*>> Just wish there was the option to have more shapes for nulls...* Didn't SI2014 come with a "custom primitive" SDK enhancement?
On Tue, Feb 18, 2014 at 3:32 PM, Adam Sale <[email protected]> wrote: > I've requested the primitive bone fix for sym maps about 6 times now... > Nulls are it as an alternative. Just wish there was the option to have > more shapes for nulls as well as offsetting orientation in the shadows. > > > On Mon, Feb 17, 2014 at 12:47 PM, Eric Thivierge > <[email protected]>wrote: > >> If you're using the implicit bones with success and don't need any of the >> benefits of the Softimage bone chains just use Nulls. It's typically what >> I"m using. >> >> Eric T. >> >> >> On Monday, February 17, 2014 3:16:29 PM, Siew Yi Liang wrote: >> >>> @Matt Morris: I didn't know that actually, that is fantastic! Going to >>> try it ASAP~ >>> >>> @Matt Lind: I know, I should pick up more scripting knowledge... I >>> only just started recently working with the XSI API (and python in >>> general), so gimme a chance to catch up to you guys :D >>> >>> @Eric: That explains it. I was wondering why it was working with my >>> main biped rig but not with the facial rig. (my biped rig is using >>> nulls for deformers but I found out about implicit bones halfway and >>> wanted to use them to see if I could then have a distinct type for >>> them so that my controls could be selected using the null selection >>> filter and my deformers using the bone filter instead.) So would you >>> would recommend sticking with nulls/standard bones for defomers? >>> >>> Thanks a ton guys! Once I get a chance in the next few days I'll try >>> GATORing the weights over to a merged mesh, edit them, and then bring >>> them back to the main mesh. >>> Yours sincerely, >>> Siew Yi Liang >>> On 2/17/2014 11:37 AM, Eric Thivierge wrote: >>> >>>> In regards to the Symmetry Map not working, if you are using the >>>> implicit bones as you've said previously it won't work because they >>>> haven't fixed this script to compensate for using this object type >>>> which was only introduced with ICE Kinematics. It's been requested >>>> quite a few times but I haven't seen it fixed yet, then again I don't >>>> use the implicit bones much. >>>> >>>> Eric T. >>>> >>>> On Monday, February 17, 2014 2:27:26 PM, Matt Lind wrote: >>>> >>>>> I solved the problem for our pipeline by writing a tool which is >>>>> similar to GATOR but runs as a command instead of an operator. The >>>>> advantage is the tool can operate on selected subcomponents instead of >>>>> the entire mesh. A further embellishment I exposed was different >>>>> methods for searching the source mesh for envelope weights. The user >>>>> was free to move between built-in methods such as closest location, >>>>> raycast, closest vertex, ... as well as other custom criteria I devised >>>>> myself. >>>>> >>>>> I also wrote a dedicated clothing transfer tool which allows weights >>>>> to be painted on our main character, then transferred and refit onto >>>>> the other characters while accounting for changes in proportions of >>>>> limbs and torso, for example. >>>>> >>>>> It's a very solvable problem if you crack open the script editor. >>>>> >>>>> Matt >>>>> >>>>> *From:*[email protected] >>>>> [mailto:[email protected]] *On Behalf Of *Siew >>>>> Yi Liang >>>>> *Sent:* Monday, February 17, 2014 10:29 AM >>>>> *To:* [email protected] >>>>> *Subject:* Re: Paint weights across multiple envelopes? And symmetry >>>>> mapping errors.... >>>>> >>>>> The problem is...my mesh is already split up into pieces when i was >>>>> starting to weight them. The full body mesh doesn't exist anymore, the >>>>> hidden faces are already gone. :X >>>>> >>>>> Also I tried duplicating all the geometry and merging it together >>>>> while trying to preserve the existing weighting so I could continue >>>>> working on it and then GATOR the weights back to the seperated geo >>>>> later, but merging the geo together even while transferring all >>>>> attributes seemed to remove the weighting from the character >>>>> entirely... >>>>> >>>>> I'm wondering if I should just bite the bullet and paint the weights >>>>> manually at this point via numerical input. It's a pain, but right now >>>>> I don't know of any other method that wouldn't be overly troublesome, >>>>> short of modeling the hidden polys again and combining them back into >>>>> the body mesh. The lack of ability to mirror weights on the head is >>>>> going to be a real pain to get the rig to behave symmetrically though. >>>>> >>>>> Hopefully the paint tools get an update eventually for this sort of >>>>> thing...I never even knew painting across multiple meshes was an >>>>> issue, no wonder it's recommend to model unibody in XSI. Oh well, >>>>> something new every day! :P >>>>> >>>>> Thanks for the advice all! >>>>> >>>>> Yours sincerely, >>>>> Siew Yi Liang >>>>> >>>>> On 2/17/2014 3:14 AM, Greg Maguire wrote: >>>>> >>>>> This is my preferred method too. ILM had a really cool concept I'd >>>>> like to see in Soft. Instead of painting with the radius of a >>>>> circle, make the brush three dimensional like a ball. Wings can be >>>>> tricky, I generally chop the top or bottom part of a wing off and >>>>> Gator everything. However a 3D ball would remove that need. >>>>> >>>>> On Mon, Feb 17, 2014 at 11:08 AM, Mirko Jankovic >>>>> <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>> >>>>> wrote: >>>>> >>>>> You dont even have to merge them, gator will manage just fine for >>>>> example: >>>>> >>>>> paint weigh on full body mesh >>>>> >>>>> duplicate body mesh and delete all non seen polys, you dont need >>>>> them, but you can jstu skip this and just keep full body mesh if >>>>> you dont mind having not seen polygons, maybe even better if cloth >>>>> materials have sometranslucency >>>>> >>>>> then GATOR shirt, pants.. any other cloth or prop object. >>>>> >>>>> It iwill follow full body mehsh just fine >>>>> >>>>> Tweak here or there if needed but in mosta case it works pretty >>>>> fine >>>>> >>>>> On Mon, Feb 17, 2014 at 11:43 AM, Peter Agg >>>>> <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>> >>>>> wrote: >>>>> >>>>> Yep, I do as Mirko does for this stuff, the envelope tools are >>>>> fairly limited for a lot of this fiddly kind of things. >>>>> >>>>> If you're merging existing geo together make sure everything is >>>>> welded - Polygon Islands are a pain to deal with as well. Ideally >>>>> you want some kind of single mesh body-glove for the 'master' >>>>> envelope. >>>>> >>>>> On 17 February 2014 10:34, Mirko Jankovic >>>>> <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>> >>>>> wrote: >>>>> >>>>> Not sure how others deal with it but when having character that >>>>> will have cltoth weighted and simulated I like to have an mesh >>>>> with full body, and then 2nd mesh with only visible parts, hands, >>>>> neck, head etc... >>>>> >>>>> Then painting weights on full body mesh only, GATOR-ing >>>>> everything else and then for animationa nd everything els using >>>>> only cloth and partialy bodu mesh, and full body mesh is left out >>>>> of model not used for anything esle but for painting and GATOR-ing >>>>> weights to all other meshes on characters. >>>>> >>>>> On Mon, Feb 17, 2014 at 11:30 AM, Siew Yi Liang <[email protected] >>>>> <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: >>>>> >>>>> Hi all, sorry for another silly question, but I've just spent the >>>>> better part of 3 hours trying to find a solution: is there >>>>> actually a way in XSI to paint across multiple envelopes at the >>>>> same time, assuming they have the same deformer influences? I've >>>>> been searching around for a way to do so but it doesn't seem like >>>>> I can, and the best I can hope for is to GATOR over the points I >>>>> want? >>>>> >>>>> The problem is that I have a character split up into several >>>>> parts, so weighting the areas where neck meets shirt, torso meets >>>>> pants etc. is a little annoying when I can't paint across them >>>>> seamlessly. I've actually never had to deal with this before in >>>>> XSI, so I have no idea if this is actually possible? >>>>> >>>>> Additionally, when trying to create a symmetry mapping template >>>>> for a certain geometry, I'm getting: >>>>> >>>>> Application.CreateSymmetryMappingTemplate("", "", "", "") >>>>> # ERROR : 2057-GetSkeleton - Input object is not a skeleton object >>>>> - [line 492 in C:\Program Files\Autodesk\Softimage 2013 >>>>> SP1\Application\DSScripts\enveloping.vbs] >>>>> >>>>> The deformers affecting it are just implicit bones, so I'm not >>>>> sure what exactly the error is referring to - I tried manually >>>>> creating the symmetry template myself and mirroring the weights, >>>>> but nothing happened. No error message appeared, but the weights >>>>> didn't mirror either. >>>>> >>>>> The scene file is available at: http://1drv.ms/1cfWE34 , I'd >>>>> really appreciate it if anyone has run into this situation before >>>>> and could spare a few minutes to take a quick look! The head >>>>> geometry is the one giving problems (I thought it might have had >>>>> something to do with the ICE facial rig, but I froze those >>>>> operators and tried doing the symmetry template again and it still >>>>> gave the same issue...) >>>>> >>>>> -- >>>>> >>>>> Yours sincerely, >>>>> >>>>> Siew Yi Liang >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> -- >>>>> >>>>> *Greg Maguire* | Inlifesize >>>>> Mobile: +44 7512 361462 | Phone: +44 2890 204739 >>>>> [email protected] >>>>> <mailto:[email protected]>|www.inlifesize.com >>>>> <http://www.inlifesize.com> >>>>> >>>>> >>>> >>> >> >
