3DS Max Walk Cycle problem
Hey forum,
I'm animating this character using 3DS Max. What I'm doing now is trying to make it a walk cycle. The character is rigged, but needs a custom keyframed walkcycle since its way of walking is very different from Max's preset walking animations.
I created the entire cycle, but now need it to loop. I tried using the Shift-Drag method on keyframe 1 to place it at keyframe 200 (the last in the timeline) to induce a loop. However, the rig does not alter the position of the limbs by doing so. It is as if the copy-paste never takes place.
For all clarity, this is a list of what I've tried:
1 ) I tried simply shift-dragging.
2 ) I tried manually adding co-ordinates of all the bones in frame 1 by entering them in the appropriate dialogs in frame 200. However, this caused several bones to not appear in the right rotation. Upon attempt to rotate them into the right place by entering the first frame's rotation, they would rotate relative to their current position, messing things up even more.
3 ) I've selected the entire rig, except the controller node (the triangle with arrow). Here's why: when I tried shift-dragging with the node selected, the clone was a success, but the entire animation inbetween was lost.
4 ) I've selected the entire rig and the mesh it controls. Same problem.
5 ) I've tried replicating the stance from frame 1, but this doesn't prove to be at all useful, since now it doesn't loop perfectly, but it is also very hard to tell if the clone was a success, or if what I see is simply a result of the replication.
6 ) Of course my AutoKey function was on during all previous attempts.
Is there anything you can conclude from the above attempts to get it to work that could help me out?
There are two solutions I think possible to this problem:
1 ) Somehow getting the clone keyframe to work.
2 ) Turning on some sort of 'absolute rotation' mode, which would allow me to rotate the bones on an absolute scale as opposed to the relative scale they use now. It is not an optimal solution and definately not one for the long run, but it would help me get my animation working for now.
Thanks a lot,
Shrooblord
PS
I previously found this post: http://www.polycount.com/forum/showthread.php?t=81656 . However, the IK target didn't solve my problem as the main problem in my animation lies with the feet, where the ankle and digit bones in the foot mess up when I move the foot platform to its frame 1 position. They move also, even though they are not selected and the foot platform move shows no issues when it comes to bone cohesion constraints (all bones must always stick together - this is what I think causes the easy use in animation).
PPS
If a search turns up to result this same post on another forum, this is correct - I am trying to get help from two fora at the same time, because I really want to get this problem over with.
I'm animating this character using 3DS Max. What I'm doing now is trying to make it a walk cycle. The character is rigged, but needs a custom keyframed walkcycle since its way of walking is very different from Max's preset walking animations.
I created the entire cycle, but now need it to loop. I tried using the Shift-Drag method on keyframe 1 to place it at keyframe 200 (the last in the timeline) to induce a loop. However, the rig does not alter the position of the limbs by doing so. It is as if the copy-paste never takes place.
For all clarity, this is a list of what I've tried:
1 ) I tried simply shift-dragging.
2 ) I tried manually adding co-ordinates of all the bones in frame 1 by entering them in the appropriate dialogs in frame 200. However, this caused several bones to not appear in the right rotation. Upon attempt to rotate them into the right place by entering the first frame's rotation, they would rotate relative to their current position, messing things up even more.
3 ) I've selected the entire rig, except the controller node (the triangle with arrow). Here's why: when I tried shift-dragging with the node selected, the clone was a success, but the entire animation inbetween was lost.
4 ) I've selected the entire rig and the mesh it controls. Same problem.
5 ) I've tried replicating the stance from frame 1, but this doesn't prove to be at all useful, since now it doesn't loop perfectly, but it is also very hard to tell if the clone was a success, or if what I see is simply a result of the replication.
6 ) Of course my AutoKey function was on during all previous attempts.
Is there anything you can conclude from the above attempts to get it to work that could help me out?
There are two solutions I think possible to this problem:
1 ) Somehow getting the clone keyframe to work.
2 ) Turning on some sort of 'absolute rotation' mode, which would allow me to rotate the bones on an absolute scale as opposed to the relative scale they use now. It is not an optimal solution and definately not one for the long run, but it would help me get my animation working for now.
Thanks a lot,
Shrooblord
PS
I previously found this post: http://www.polycount.com/forum/showthread.php?t=81656 . However, the IK target didn't solve my problem as the main problem in my animation lies with the feet, where the ankle and digit bones in the foot mess up when I move the foot platform to its frame 1 position. They move also, even though they are not selected and the foot platform move shows no issues when it comes to bone cohesion constraints (all bones must always stick together - this is what I think causes the easy use in animation).
PPS
If a search turns up to result this same post on another forum, this is correct - I am trying to get help from two fora at the same time, because I really want to get this problem over with.
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