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Task 60 [Deer]


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Excellent improvements :)

Here is some more feedback:

* Running - much smoother, great! The animation seems to have the deer's body pitched downward during much of the animation and I'm not sure, but I think it would help to make it more erect in this bounding. Also, when deer run in flight their tail is usually standing straight up in warning - sorta like a flag. Animate the hooves (toes, fingers - rotation) to make the legs look a little less stiff - they look sorta peg legish. Watch out for the hooves going through the ground. Frames 2, 3, 4 seem a bit off.

* Idle - you got the idea. But keep the feet fixed. I found some typical classic deer poses, try and replicate one of these: http://www.everythingwolf.com/gallery/gall...px?CategoryID=6 (Note how the head is more level)

* Walking - much improved, I added the other animation to your files for reference. The front legs look like they are a little ahead of the body in motion and seem to spread out widely. Animate the hooves (toes, fingers - rotation) to make the legs look a little less stiff - they look sorta peg legish.

* Death - it is good except the two back legs look like they are doing the exact same thing. Perhaps find a way to make their motion a bit different

* Attack - looks much better. It is a little quick between frames 14, 15, 16, try spreading that out over 2 more frames.

Note, to smooth out an animation, sometimes it helps to go into Graph Editors => Track View - Curve Editor. This is where you can look at the curves of your animation of the bones and look at the smoothness of the curves on the transform parameters. Sometimes it helps to use that to find abnormal spikes and smooth out the animation.

I think you are getting the hang of this - well done :P

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I made the requested updates. There's not much geometry's on the hooves so rotating the hooves would distort the legs. Regardless I tried to rotate enough to add some variation. I'm thinking they aren't quite there yet, and I've yet to work on the walking animation. I did however get some CS videos and will watch them this weekend.

I can use some feedback over of all of the updated animations, excluding the walking animation.

Also I was thinking of condensing the animations into one file with the models, like the reference file is composed. I don't know if this is how its preferred, but then its less files to go through.

I'm also a bit curious on how animations are imported into the game, are the bone/biped systems just imported and then re-rigged?

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Steve, you could add some geometry to the hoof region if you would like. It would probably just be a few cuts you would have to make in poly mode. Pretty easy.

I'm out this weekend (in Ellensburg with my in-laws) so I won't be able to look at the files till Monday.

Keep the files separated because that is how they will need to be exported.

The animations are exported directly from Max. So there isn't much needed to be done after the max file is created and ready to go. They game uses a skeletal animation system, so it retains most all of the animation data. What will happen is... I will export the deer mesh once with the existing skeletal/rigging system you set that should be the same on all. Then I will export each of the animations individually. You could theoretically create animations for the deer without the skin applied at all in Max. But, it helps to have it there to see how the mesh deforms during the animation.

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I looked over the animations, great improvements

Walk - The walk still looks a bit off. It looks like it is 'trudging' through mud/snow. I would try to make the deer step more lightly/daintily. Maybe that would be making the legs not spread so far apart in animation, perhaps raising the hooves a bit more in motion. Also the back seems very flat during the animation. The animal's weight would shift based on what hooves are on the ground at what time... Should sway a bit, the back can flex a bit in motion too

Run - looks great, only thing is I would raise the tail - straight up. Like this: http://www.deer-hunting-success.com/image-...383636small.jpg It stays like that all the time.

Idle - better, the feet and hands must stay still though.

Death - good to go as is

Attack - good to go as is

Getting there :P

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Fixed the odd dip in the running animation, and I used planted keys to add a bit of a rocking movement to the idle animation.

I also have the feet moving into the body while walking.

I know my project requires the animation on both a deer with antlers and a deer without, so I will update each file as needed after I get the final ok on the animation.

Sorry I didn't get out to eastern earlier then when I made it, I work out at sfcc library on Saturdays.

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Awesome, they all look good now except for the idle. There is something funky going on with the front right leg. It looks like the leg is being pulled off the ground and snapping back to it's original position. Have a look there.

We are getting Bobbo and Michael to get that apple tree task created for you.

You have chosen 3 distinct tasks with different focuses... modeling with the roman alternative structures, animation with the deer, and now transparent mapping with the apple tree. It is good to push yourself like that an not be comfortable with one skill. :)

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