Hi guys, I need some help to get started with animations for games. I've downloaded this pyro-rig here.
Now I want to play around with it, but I didn't understand how this autokey works.

If I just want to do a taunt stance I select everything go to frame 0 press K for a key
and then duplicate this key and move it to e.g frame 30.

Now I press autokey go to frame 15 and raise a leg. I expected that he raises that leg and lower it,
but it actually stands there doing nothing.

I haven't much experience with animations, only some turnarounds for my
models. If that counts but nothing with bones and that sort of.

thanks

If the rig is using biped which it looks like it is? Then you can't create keys with K or the Key button. Instead you use the key button in the biped menu > Key Info Rollout.

You should also copy the pose on frame 0 and paste it, so you get a key on every system (spine, arms, legs ect) at frame zero. Then turn on autokey, move the time slider a few frame, reposition the joints, then scrub the bar and see that they've been properly keyed.

It could also be using CAT but set to look like biped, or it could be a mesh copy of biped set up like standard bones, so if it isn't biped then you'll need some other steps to follow because each has their own way of keying that particular rig.

Thanks man, it works!

I'm currently working on my first walk cycle but encountered another problem.
His feet swings from pose to pose through the floor, but he should use his knees instead.
I can iron this out frame by frame, but that's not the way it should be or ?

That is handled with Inverse Kinetics (IK). The end of the leg chain follows a point that is glued to world space, whatever the rest of the body is doing that foot is stuck to that point.

In biped its called "planted keys" (Biped Menu > Key Info).
They enable you to plant the feet on the ground plane then use "sliding keys" to move them backward while they stay locked to the ground plane.

I normally suggest doing a walk cycle with the character moving forward through the scene, its much easier to get a sense of the walk that way. You miss a lot when its stuck in place. Then zero out the forward motion to create an in-place walk cycle.

By switching the pivot point in the feet from the heel (on contact) to the toes (on sliding and release) you get a pretty convincing roll to the foot.

The red dot on the bottom of the blue foot indicates where the planted key pivot point is positioned, this is the point that sticks to the ground.

While you're working with the character moving through the scene, you can also toggle on "in-place mode" (under Biped menu > modes and display target looking button) to see how it will look in-place but you can turn it off to work on the cycle easier.

This is what it looks like when you turn on in-place mode or zero out the horizontal movement:



You can also save out the animation, load it into motion mixer and filter out the horizontal motion to get a walk cycle that is in place. Which is handy if you're working with mo-cap clips or animations you've done on another rig and want to transfer over to this one.

So yea Planted Keys...

-- my mistake, problem solved --


Edit:
Maybe a dumb questions but I don't know it better. I've now animated it successfully like in your .gif but that's only the half of the walk cycle did I need to animate the rest by hand or is there something that I can mirror the left feet with the right and visa versa to get a full cycle?

Yes, Biped has a copy and paste key option that makes cycles easier. Its in the Motion Tab > Copy and Paste


(This example shows I had the arm selected, yours would have the foot/leg shown)


Basically you select the foot (or any appendage) you want to copy, hit copy, then move the time bar to where you want the key to be created, then hit paste posture opposite. Then the opposite foot should be placed as the other foot was from where you copied it from.

Be aware you will need to reset the key as Planted, Sliding, or Free key.

Thx guys!
Got my first animation done. I know its pretty bad
but I'm happy that it moves somehow.

You Tube

Some side to side motion on his root as he shifts his weight from foot to foot will help this a lot.

Having just pushed my way through a walkcycle assignment for school, there are a couple of things missing in my opinion.. there seems to be very little upward/downward movement of the hips, and the upper body is nearly motionless, as if the spine weren't connected to the hips. Also, your footroll seems off somehow.. maybe a little wooden?

but yeah, i'm definitely no expert.


EDIT: a quick google brought up this http://www.idleworm.com/how/anm/02w/walk1.shtml

not for CG, but i think many of the same principles apply (counterweight etc.)

basically i'm too lazy to translate and type up my class notes ;)

Yea that Idleworm tutorial is great. You'll find that a lot of 2D traditional animation knowledge applies to 3D. Richard Williams book "The Animators Survival Kit" is for 2D artists but I haven't found an 3D animator yet that hasn't read it or been helped by it. His thoughts and examples on walk cycles are great. I wouldn't bother with the DVD's they're way too over priced and the book is great.

Another great book is the illusion of life. It outlines what Disney's old animators used as guiding principles. The 12 principles of animation, when translated to 3D animation its more like 10 or 9 because there are a few we normally don't have to worry about. Even if you don't read the whole book at least Google the 12 principles of animation. It will help.

You'll notice in that in the idleworm tutorial there are 4 poses, technically 8 for a full walk cycle but you can copy/paste opposite. Those 4 poses are key and a lot of care needs to be put into making sure they transition properly from one pose to the next. There is a lot going on and just hitting the poses at the right times won't really sell it.

Good luck, its looking pretty good for someone just starting out! Keep it up!

Someone posted this a bit ago, and I bookmarked-ed it!

http://www.polycount.com/forum/showt...30#post1421430