Mechanical rigging challenge

#276

when are we starting guys???

#277

I’m beginning to think it won’t

#278

well i think when the modeller will share the model …then everybody will start

#279

well it was supposed to be kind of a little mini challenge with some rules. Last time i heard of the moderator he was eager to participate as well.
Still don’t know why he doesn’t respond for now. I guess he’s too busy.

Otherwise the model could be released on a certain date to all, but not sure if it has any sence. But anyways, before i wanted to release it, i wanted the model to be checked first.

#280

Whats the best way to rig a robot? I want to rig my robot here http://tarik-ali.co.uk/galleryscifiredrobot.html

I am usin 3DS MAX.

Cheers

#281

wow really nice model! well there isnt a best way to rig a robot there are some techniques that are needed to be used in the right place

#282

Thanks. Could you shed any light on that?

Cheers

#283

well i cant tellu exaclty cos i m a maya user but for example u need to know how to rig a piston , u need to be able to find the perfect spot for the pivot in order to have rotation fully working , and maybe u might need some scripting

#284

Which is why so many people are asking that the transforms not be frozen cause finding those exact translation and rotation information can sometimes be a huge pain in the ass.

#285

Everything should be froozen. What is the challenge if all the info is already there? There are a couple of techniques that you can use to get the proper joint orientation and position.

#286

The challenge is making the rig, making all the pieces work together without being able to break it. The challenge isn’t to see how long we can spend finding out the rotation and translation information for thousands of pieces of geometry.

#287

Sometimes in a production environment you are not going to have a choice to have translate and rotation data from model. Frankly as setup artist we shouldn’t need it. Yes, it is helpful to have it there, but again we don’t have the choice if it or isn’t there. For example, I had to work with some CAD model and create a rig for the model. It didn’t come in with any translation or rotation information. I had to find it myself and have it working just like the physical toy. A challenge like this is to create a rig in some kind of production environment. How are you suppose to grow and test yourself with out a minor challenge, like finding the proper rotation of an object. I know finding it isn’t that hard to do from previous experience and I do know that it would be a pain in the ass to do with the cat model. But a little pain will only make you better and to come up with tools that will assist you with the current challenge and future challenges.

#288

yeah I agree, it adds a possible hiccup that you may experience in production if the transform data is not on the geo already. I’ve found many times that I have to deal with geo that has reset transform values so it’s a good skill to have;-)

#289

I gotta disagree. If I’m in the rigging department, and somebody forwarded me a large mechanical model (say the robo cat thing) and all the objects transforms/rotations had been frozen/reset, I’d be going to the guy and saying there had better be a damn good reason he/she did that. You don’t create unnecessary work for the person down the pipeline.

The scenario about getting a cad model with transforms reset, while it might be a valid scenario, I wouldn’t call it appropriate for this challenge. It’s highly unlikely that somebody models that robo cat in a piece of cad software. Lets not forget that we want to attract as many people as possible to a rigging challenge. Lets not make it unnecessarily difficult and scare em away.

#290

Oh the woes of not having a moderator to make these decisions.

It is a challenge and having frozen transformations will make it more challenging. And it can also spark more conversation about how one rigger was able to find a solution to this problem with a scripted solution and can teach other people how he/she came about to the solution. Or it could spark a comparison of two different solutions to the problem. A person could have a better more efficient on how he/she dealt with the problem than I have. I know I would like to learn and see a different way on how other people found the solution to frozen transforms. For me if it had transforms, it wouldn’t be as challenging. I could easily write a script that could place everything in the correct position and orientation. A challenge should push the people in the competition for creative solutions. And in challenge like this, communicate the solution.

Overall, without a moderator for this challenge. This debate can go on for several more threads on for transforms and anti transforms.

#291

so nothingless are u gonna share the model?

#292

Id also expect the transforms to be frozen. There could be a few reasons for this, be it that it keeps the model tidy and you know if a transform is accidently introduced into the model. Perhaps it helps with caching the model data further down the line?
Either way, I think its more challenging to have the transforms frozen. And after all this is a rigging challenge forum right? :wink:

#293

I’m back behind the workstation containing my files.
But i gotta work this weekend. So not sure when i’ll have the time.

Basically, i was kinda waiting for the moderator to wait, and then i had the time to add just a little thing. I actually forgot something at the feet. At the moment the legs are only resting on the toes. So need the other part.

Then i was hoping to have the moderator or someone else go over the model quickly and maybe point out some parts (i guess in production there is some feedback back and forth) so i could give something that would’ve been good enough.

So, i’ll try and do the feet quickly and will release the obj without any further awaiting of some possibility of a challenge. I’m kinda sickof waiting too.
Wanna keep my end of my promise.

But this will mean that the model will probably have some areas that will be a b*** to rig and won’t make it any fun.
But i don’t care anymore. Too bad the riggers in the forum are beeing fed some bones now and then.
I guess i’ll finish this thing early next week when i finished working the weekend.

#294

I just created a brand new thread with the file for the mecha pussy. So info can be found there and questions too. But don’t expect me to awnser within 5 minutes.

http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?p=6632612#post6632612

cheers

#295

This thread has been automatically closed as it remained inactive for 12 months. If you wish to continue the discussion, please create a new thread in the appropriate forum.