Helicopter Wheels Rigging (3ds max)
For an assignment we have to model and rig a helicopter. We will not be graded on the model quality, just the rigging and skinning aspect to check if we can deliver a working rig that an animator can use in an engine like Unreal 4.
So far most of the rigging is pretty simple but the landing gear will be the most complex it seems. I looked up some reference and found a video on Vimeo about an artist showing off his helicopter rig including the landing gear. It's what I'm aiming for.
Video: https://vimeo.com/31248428
I like to test rigs with just raw bones before implementing them, so far most things are going smoothly except the last step. If you look at the video between 0:25 and 0: 30 you notice the piston effect. We learned the best way to do this is to apply two "helpers" on top of the bones meant for the piston, then use a LookAt Constraint to have these bones look at each other. This has worked for the smaller piston on the upper left, but when I want to apply the same technique on the large piston I get an error about it creating a dependency loop, which is true. The bones are linked and the beginning and the end have to look at each other. If I don't link the "helper" to the last bone I can make the upper on look to the point easily, but it has to move with the last bone.
Anyone have a solution to this little issue? Is there a way to make the helper follow the bone without creating a dependency loop? Don't see the anwer.
Cheers in advance.
So far most of the rigging is pretty simple but the landing gear will be the most complex it seems. I looked up some reference and found a video on Vimeo about an artist showing off his helicopter rig including the landing gear. It's what I'm aiming for.
Video: https://vimeo.com/31248428
I like to test rigs with just raw bones before implementing them, so far most things are going smoothly except the last step. If you look at the video between 0:25 and 0: 30 you notice the piston effect. We learned the best way to do this is to apply two "helpers" on top of the bones meant for the piston, then use a LookAt Constraint to have these bones look at each other. This has worked for the smaller piston on the upper left, but when I want to apply the same technique on the large piston I get an error about it creating a dependency loop, which is true. The bones are linked and the beginning and the end have to look at each other. If I don't link the "helper" to the last bone I can make the upper on look to the point easily, but it has to move with the last bone.
Anyone have a solution to this little issue? Is there a way to make the helper follow the bone without creating a dependency loop? Don't see the anwer.
Cheers in advance.