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Here's the fourth frame
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The Power of aniMate 2
A new page at my website
A truly wonderful experience of animating in Daz Studio awaits, and this page will help you delve right in with ideas, links, images and videos
Along with the actual User Manual for aniMate 2 viewable/downloadable right on the page!
Links to products specifically designed with animation in mind as well as direct links back to this forum thread if you need help with any of it - I monitor this thread manually and I also get an email if someone responds - so you can expect to get answers in a timely manner.
I'll also be adding subpages to this one that will expand our learning experience within the realms of aniMate 2 and animating in Daz Studio in general - because in my world, animating in Daz Studio almost Always involves aniMate 2.
The Power of aniMate 2
A new page at my website - Come on in an Join the Fun!!!
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Cross-Generation Animation Translation Using Bone Minion
I am looking for an aniBlock, but... oh... that's right. I have that for Genesis 3, but not 8.
Well, it was a good rendering day. I can take a break.
I load in Genesis 8 and apply a Genesis 3 Bone Minion to it and convert the entire collection in one sitting. It takes a while if they're long aniBlocks like these, but in the end the worth is Incredible. Like getting a whole new pack of aniBlocks for this figure.
It can be easy to mess up, so I'll go through the whole process here. We'll use Genesis 8 Female for this example, and we'll call her G8F and Genesis 3 Female we'll call G3F.
It all goes very smoothly. Easier to do than to type.
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I like the job that Bone Minion does so much that I'm collecting all of them
Riversoft Art is right, however. He says that, with Bone Minion we don't have to make all of these conversions but just use Bone Minion on the fly, which is a very good point.
I like having a bazillion aniBlocks to choose from, so I like just converting and be done with it. Plus I like having aniBlocks for all of the wonderful benefits that aniMate 2 provides with all of the tools, features and functions that initiated this thread in the first place!
sadly it doesn't do hands, at least the gen4 to Genesis 9 one doesn't, it's hands move but it doesn't transfer
which is a shame as I can transfer hand animations between every other generation just using DAZ studio
I almost always delete the hand keys anyway, but yeah... that's too bad. I make dials for a bunch of different hand manipulations, so it's really fun to animate them!
Using zaz777's amazing animated pose conversion script along with the necessary rsg's "Updated: Daz Studio Posing Scripts (now for G3F)" available on sharecg.com has brought great results for me over the couple years I've been working in Daz Studio for animation.
So zaz777, Thank You So Much!!! Fantastic!!!
However, if we Really want a more True conversion that includes the new rig joints for rotation and all, Bone Minion does a much more accurate job.
This was never an issue for me - the dials I make, make this pretty much unnecessary. However, I must say that since I started using Bone Minion for my conversions to be saved as new aniBlocks, the outcome aniBlocks are much better, making them easier to work with.
Last night I spent some time with Bone Minion converting and saving a bunch of my Reisormocap files to Genesis 8 aniBlocks. When I'm tired and really need a break, this is a fun excercise that gives me time to just sit back and wait for conversions, create new aniBlock and move on to the next, etc., while I enjoy a nice cup of coffee or a glass of scotch... whatever.
Just this morning I loaded up some of my new aniBlocks and it's just as if they were made for my character. Very freaking cool!
So I took a little time with my morning coffee making a few partials that I need for what I'm working on now. When I finish making the partial that I know I need right now, I often go through and keep making more that might come in handy. I really like having and working with partial aniBlocks. It allows me to use actual motion capture data made by professional motion capture studios on the bulk of the changes I want to apply to the original aniBlock.
The use of partials to get closer to what I want can almost always allow me to leave the entire range of motion capture intact on the timeline, and just alter certain joint rotations using my dials to perfect it - making for a much better result in my honest opinion.
Special Note:
If using Mixamo animation FBX
3D Universe's Daz Studio Animation Tools Set 1 includes a tool called Body2Hip
Run this on the FBX result Before saving the animated pose, and you'll enjoy Massive Improvements!!!
Use is simple: Select figure (I just select the imported FBX figure) then run Body2Hip
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Speaking of 3D Universe
LimbStick is a Great Way to get even more custom, believable edits to your aniMations!
There are So Many possibilities that such action results can provide.
Even using an object or objects to help drive the limbs that will later become invisible or even deleted after they do their job on the motion can be an Amazing way to direct the behavior of any of the various limbs, depending on what our imagination and story dictates.
LimbStick just makes it all so easy (and redoable!) with instant results - saving Gobs of time trying to pull it off any other way.
Teaser Video
Awesome useage examples video
This is a Very Good Video regarding the use of LimbStick. Many lessons to be learned and it helps
to demonstrate how we can correct our scene for better results and simply run LimbStick again.
3D Universe, this is an Amazing Product!!!
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...and speaking of great videos
Sometimes it just pays to watch through demonstration videos by the creating artist. You never know what you may have forgotten until you're reminded once again! ;)
Here's the Amazing Riversoft Art on the Many Uses of Bone Minion
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For Example
I had completely forgotten about what he said about his Pose Details product until I rewatched the above video.
He brings it up as a means to run With Bone Minion for creating Partial Poses
So I'm going to look into it and see if it would indeed assist me in my Partial aniBlock creation, or if what I'm doing now is still the better option for me.
We'll see.
Now that we've discussed Bone Minion, Body2Hip and LimbStick
I'd like to mention why I prefer to Create aniBlocks from Studio's Timeline rather than simply using Bone Minion and calling it a day
aniMate 2 is a very good solution for being able to aniMate in Daz Studio. Having converted or otherwise edited animations stored as aniBlocks to our libraries help us in So Many Ways.
It also allows us to immediately use those results on figures of the same generation without having to redo the conversion or editing.
Having these results stored as aniBlocks in a place where we can access them allows us to
And that's only the main reasons off the top of my head. Having a really good selection of aniBlocks available in the library makes the whole process So Much Easier and More Fluid - making it all That Much More Fun!
Early OctaneRender Experimental render
Special Note of Interest:
The aniMate Parent Constraints do NOT require us to be in aniMate mode or to be using an aniBlock for it to work.
It can be used whether or not aniMate was involved in the animation at all, which I've found to be very useful.
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Of course, People aren't the Only thing aniMate is Good for!
Linday's amazing aniMation four-wheeler template system brings Life into our vehicles in Amazing Ways!!!
Promo
What's Inside?
Car Chase Addon
The main product itself has nice presets right inside Studio to launch these wonderful instructional videos. Using these, we can use the included ready-to-roll preset cars, use the blank template which is already outfitted with Linday's excellent wheels included in the pack, as well as how to completely make an entirely customized ride using our own wheels, or wheels from an existing product!
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Car Chase Scenes aniMated Camera Setup
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Speaking of which, try aniMate and your aniBlock collections on your Genesis Figure Monster Character Presets and things like Herschel Hoffmeyer's Dragonhide PCS for Genesis 8 and 8.1 Male and Female and see how cool that can be!
Again, aniMate offers the power to be able to cut aniBlocks and alter things like speed and motion paths... get creative with it and Have some Fun!!!
More Ideas
Use Your Imagination - Have Fun!!!
Genesis 3 & 8 Face Controls
Fantastic Tool!!! One Huge reason that holds me to Genesis 8 and 3 figures is the fact that this product comes with some Amazing example files that, once turned into aniBlocks make for a Powerful way to get rid of a motionless facial musculature.
The facial performance in this image is only a small fraction of Example 3 that comes with the package along with some key framed expression dials - mostly Ensley's Signature Smile! :)
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Genesis 8.1 comes with the gizmo but, unfortunately the files for Genesis 3 & 8 Face Controls don't work on it.
Having Fun again, like always.
You see, I had converted a lot of my Mixamo FBX downloads to Victoria 7 using Zaz777's conversion script (see below), and they work great. But they're for Victoria 7, so to use them on Rosie 8, I'd either use the G3F to G8F World's Greatest Pose Convertor pose dials or run a Bone Minion. (there's also G3M to G8M World's Greatest Pose Convertor for our male figures)
I'm working on some motions that I wanted to also save "In Place" aniBlocks for them, so I could set my own world translations for Z and X travel, while keeping all of the limbs motion capture intact.
Rather than using the Victoria 7 conversions I already made I decided to just use my new Genesis 2 Pose Bone Minion to start from scratch with the original Mixamo FBX downloads. (I purchased the Genesis 2 Pose bone Minion Bundle so that I can easily translate my Mixamo FBX downloads to Any of my Daz 3d Figure generations from M4 and V4 through Genesis 8.1)
So I load my Bone Minion for Genesis 2 Female, which is the figure I exported to FBX for use in Mixamo (upload my Genesis 2 Female FBX export into Mixamo) and start translating the animated DUF pose files I had saved from my FBX downloads over to Rosie 8 and turn them into aniBlocks. (see below for the full workflow)
I run my Bone Minion translations as described above and, as soon as the translation is complete I run 3DU's Body2Hip script - which is absolutely essential for creating aniBlocks to get the X, Y and Z translations correct because it moves the translation data from the body of the figure to the hip, which is how aniMate 2 prefers to track translation properly - allowing multiple aniBlocks to be combined into a single animation.
This time, after I create my new aniBlock and save it, I bake it to the Timeline, select the hip and open the hip's hierarchy in the timeline to Properties > General > Transforms > Translation > and I select and delete all of the Z axis key frames except for the one on frame 0, which is marked with a "c". That one has to stay.
Now that I've verified that I still have the same animation but without the world movement in the Z axis, I go back to aniMate 2 while it's still locked out - set to Daz Studio Timeline use, and right-click in an empty area and Create aniBlock from Studio Keyframes. It is only then when I delete the other aniBlock and re-activate the aniMate timeline (Click the Open Eye icon by the Figure's track on the left of the aniMate timeline) and save this new one under the same name as the first one but with "IP" as a suffix meaning "In Place". A naming convention I picked up on from Mocap Online's animation packs I bought.
So for each of these motions, I have one with the original world translation motions and one that has the same motion capture data on all of the limbs, but no world translation in the Z axis. I could just as easily remove the X translation as well, if that makes for a better result. In the case I'm working on right now, it's much nicer leaving the X axis in motion.
Prepping for future animation work like this is just as fun to me as the part that comes next, applying these motions to my figures and then tweaking them to what I need. So cool. So freaking Fun!
I must say, however, when it comes to Mixamo animations, the Body2Hip tool turns the resulting FBX download into the same exact animation that we see in Mixamo before we download it. Without the Body2Hip script, the world translation movement turns out all wrong for aniMate - and for me aniMate 2 is an Essential part of making this all work.
Incredible!
I find it Amazing how all of this works.
After collecting as many aniBlock packs and older (and new) animated pose packs as I have - definitely almost everything offered at Daz 3d, It feels like there's nothing I want my character to do that I can't achieve with a little messing around with This motion for the upper body (Arms, sometimes neck and head, sometimes also the chest, etc.,) after deciding upon That motion for the base (lower body and legs) and then baking it all into the timeline to add my own tweaks....
It truly helps that these motion packs are all so excellent!
Big Kudos and a Huge Thank You to:
GoFigure
Reisormocap
SKAmotion
Bonetech3d
Havanalibere
MocapOnline
ThreeDigital
Mixamo
The hard work of re-targeting the beautiful job of motion capture you all have put into your products is Truly Appreciated by This Cat!!!
Thank You So Much!!!
Being Able to work these motions across all of our Daz Figures and having the tools to help make them into something entirely different with more imagination than effort cannot being understated.
Special Thanks to All of the Vendors at Daz 3d!!!
Since Daz 3d made Daz Studio 4.x Pro FREE, it can be easy to take it all for granted. But Daz Studio is an Incredible piece of software - especially for those of us who like to really dig into it and enjoy the lovely tools that are built into this thing under the hood - with the tools right there within handy reach - not to mention the fact that all of the panes can be placed anywhere that helps our flow - and then we can save the layouts and switch between them on the fly...
To All of the Developers who have worked on Daz Studio from its first conception through to today...
I Love You Folks!!! Thank You So Much!!!
Here's One Cat who Truly Appreciates all of you Hard Freaking Work!!!
Genius - the Lot of You!!!
DAZ STUDIO ROCKS!!!
DAZ STUDIO BRIGDES ROCK!!!
DAZ 3D INSTALL MANAGER ROCKS!!!
DAZ 3D STORE IS SECOND TO NONE!!!
DAZ 3D ROCKS!!!
The intro of this tutorial video has this animation at the very beginning, if you'd like to see it
The Power of aniMate 2
A new page at my website
A truly wonderful experience of animating in Daz Studio awaits, and this page will help you delve right in with ideas, links, images and videos
Along with the actual User Manual for aniMate 2 viewable/downloadable right on the page!
Links to products specifically designed with animation in mind as well as direct links back to this forum thread if you need help with any of it - I monitor this thread manually and I also get an email if someone responds - so you can expect to get answers in a timely manner.
I'll also be adding subpages to this one that will expand our learning experience within the realms of aniMate 2 and animating in Daz Studio in general - because in my world, animating in Daz Studio almost Always involves aniMate 2.
The Power of aniMate 2
A new page at my website - Come on in an Join the Fun!!!
►►► Back to the top of Page 1 ►►►
Three different "Skateboarding" motions I've downloaded from Mixamo. I have nine.
Gotta say, each time I watch this 'Skateboarding' clip, I pick up on new little touches that combine to make this a great example of the many complexities in laying something like this down...
Check this out then:
我的小板凳已经提前放好叻~~
不好了!我把时间翻译倒过来了!
Fixed!
This is the Reduced Resolution Rosie 8 I've prepared for the upcoming webinar
With all mesh resolutions set to Base and a rather aggressive use of Scene Optimizer on all textures, she should perform pretty well with all of the screen capture stuff going on, while also looking great at the same time.
Notice that she's wearing her brand new Beachy Halter Top by Sveva! Rosie Loves it!!!