CGTalk - Clusters and Bones

spoondesigns

10-27-2003, 10:24 PM

OK, I'm working on the advise of some great threads that I've read here and using a combination of joints and clusters to work with my character.

I've got the body rigged with joints, and then have created a few clusters on the face to control facial animation (trying this instead of blend shapes for the moment).

The problem I'm having is that when the bones move the mesh along (as in walking forward), the C's that indicate the clusters remain behind. I can still alter the clusters with these C's; but it'd be more intuitive if when the character walked forward, the clusters around his face went with him.

I've tried putting the Clusters as children of the bones (did some really strange stuff) but no dice.....

What am I doing wrong? How can I keep the cluster manipulators with mesh?

DarkBane

10-27-2003, 11:52 PM

There's an option in the attributes for the cluster to make the cluster Relative. Check that, it should work. Unparent it from the joint first though.

spoondesigns

10-28-2003, 12:06 AM

Thanks for the response.

I have Relative checked, and when the mesh moves forward (due to the joints moving), the C still is left behind. Any other ideas?

DarkBane

10-28-2003, 01:18 AM

ummmm.......I'll have to go dig up an old file, to see how I had it set. If nobody else replys with the answer, then I'll find it for ya.

spoondesigns

10-28-2003, 01:28 AM

THanks much. I'm really stumped at the moment.

svenip

10-28-2003, 01:37 AM

the display of the "C" means nothing.

try movin your bones. then select one cluster and moove it. you will see that the effect of the cluster will happen at the cv's you've assigned to the cluster.

the relative flag is just for preventing double movement

BigSky

10-28-2003, 05:42 AM

Yes, 'relative'should be checked. The cluster then can be parented to the skeleton (probably head, in your case) without it doing a double transform: you get your cluster's deforms, plus it travels about with your character.

However....
If you have a case where the cluster is driving the deformation of the skeleton (ie as happens with a spline IK, when you have the curve cv's controlling the joints themselves controlled by clusters, you need to reverse the relative flag, if the curve is sitting outside the joint heirachy.

Oh b'jeezus that's a complicated sentence!!!

;)

Morganism

10-28-2003, 05:49 AM

Hey, this is a little off topic, but I'm just curious. What can a cluster do that a joint can't do?

misterdi

10-28-2003, 06:37 AM

I would use cluster for more detail facial expression and it is relative easier to have overlapping effect with cluster compare to setup as joints.

Yes, you could setup joints as replacement of the cluster, but then you need to do a lot of paint weight job to make the correct weight for this setup.

Back to the original question, usually what I suggest to my student is to group each cluster handle to it self (creating parent transform) and parent this group to the joint. With relative is on, effect of each cluster handle will be calculated from its relative position to the group transform.

But you can also parent the cluster handle directly to the joints, it's just a matter of habit.

diakonas

10-28-2003, 10:10 AM

And what about group all "face" clusters and then parent that Group or PointConstraint it?
I did it some time ago and work fine...

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