So, the first lecture has been done and now the work begins. Again, I am a little apprehensive about this module because of my lack of experience using 3D Studio max, but
I'm sure that I will once again have information overload and learn a lot from this module.
My task for this assignment is to firstly record or find 3 videos of people showing expression. From this, I must then choose one of these expressions and create an animation of around 30 seconds. This animation must show this expression in great detail.
Sounds easy?...... Highly unlikely. This assignment will certainly test not only modelling and animation but also my skills at portraying particular facial expressions.
My first task this week is to use the biped to make a practice model with skin and make him walk and move.
So, to begin, I opened up 3D Studio max and drew a simple biped. I did this by going to 'create' and then 'systems' and selecting 'biped' in the object type menu. I then drew a biped on the stage which left me with the model below:
Within figure mode, I was then able to make alterations to the biped (ie to give him a longer neck) so that he fit my model.
I then started to create a skin for the model.
Using the box technique I gradually built up my model around the biped, keeping the skin as close as possible to the biped to reduce problems further down the line. To use box technique, I simply create a box and then keep extruding it to gradually build up the model.
I started with the feet:
Then, I gradually worked my way up the rest of the body:
I did the same on both sides of the body and then extruded more boxes to create the arms:
I then reduced the mass of the entire skin model so that it only just covered the biped. This made my model look thin but reduced any problems when I used the physique modifier. This is how my model now looks when I used a turbosmooth modifier:
Finally, I then had to connect the skin to the biped. this was done by selecting the skin and applying a 'physique' modifier to it. I then selected the 'attach to node' option, clicked on the biped and chose 'initialise' from the physique initialisation dialogue box. This then connect the biped to the skin model. From here, I could then select the biped, go to 'motion' then 'footstep mode' and using the 'create footsteps option, I could lay down where I wanted the model to walk to. Once the footsteps were laid, I then chose 'create keys for inactive footsteps' which then made my model move ready to walk when I pressed 'play'. A short movie is displayed below to show how this looks at present:
