn blender...maybe more at the beguining. (I say an hour as an estimate average among most people);What i did initially was only learn basic ui and scene handling and character animation: was the only use for me,I model and texture with other tools. But learnt its general ways, is learning all. the rest of the stuff comes by itself.
beware that it may be not only that LW (I dunno, really) anim tools or rigging ones are so hard(maybe) to learn (last time I checked had many of the advanced thingies.) , but still, that seems you are facing for first time , and even at same time, rigging and animation: is emulating human behaviour...no way that can be learnt in a week. Just trust me. You can convince me you can learn to animate in other tool in a week if already you are a pro in another, and even so, the nitty gritty, the dark details of a tool, are best learnt when pressured in a job: as no way round, or when firmly dedicated to a personal project (but in bigger chunk of time, and there, you take easier routes as are free for it .Which has as well its bad side )
One very cool software can be Messiah, and is not uber expensive, if buy the one that exports as x (if also buy Ultimate unwrap, then u can convert to a collection of formats, quite huge, preserving anim and weights, works for me)) instead of the one that just renders. Still, is an indepth tool, pro tool, not really easy I suspect.
CAT plugin for max is very powerful, too.
I say this 'cause I started thinking that(the tool A or B was too complex) in my beguinings with modeling, and later happened the same with animation. Later I understood that in nature the matter is complex. Even more: is relatively easy to learn to do a basic game rig, and basic typical animations. but making a human walkcycle human, life like, non repetititve, giving weight, etc, is not easy. But most games don't have that, anyway...
I'll try the demo and decide. I'm mastering about every aspect of Lightwave exept theses tools (character animation rig/vertex weighting ). I'm able to create a basic rig, but it take ages. I've contacted the author to ask if they still work on this. For my project (First-King), this could help me do the character (David as proposed to do them, but I could help him a little)
I guess that surprises me a little, but maybe Lightwave is too high end for games or something. I still use Blender's old vertex selection method rather than painting.
It's a matter of experience. I'm used to modeling and animation using FORWARD kinematics.
Doing "rigs" for IK and creating vertex map is very new to me.
Lightwave use it's bone weights to manipulate the mesh, and for game character, exporting the mesh to .X is almost not counting on this bone weight feature. So I've tried creating vertex maps and failed lot of times.
I'm going back to College, I still wait to receive the letter if I'll be accepted, in this program. If i'm accepted; this time, I'll learn on 3DS Max (A tool is a tool, it's not important), and I'll have an Ubisoft expert showing me the base techniques. So in a way, it will be "fixed" someday. I don't think it's a software limitation (But Lightwave could have put some helper tools or tutorial on creating this and they don't)
don't worry, the knowledge about this area in what it matters, is like in modelling: pretty similar in every package.
You learn bones, weights, ik (essential, plus many other constraints) , good animation, human movement, and some animation principles, and you've learnt for all. They just change the type of buttons and where do the y put them
Of course, advanced animation techniques, yes can eb more different from one tool to another, but if you learn to animate deeply, well , in a package, you learn in all.
That's a nice thing you'll be trained by someone of Ubi...
For character animation, though, if I were you I'd go to a Maya course.
Anyway, at the end is all the same...For those never interested in getting a job in the industry, Blender has most advanced animation features there, not as many as several of the highend packages, but you can do extremely cool animation with it anyways.Probably in a harder way, though, but the tool is free
pd: sounds as if you were speaking about hooks, about weights in modelling, which may not be in internals matters compatible with rigging weights. I dunno as I have only used Lightwave in a pair of big 3d/multimedia events...
