How to animate vertex in Maya?

[c000be]

if you use the [nurbs] wire as an influence object to a bound/skinned object with joints. i haven't tried it elsewhere, and i don't know, as an animation procedure, if it takes more energy to render as opposed to joints, blendshapes, etc beyond contextual issues, that is, the overall weight of the file.
if anyone else out there knows, that would be great, because this question has to do with on-the-fly facial animation, and a rig i'm trying to figure out for myself. http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?f=54&t=594934

[Keithtron]

You generally do not want to just animate vertices! Especially if it's just because you don't know any other way of animating.

If you REALLY want to just animate the vertices, you can make a copy of the object, and model it into the open position, and just use that as a blendshape for the original object. You'll need a few in-between blend shapes to get it looking right though.

Another form of animating vertices is to use clusters. Select the vertices you want a cluster to animated, and create a cluster. You'll have to create separate clusters for vertices that you want separate control over. You can then animate the clusters at will. This has proven a good method for me a couple times in the past, such as when I had to animated a droplet of liquid forming and then snapping off. I don't think it's a good approach in your case though.

I would definitely research rigging/deformation techniques some more before you dive into this one.

[convoyrider]

thanks, i tried the blendshape technique but it didn't work out the way i wanted. I'll have a go at the cluster technique

[c000be]

i don't want to animate general vertices either, but i'm not really comfortable with clusters - maybe it's my 2D traditional animation "it's easier to draw it" with lines background. and blendshapes confine me to previously established work models.
TO> animate using a wire influence vertex - you're going to have to make each vertex into a cluster after applying it to the model, from which you can then contrain an object to it if you want to have a visual cue that's easier to use than just the "C" for cluster.

i did figure out a basic rigging method parenting the wire as an object below using it as a wire influence in the attribute heirarchy, and then creating a cluster on each of the vertices for the lips after applying to wire influence, and the volume didn't lose it's shape or do any weird deformations during a simple animation test with either the cluster alone, or the point constraint addition of a small cube for visual reference.
There's only going to be 2 wires for the mouth/16 vertices total, the brow, and I'm thinking I can still use 2 tiny joints for the ears - part of baboon facial expressions how they use their ears, just like dogs [baboons are often referred to as dog monkeys, because of their profile resemblance to canines]. The eyes will probably end up as clusters. http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthr...p?f=54&t=594934 (http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?f=54&t=594934)

the lip sync for the baboons i'm using [see the 2nd button link on the first row of buttons at my website] is going to be on a separate clip level for each of the 4 singing baboons, the camera isn't moving for them, and for the cheating baboon - no lip sync, just basic facial expressions to go along with the song lyrics. And being that I'm trying to retain a lot of basic natural baboon expressions without anthropomorphizing them to death, there's no stretch and squash, etc..

I did a small test using the wires for the lips, and even just that small test gave me a very nice amount of subtlety. it's a matter of using the least number of vertices at the right spots, of course, and maybe using some clusters above the lip level along with the influence objects to make to texture/skin appear to be moving correctly.

i just really would like to get the front/middle lip motion that i don't see in a lot of animation otherwise. plus, primates use this part of their mouths for many of their facial expressions, anyway.

[c000be]

i think this post http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?f=54&t=591017 which is in the rigging section will actually be more useful.

it's about rigging a birds' wing, and paul neale seems to have a good solution using some built it dynamics, and they seem more appropriate to your problem. the link is to the movie, and scroll down for a pic of the flex system attached to a spline that he's using. i think that's what you're looking for more that the vertices discussion going on here, which i'm using for facial expressions. luck.

[CGTalk Moderation]

This thread has been automatically closed as it remained inactive for 12 months. If you wish to continue the discussion, please create a new thread in the appropriate forum.