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View Full Version : Help please: mesh model animation bugs

thelemur
11-22-2008, 07:56 PM
Hello,

I'm trying to animate a walking bear along a spline. Unfortunately I run into problems like this: http://thelemur.com/bear_skin_glitch/

If the model is not attached to a spline using a Path constraint, it looks great. As soon as I attach it to a Path, the deformities start. If I then move the bear along the path, the deformities become more alien-like. (It gets worse the more distance traveled per frame). Problem is, even if the bear sits still at the beginning of the path - it looks deformed.

I have tried removing all unnecessary bone movement including: head swings, shoulder bounce, rib swaying, etc. The top bone structure is stationary, only thing moving is the legs and feet.

A friend recommended checking the bone envelopes. I am new to character animation, so I might be missing something - but every point in the mesh is connected to a bone.

If I remove the "Constant velocity" check from the Path constraint it looks worse.

Setup:
- 3DS Max 9
- Model is from Turbosquid: http://www.turbosquid.com/FullPreview/Index.cfm/ID/334242
- The path constraint has "Follow" checked, animating with "Constant velocity", "Loop" is unchecked, following "Y-axis" (flipped).


If anyone can shed light on this issue it would be greatly appreciated :banghead:


Thanks,

Mike
thelemur
11-27-2008, 03:46 PM
I found out what the problem was if anyone ever has this same issue:

The bones were not setup properly, they were Grouped and moved along a spline from 0% to 100% of the spline length. Imagine a bear making a walking motion with its legs, but it is not on the ground - it is hanging from a harness. That harness then moves and rotates from point A to B.

I was told this is not a good way to animate bones. Instead, you need to move the root bones object and limbs manually (or use the footstep tool). Don't Group and animate your bones!


-Mike
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