Character Set Questions.

[softocean]

Right now I'm using character sets to organize parts of animations for over 300 character animations with an identical skeleton. This allows me to mix and match parts and blend the animations together well - a lipsync with a hello wave for example.

[KielFiggins]

I've used character sets in broadcast (tv) and games for about five years now. Their invaluable. Heres how I use them:

-The character rig (which is referenced in to an animation file) has character set created of all keyable attrs for the character.

(::the Why:: )
=having a consistant character set and referencing will make animation saving/copy/pasting far easier.
=character sets need to be created before keys are set
=adding new channels to a character set in the rig (with referecing) works fine, removing channels will likely cause errors.
=since adding channels works great, you can give your animator a base rig with only primary controls, then upgrade the rig while the animator is already working, by adding secondary controls and so on.

-On frame 0 of the animation (or whatever the start frame is), you select the character set and hit 's' to set a key on everything.

(::the Why:: )
=hitting 's' keys all so working with autokey is much easier
=for transfering animations, copy and paste animation is easier since all values have a key to transfer
=when using the trax editor, the clip has a key on all channels and will prevent odd results if one clip is keyed on a channel and the other is not. Helps with blending and such.

-Then working pose to pose, i hit 's' on each key pose (and sometimes the breakdown if necessary). This way I know that no matter what, I want this value on this frame. Makes for timing adjustments much easier.
-After the key poses are laid out and breakdowns created, I turn off the character set and work on the individual controllers.

Lastly, if your making looping animations for games, crowd scenes or background characters, its best to hit 's' on the last frame to make sure the clip is closed off.


Some more benefits of character sets:
-can copy animations with either trax or custom tools by selecting a single item. Opposed to manually copying each control or quick select set.
-all the benefits of the trax editor
-rig consistancy
-easier pose to pose keying and key editing
-allows the rig to be updated while the animator is working
-allows the animator to see all the keys of the entire animation, useful when doing global timing adjustments in the Dope sheet.

Hope this information helps.

[atarigraffx]

i got a new rig and i created a character set and subsets for the upper body, lower body etc

i selected the FK attributes and added them to the subset, then i switched it to IK and selected all those attributes and added them to the same subset, lets just say the upper body.

i didnt know where to add the main "super mover" control so i didnt put it in a subset, i just added it to the main character set (top of the hierarchy)

my problem now is copy and pasting keys

im trying to do a run cycle but when i copy the keys for any subset or main character set and try to paste them a few frames up, the pasted keys are not the same keys.

they are offset, sometimes by extreme amounts

any help on this matter would be great

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