? animators or companies working on Motion Builder

[elektronaut]

We started working with MB 1 year ago. As I see in Germany that more and more companies take a closer look to use MB.

marco.

[sivasketch]

thank u guys for ur reply, as i heard that motion builder will b intergrated with alias maya!
is this true and will the mb users will increase if mb comes with inbuilt maya?

[LoneCanuck]

Hey Curve Master,

I hope that more and more people consider using MB as an animation tool, rather than just viewing it as a mocap tool (there are better solutions for solving mocap data onto skeletons). But the industry can be stubborn and a lot of companies have entrenched pipelines and code that only allow the package they have used for many years (ie: 3DMax). For a lot of these places, the transition would be a rough one and one that many won’t want to make.

-LoCK

[Deacis]

MB ROX! Even if you are using max or any software you can retarget your data and use all the awesome tools provided!~ then re-export it back out. I’ve talked to companies in the past that have no clue and think it was weird you used filmbox/mb. As stated in the thread, you don’t just need it for mocap. The NLE and filters alone are worth it. Not to mention all the awesome animation tools. Alias had a clue and bought out the software (Kaydara). Now all the silly folk in positions of power will be purchasing a clue. As you can see there are already many more companies hiring for it this last year alone. I think we will see more animators finally realizing what they’ve been missing now.

[rstratton]

I work at Midway games and we use motion builder…and we are training all our sister companies on it also…hell in my opinion there is not a better animation software out there…but like I said that is my opinion

[Favian001]

We have been using MB for about 5 months now and it is a major part of our pipeline. I use MB not only for MoCap, but animation as well-the tools are great and the “real time” deal has made it easier to animate ( no more playblasts!! ). I know people in several large studios that have suggested getting familiar with this amazing program as it may become foundation just as Maya has. MB roxx!

[sivasketch]

Hi Favian001,

so u are using mb for mocaps and also for keyframe animation, thats fine, and how do u feel working on rigging in mb ?, is it simple ? which software are u using for rigging ur models?

we are using mb for pining and looping mocaps, i thought not many guys are using mb for key frame animation , but i am happy to see u all working on MB, so well i have got one question for u all !

How will b the opportunities for the guys who have good production experience in MB in gaming ?

drop one message b4 u leave thanks in advance

[Sean_MacNeil]

Hey all, I’m a Maya user considering learning MB after I saw a demo on the “dynamic editor” in MB. You all rave about it’s great animation tools, would you mind elaborating on some of these great tools you guys like so much and what they do better than their predecessors.

The idea of a high level key editor sounds really good, but I’m not sure I fully understand how it works and how it is a shortcut to traditional curve tweaking in the graph editor.

And does the MB rig come with squash&stretch capability?

Also, the way the entire rig (shoulders/hips) follows the ik solvers when you pull on them, is this desirable when posing your characters?

Thanks in advance,
Sean.

[donShole]

…Also, the way the entire rig (shoulders/hips) follows the ik solvers when you pull on them, is this desirable when posing your characters?

To answer this question. Full body ik can be deactivated on a mouse click and turned on again on a mouse click. You can also determine just how much “pull” each ik will have on the rest of the body. Basically MB can be as simple as you want or as complex as you want.

[Curtis]

Hey curve_master,

I wanted to point out a handful of game developers that are currently using MotionBuilder in their pipelines (many of them have been using it for years):

• Electronic Arts
• Sony Computer Entertainment
• UBIsoft
• Midway
• Codemasters
• Glyphx

…and let me tell you, the list goes on and on. More and more we are seeing medium to small developers adopt MotionBuilder to tackle projects that they are working on. The large facalities are either already using MotionBuilder full time, or are evaluating it for their existing pipelines.

---

For everyone else asking questions about rigging/setup in MotionBuilder, it’s come a long way, let me tell you…Out of the box, we build a complete full-body FK/IK rig, based on the size and proportions of your character. The rig itself can be manipulated/keyed in full-body, or individual body parts (more like Biped), which gives you control over how the character is going to react to your manipulation. For setup, you can add objects/constraints as needed to augment the rig setup (ex: props). The rig itself supports scaling, so setting up a squash and stretch rig is totally possible.

---

Cheers!

Curtis Garton

[sivasketch]

Hi Curtis,
thanks for the information, and let me know for what purpose most number of companies
are using MB, that means are they using mb for motcap blending, or keyframe animation ?

and we are using mb for mocap blending.

[SirShufflelot]

I just started working at a major game company who are unfamiliar with MB. I worked at a mocap studio before so am more than aware of how MB can increase productivity, so now I have to prove it. My concern is the studios dependence on character studio and how I can introduce MB into my pipeline(I dont think the other animators will be into it right away) and still work through the CS rigs, it seems I will be compromising my work by having to plot to the cs_bvh skelton adn than importing through CS. In the end I fear they will think MB isn’t as good when really its CS thats the killer.

[Mr.Pottz]

In our pipeline we have been able to use MB for mocap editing and a substantial amount of keyframed animation.

As previously mentioned (donshole)…the beauty of MB is that it is ‘as simple as you want it to be’. Not only does it allow you to import and edit mocap data in the package…the animation tools allow you to create keyframe animations with ease and speed (and/or blend the two) …it lets you to concentrate solely on animating. The IK/FK rigs, various tools, editors etc seem to be improving with each release…aimed more and more towards the animators needs.

[Curtis]

All I want to add in here is…

Just wait until your get your hands on version 7…

MotionBuilder 7 is going to set a new standard for real-time character animation - be it keyframed, motion capture or device driven.

Cheers,

Curtis Garton

[liquidhalf]

- Electronic Arts
- Sony Computer Entertainment
- UBIsoft
- Midway
- Codemasters
- Glyphx 

…and let me tell you, the list goes on and on. More and more we are seeing medium to small developers adopt MotionBuilder to tackle projects that they are working on. The large facalities are either already using MotionBuilder full time, or are evaluating it for their existing pipelines.

Curtis Garton

… and you forgot HIGH MOON STUDIOS. We used it along with Maya on Darkwatch. Http://www.darkwatch.com

[Curtis]

…it must have been a rough day when I posted that, as not including HighMoon is a huge mistake on my part. The guys at HighMoon are great! I have really enjoyed working with them for the past few years. They have a great mix of really talented artists and are great to deal with from the software vender side…

And they did DarkWatch…enough said!

[Limiter]

Sorry for bringing in an old thread discussion, but its something I need to know.

Is motionbuilder is still being used by companies as animation tool for both gaming or film even? How much companies do have MB in their pipeline today?

if I want to be in the gaming industries, is MB is great asset today? I know only Maya so far. Im doing some video tutorials for MB currently.

[MsBrisby]

Hello everyone,

I was just reading up on some of the new features in MB 7 and it looks really great. I work at a small company as the Lead character animator and have alot of pull as to what software we purchase, right now we’re mainly using Maya but I was wondering if MB might be a good addition?

It seems that MB is mostly used for games though. We don’t do games so I was wondering if it’s a good tool for the film/broadcast industry? Are you able to animate in MB and then bring that animation into your scene in maya?

Thanks for the help!

Heather

[donShole]

Hello everyone,

I was just reading up on some of the new features in MB 7 and it looks really great. I work at a small company as the Lead character animator and have alot of pull as to what software we purchase, right now we’re mainly using Maya but I was wondering if MB might be a good addition?

It seems that MB is mostly used for games though. We don’t do games so I was wondering if it’s a good tool for the film/broadcast industry? Are you able to animate in MB and then bring that animation into your scene in maya?

Thanks for the help!

Heather

In short - yes. Check ou the PLE version and the MB training videos on 3dbuzz. Also look at the demo videos for maya-mb-maya workflows on the autodesk site. I have used MB almost exclusively for keyframe animation for years.

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