Skeletal Animation Practice

[Destructavator]

While Migel is working on the textures, one thing I've put a little time into is practice with making skeletons and animating different poses.

I think I've almost got it right - in these examples the left arm hasn't been rigged yet, and the fingers (which this modified version has) are also not rigged, just one solid single piece so far, but I've already got a few basic poses starting to work.

I've still got a few verts that need to go in different groups so they attach to the proper bones, also a few other adjustments, but this one's coming out much better than the previous attempts I've made - the past tries resulted in verts and faces flying all over and looking very messed up.

I also had to add a few verts here and there so the joints would work right.

This one's really just practice, until the textures and final models are ready.

Blender also includes an automatic segmentation feature for bones, so the spine in the back will curve realistically as if it were many vertebrae bones and not just a few rigid long bones - I'm still working on that bit though.

[Destructavator]

Got it!

The fingertips came out just a little funny, but for the most part I can now pose the model in almost any normal, common position.

[vedrit]

Cant help but say it. The pose looks great, good job. But my focus on details is making me say, for the hands, either have them in fists, curved in a little, or tight together.
I know, its just practice. Use Windows movie maker to make a quick clip, if ya want to show us an animation

[Mattn]

great - so you can animate the models on your own.... go for it

[Destructavator]

Well, here's a quickie Xvid AVI, just three seconds long, of the soldier gripping a pistol, kneeling, and aiming with it, I had to scale the pistol to fit the fingered hands, but it works!

[Mattn]

very nice - how easy would it be to transform this animation to other models?

[H-Hour]

Very nice Destructavator! Would you mind providing a screenshot of the skeleton itself? I've never learned how to do that but would like to try at some point.

I know it's just a short clip you threw out as a sample, but the final shooting pose looks a bit odd. The shoulders ought to be turned at a slight angle to the target. I found a bunch of useful pose shots in a military manual on pistol marksmanship that might help with visual reference. Check out Fig 2-10 and Fig 2-15.

[Destructavator]

Very nice Destructavator! Would you mind providing a screenshot of the skeleton itself? I've never learned how to do that but would like to try at some point.

I know it's just a short clip you threw out as a sample, but the final shooting pose looks a bit odd. The shoulders ought to be turned at a slight angle to the target. I found a bunch of useful pose shots in a military manual on pistol marksmanship that might help with visual reference. Check out Fig 2-10 and Fig 2-15.

Thanks for the link - I really didn't know any of this, I just guessed when it came to the pose as I've never been in the military.

I'm still tweaking a few things with the skeleton, when I'm finished I'll be happy to detail how I made it and how it works, although a lot of it came from studying the old skeleton for a past model that vedrit put together, I learned quite a bit from that.

very nice - how easy would it be to transform this animation to other models?

It depends on how the model is structured.  We've already run into the issue of new animations for the old soldier models not working (one of the reasons we're making new soldier models), but with some of the other models floating around, if they have verts in the right places for joints then yes, it can be done.

[Destructavator]

I'm still tweaking the shoulders.

I've found that Blender loads textures from the game folder just fine, for walls, floors, etc., and can easily make backgrounds.  Blender gave a few strange errors when importing the existing weapon MD2s, but it still renders OK.

Once Migel finishes the final textures, I'll have everything I need to make cinematic movie clips for the game, with the new models.  I can already make a movie clip out of the still shown below (attached).

[Mattn]

nice, so we can even expect some nice render shots like http://ufoai.svn.sourceforge.net/viewvc/ufoai/ufoai/trunk/base/pics/ui/lost_bg.tga?view=log and http://ufoai.svn.sourceforge.net/viewvc/ufoai/ufoai/trunk/base/pics/ui/won_bg.jpg?view=log (as they would need updating for the new models anyway)

you turn out to be a swiss knife in terms of modelling if you go on like that

[Destructavator]

nice, so we can even expect some nice render shots like http://ufoai.svn.sourceforge.net/viewvc/ufoai/ufoai/trunk/base/pics/ui/lost_bg.tga?view=log and http://ufoai.svn.sourceforge.net/viewvc/ufoai/ufoai/trunk/base/pics/ui/won_bg.jpg?view=log (as they would need updating for the new models anyway)

Eventually, yes.  That and cinematic movie clips as well, OGM and/or ROQ.   

[Migel]

That will be a hard way... Did you make an animation sometime before, Destructavator?

[bayo]

you should animate the hairs too, maybe 2 bones

[Destructavator]

Actually, I think Migel may be right - I've tried a few quick movie clip animations, and Blender is slow in rendering them, frame by frame.  To answer your question Migel, no, I'm actually new at this animation stuff.

I've given it some thought - what might be easier would be to simply import the models into a quick app with some graphic engine, Ogre, Irrlicht, or something else, and record it.  Doing so would sure take a heck of a lot less time to create a video clip, and I do know how to code such simple things, I've done it before with my own sample projects.  I think it would also take advantage of the new PCI Express graphics card I have now, instead of slowly using Blender's internal render engine.

Blender makes nice pictures, its just really friggin' slow...

[vedrit]

you should animate the hairs too, maybe 2 bones

You mean 2 bones per stand of hair? Or 2 bones of all the hair? Either way, I for one, think it unnecissary. The hair is supposed to be of a very short cut, so there would be no secondary action for the hair. That, and I dont think we animate heads....

Destructavator, you mind attaching what you have in way of animation? I would like to start animating.