Blender, item animation help
Hello. I would like some help with blender and item animation. Im new to 3d animation/modeling and i've spent many hours googling and trying to figure out the answer to my problem but i couldnt find anything specific that addresses it. I hope im posting in the right place.
My problem is that i cant get my item animation to work. Ive read a thread where it says that i need to create an armature for my item. I tried that but the problem is that i cant export it. I can either export the animation for the particular armature or the mesh. If i export the animation and try to import it into dota 2 i get an error saying that it doesnt contain geometry only bone hierarchy. If i export only the mesh than there is no animation since the mesh is in my armature not the other way around. Could someone guide me in the right direction?
This is the way ive been trying to create the animation. I create an armature, i parent my mesh to it and after that i select the bone, go into pose mode and create the animation and after that i parent the bone to one of the bones from the dota 2 model.
Help would be highly appreciated. Thank you.
My problem is that i cant get my item animation to work. Ive read a thread where it says that i need to create an armature for my item. I tried that but the problem is that i cant export it. I can either export the animation for the particular armature or the mesh. If i export the animation and try to import it into dota 2 i get an error saying that it doesnt contain geometry only bone hierarchy. If i export only the mesh than there is no animation since the mesh is in my armature not the other way around. Could someone guide me in the right direction?
This is the way ive been trying to create the animation. I create an armature, i parent my mesh to it and after that i select the bone, go into pose mode and create the animation and after that i parent the bone to one of the bones from the dota 2 model.
Help would be highly appreciated. Thank you.
Replies
A skeletal Mesh is a skeletal (armature) hierarchy + mesh. This does not have any animation.
An animation is a skeletal hierarchy (armature) with animation applied. This does not have a mesh.
Look into exporting the Mesh + Armature, in blender it might have to do with groups (?) not sure however, not really a hard core blender user.
Welcome to the Dotes, god speed you wild animator.
You must animate your bones (joints/armature) in order to properly deform your mesh. Dota expects a skeleton (joints/armature) for animation, so long story short:
"No, you can not create animation without bones (joints/armature)"
On a side note, I'm not sure of any animators who dota and use blender, but Here is a totally sweet Tutorial Valve made about this exact subject.
Have fun!
I think it hit me. When i export the armature it exports 2 things. the animation and the mesh in 2 smds. i think i need to compile the 2. but i think that if i do that i get an mdl so thats not good
The equipment importer on its own won't let you import any custom animation unless it's for a summon or courier afaik. Most items don't have any animation - they only rig to the default bones and use those for movement. You'll need to compile the animations separately and submit them in a different way that I'm not familiar with. The animators above should be able to help you more.