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View Full Version : Blendweighted nodes ... a good thing?

slapnutz
08-25-2008, 04:44 AM
Being new to rigging, I was just wondering if there are any pros/cons of having "blendweighted" nodes in your rig.

Background info...

For a Bone driven Facial setup test:

Basically, I have an "emtpy control group null" which has a Joint parented underneath it. I'm using multiple Set Driven Keys on the NULL node for expressions. Also having the Set Driven Keys on the NULL node instead of the Joint directly always me to do finer tweaks by manually adjusting the Joint if required so. (I'm guessing this is a pretty simple/common/old method in the industry)

Joint_1_Control_NULL (set driven keys on this node to control skinned joint below)
|
--------> Joint_1_JNT (skinned joint to be manually adjusted for particular expressions if needed)

Sooo... I noticed that keying mutliple Set Driven Keys on any nodes attributes will introduce a "Blendweighted" Node which makes sense I guess. Just wanted to know if it would introduce unwanted overheads or issues later on in my workflow?

I hope this question makes sense. Hopefully I'm making a big deal out of nothing. Cheers fellas.
MikeRhone
08-25-2008, 07:27 PM
Personally, the blendWeighted node is one of my favorite tools in rigging. I love using a multiple setDriven key setup on hand rigs. I have a master controller for major hand positions (thumbs up, a-ok, fist, weapon grab etc), and then secondary controls for the individual joints along the fingers for specific fine controls. I have never seen any major 'overhead' from doing this way personally. Unless you are doing some insanely complex rigs with thousands of blendweighted nodes, I would be inclined not to worry about it.
slapnutz
08-27-2008, 01:38 AM
Cool, thanks for the help buddy. Much appreciated. :p
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