User Manual
Contents
1. March 2011 User Manual ax z Learn More amp Purchase For more information and a complete list of features and enhancements in an i ma visit www anima com To purchase aX YZ design products go to www anima com online shop To locate an aXYZ design Authorized Reseller nearest you visit www axyz design com gt Resellers Email info axyz design com Copyright c aXYZ design 2011 CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 3 Introduction Whatis anma aearenegereneeaeevare pager aneeaeeyare sag E 6 Features bus s tk4 a adeAs SENNIE SEEEN ee ee eee ade es 7 Syrom Regum CNIS portieri taena NEE EE gan ned ane gees 7 Anima Iterface Overview The Main Screen yaar qahotaace wo acacia ateace wig aoe aa ea eA 8 LUG DV NPO 4 44475 40845 eshte eee hee ea sve aeees Shao 9 Transformation Tools 2 stg ae at eanh ee wtonieas 9 Creation Tools och cae cks hp cheer enamennd en 10 Navigation Tools c2ct anes cree eiavinebauee awe 11 Rendering Method Tool ssssssuasnnnan 12 The Drawing Aids Tools ss 2c0cken sae een na ones 13 Crowd Avoidance Engine Tools 0000 0044 14 The Project Editor Window wesenncaehen tate doe ne thease Sunes 15 Project Hierarchical Structure 4 4 4 2 o 4 248e aw ne 15 The Asset Browser Window 2 s0ssee00 sere eeceaeeeeeuess 17 PCO GNA CUPS IOUS 22824 ser asgi siewi iia 17 Mod eS LOD suneasneusactecanuteasaaetaes 18 Properes l0 taste hens bee ipta kii EErEE 18 The Animation Edit2. realistically Note To add a new Path you can right click either on the Animation slot in the Project Editor window or simply click on the Path Tool icon in the 3D Viewport 39 BCHAPTER 3 The Spline Path Design 1 From the Project Editor window select the animation where you would like to design the path You will notice that the Tool Bar icons become active 2 Click on ADD SPLINE PATH icon Under the Path tab in the Project Editor window anew Spline slot will be created 3 Inthe 3D Viewport start placing the control points to define the spline curve Each time you move to a new location on the surface the Spline Path cursor will show a meaning that a new point will be added If you move over an existing point the Spline Path cursor will show a the control point will be deleted TIPS To exit from any of the path designing commands simply right click on a new spot on the 3D Viewport or press the ESC key Project Editor w SCENE Piano_Triangle obij b Ee GROUP Group F ta ANIMATION Animation H Ta P SPLINE Spline 1 Figure 3 9 Animation Selected Spline Slot Cursor Icons Action Clips an i ma Crowd Avoidance Engine will automatically add Action Clips to your Spline Path for a perfect interaction between Actors and to achieve a realistic result 36 BCHAPTER 3 The Spline Path Properties Name By default splines are named sequentially Spline 1 Spline 2 Spline 3 However
3. y y y C O IA On g lc Scene Information Actos 3 of 4 Pols 16932 of 22576 Werts 5661 of 11548 Renderer STANDARD Preset anima Figure 4 5 The an i maMesh Object Settings 98 BCHAPTER 4 Update Options Scene Browser This option allows you to browse and reload an i ma ani scenes Embedded This checkbox enables or disables the Save Embedded File function An ani scene will be saved embedded into your max file This is a simple solution for network rendering as you will not need to locate the an i ma scene in a shared network path Everything including collision data is saved within the 3ds Max scene file Scene Information This option displays some useful information about the loaded ani scene such as number of actors polys verts the current active renderer and material preset Note To move the an i maMesh object and place it into a new location use the AXYZ Anima01 geometry 59 BCHAPTER 4 Cinema 4D Plugins They add connectivity to Maxon s Cinema 4D allowing you to import an i ma ani scenes They work for both 32 amp 64 bit versions of Cinema 4D R11 R11 5 and R12 Install Using the Installer This plugin can be copied into your Cinema 4D plugins folder using the installation software provided Copying the files manually 1 Locate the folder where the application Cinema 4D is stored on your computer The default for it is in C Program Files MAXON CINEMA 4D Rxxx 2
4. To do this you need to 1 Install anG ma stand alone on one machine on your network Use the plugin installer or manually copy the file Anima MAX20xx dll into the folder where an i ma stand alone is installed and AnimaMAX20xx dli into the folder plugins located inside 3ds Max directory 2 Edit the file Anima xml using a text editor and add the path to an i ma stand alone software usually NETWORK SHARED DRIVE Program Files aX YZ design an i ma 1 0 3 For each computer on your network copy the files AnimaMAX20xx dli and Anima xml into the folder plugins located inside the 3ds Max directory Computer Stand Alone Plugin Computer 2 Computer 2 Plugin Plugin Computer 2 Computer 2 Plugin Plugin Figure 4 3 Network Scheme Installation 96 BCHAPTER 4 Import Anima ANI Loading an an i ma scene into 3ds Max is really simple Go to File Menu and click on IMPORT Under FILE TYPE select Anima ANI and then browse to the location of your an i ma scene file Select File to Import Cerca irr asz design 6 E Home file Apri Tipo file 3D Studia Mesh 305 PRU Annulla 3D Studio Mesh 305 PRI Adobe Illustrator 4l Anima ANI COLLADA DAE ML Land ML DEM DOF DEM ML DDF AutoCAD Drawing 7 DWG DF Legacy AutoCAD Dw Autodesk FBX DAE Motion Analysis HTA File HTA Figure 4 4 The file browsing Window 97 BCHAPTER 4 an i maMesh Setting
5. Solid_White Solid_White M3_STD c4d material Solid_White M3 gt lt Render gt Assigns a material file to the lt Export gt character mesh All charac ters in the scene will use just one material lt MaterialPreset gt lt MaterialPresetList gt Note This kind of material configurations offers a high performance during loading and rendering of an i ma scenes 27 BCHAPTER 3 Importing your Architectural Models To start your animation project you need to prepare your 3D architectural models for import into an i ma The imported 3D model will only be used as a reference for the design of the animation paths Biblioteca_08_Anima lwo te hA kd v a w A D d ww SIA Db I gt gt I Figure 3 2 The reference model What Should Import The Walking Surfaces They are all the formal surfaces supporting walking such as floors stairs and ramps hence all the surfaces that will allow you to design the animation paths Vertical Surfaces and Objects They are not really useful for the design of the animation paths but they can help you to understand the spatial limits of the animation project 28 BCHAPTER 3 How to import Browse Window The Import dialog box is available from the menu bar under FILE or from the Project Editor window either by right clicking on the Scene slot or by selecting and clicking on the Properties tab A browse window similar to the standard Windows
6. Copy an i ma or an 1 ma64x folder into plugins located inside Cinema 4D directory 3 Edit Anima xml or Anima64x xml file using a text editor and add the path to an i ma stand alone software usually C Program Files aX YZ design an i ma 1 0 4 Copy the file Anima C4Dxx into the folder where an i ma stand alone software is installed i aX Z design an ijima MAXON C4D R11 5 64 bit Plugin Setup W lal leat Where should an ijma MAXON C4D R 11 5 64 bit Plugin be installed D Setup will install anma MAXON C40 R 11 5 64bit Plugin into the following folder To continue dick Next If you would like to select a different folder cick Browse C Program Files MAXON CINEMA 40 R 11 plugins At least 5 2 MB of free disk space is required Figure 4 6 The Plugin Installer BCHAPTER 4 Network Rendering Installation Configure Plugins Make an ijma work on a renderfarm is very simple You do not need to install an i ma stand alone on all the network machines but simply configure plugins to load an i ma dlls over the net To do this you need to 1 Install anG ma stand alone on one machine on your network Use the plugin installer or manually copy the file Anima C4Dxx cdl or Anima C4Dxx cdl64 into the folder where an i ma stand alone is installed and an i ma or an i ma64x folder into plugins located inside Cinema 4D directory 2 Edit the file Anima xml or Anima64x xml using a text editor and add the
7. b The Animation Editor Window c Start End Markers Editing Tools Select and Move Tool This tool is used for dragging the Animation bars and placing the start end markers in order to set the playback area and define the area of the animation imported by the plugins into the 3D rendering application The playback area will be shown colored while the inactive part of the animations will be shown in gray scale TIPS if you double click on an end marker it will be automatically placed on the frame where all the animations are active Pan Tool The Pan tool allows you to interactively move the Animation Editor Panel up and down to better view and navigate around all the animations in your project If your mouse has a rolling button you can use it for the same purpose You can also change the size of the Animation Editor window to make all the Animation bars fit inside Note To make the Animation Editor available you must select a Group or Animation in your project 19 BCHAPTER 2 The Icons States To make these tools available select an Animation either from the 3D Viewport or the Project Editor window Subsequently the tools icons will become active Unactive When the tool is not available the icon will be shown in light gray To activate the tools be sure you have selected the correct item either from the Project Editor window or the 3D Viewport Active The white icon means that the tool is available fo
8. Explorer will open The supported formats are SAS The 3ds file format has grown to become an industry standard for transferring models between 3D modeling packages Obj The Wavefront obj file format is a standard 3D object file format that offer full compatibility with almost all the 3D modeling packages lwo LightWave Object file format is a proprietary binary file format and is the standard export format used with LightWave 3D and Modo kh Oh a a h h a a k Frs i ET i Ts hk Bs Bf i Er i prs i Fra i Fra a ke kt ke pra i fre i Fra i fr ke fr i Bre ki E Figure 3 3 Browse Window 29 BCHAPTER 3 Import Dialog Box After selecting a model file the Import dialog box will open The displayed parameters are It is the unit of measurement of your reference 3D model Rotation Depending on the software used for exporting the reference model you can either use one of the 3D rotation presets or you can enter rotation amounts directly into the dialog boxes Import a model Figure 3 4 Import dialog box Note Remember that an i ma is not a render system so lights materials and camera movements cannot be imported Only the geometry can be imported 30 BCHAPTER 3 Groups As defined in Chapter 1 you can use Groups to organize the animations in your scene After the reference architectural model is imported a default group named Group 1 will be s
9. changes all of that an ijma is the fastest stand alone character animation application developed especially for architects and designers ideal for quickly and easily creating stunning 3D animations in less time Our motion editing tools and content make 3D character animation easy and affordable and enables creative and technical artists to take on de manding animation intensive projects an i ma 3D character animation software was designed to slash production time on 3D human character animation for architectural visualizations and full motionvideo and provide high quality interactive visualizations within the 3D Viewport and an in tuitive toolset for creating real time simulations Importing animations into your favorite professional 3D Modeling amp Rendering Package is really simple Creating complex character animation scenes for your architectural productions has never been so easy BCHAPTER 1 Features ights WYSIWYG simple and intuitive iterface Fast and easy Drag amp Drop editing system for Actors and Action Clips AI Collision Brain predicts collisions between agents Automatic Procedural Motions Automatic Motion Blending system to achieve super realistic animations Ready To Run Agent and Action Clip Libraries Imports 3ds obj and lwo geometries Importing plugins for Autodesk 3DS Max and Maxon Cinema 4D Cloner modifier to simulate the behavior of a large number of characters System Requi
10. control affects the real time displaying performance BBox Mesh It defines the number of Actors to be displayed with full geometries Default 100 Material Settings This control affects the real time displaying performance Override Material You can drag and drop into this slot your own material and override the assigned preset in the scene Figure 4 9 The an i ma Object Settings 63 BCHAPTER 4 Update Options Scene Browser This option allows you to browse and reload an i ma ani scenes Embedded This checkbox enables or disables the Save Embedded File function An ani scene will be saved embedded into your c4d file This is a simple solution for network rendering as you will not need to locate the an i ma scene in a shared network path Everything including collision data is saved within the Cinema 4D scene file Scene Information This option displays some useful information about the loaded ani scene such as number of actors polys verts the current active renderer and material preset 64 Copyright c aXYZ design 2011 All Rights Reserved an i ma is a Trademark of aXYZ design Ltd 3DS Max is a Trademark of Autodesk Inc Cinema 4D is a Trademark of Maxon Computer GmbH
11. measurement WARNING We fh fs es Curve angles are foo sharp and will ganearate abnormal movements of characters a Figure 2 5 a Warning Message b Warning Cloud c Help Lines Drawing Warnings A warning message alerts the user of a condition that might cause a problem in the behavior of Actors during the animation A typical warning message can be WARNING Curve angles are too sharp and will generate abnormal movements on Actors To solve this issue you should edit the placement of the control points on the spline Grid Snapping When editing the spline control points the mouse position is rounded to the nearest virtual lines passing orthogonally or obliquely at 45 through the previous spline control point Drawing Limiting Control When this tool is ON the placement of the spline control points will be regulated by some internal calculations that will indicate when a position is OPTIMAL 13 BCHAPTER 2 Crowd Avoidance Engine Tools Crowd simulation is easy with an i ma Crowd Avoidance Engine Character motions will be choreographed automatically for a perfect interaction and realistic result an i ma can simulate the movement of a large number of characters and replicate a complex collective be havior within seconds Figure 2 6 an i ma Crowd Avoidance Engine computing in progress Enable Disable Collisions When the collisions are enabled an ijma Crowd Avoidance Engine will pr
12. path to an i ma Stand Alone software usually NETWORK SHARED DRIVE Program Files aX YZ design an i ma 1 0 3 For each computer on your network copy an i ma or an i ma64x folder and Anima xml or Anima64x xml into the folder plugins located inside the Cinema 4D directory Computer Stand Alone Plugin Computer 2 Plugin Computer 2 Plugin Figure 4 7 Network Scheme Installation Computer 2 Plugin Computer 2 Plugin 61 BCHAPTER 4 Import Anima ANI Loading an an i ma scene into Cinema 4D is really simple Go to the Plugins Menu click on an 1 ma OBJECT and then browse to the location of your an i ma scene file Look in U an e aA Name m Date Type s Demo_Scene_O1 ani 04 02 2011 13 04 File ANI a Demo_Scene_02 ani 04 02 2011 13 05 File ANI File name Files of type Al files tC Cancel Jt Figure 4 8 The file browsing Window 62 BCHAPTER 4 an ijma Object Settings To access the an ijmaMesh Object Settings select the geometry of an Actor and go to the Modify panel The available parameters are Textures RGB Level This control affects the color output of the Diffuse Color Map Dark Light It multiplies the RGB values of the colors of the texture maps by the amount set by the spinner which affects the brightness of the color Lowering the value decreases the brightness and makes the map colors darker Default 0 Display Properties This
13. reference architectural model an entry called Animation 1 with the sub objects Actors and Paths will be shown in the Project Editor window under the Group slot Animation 2 To add a new animation you can either right click on the Group slot in the Project Editor window or simply go to EDIT gt ADD ANIMATION from the Main Menu TIPS To start drawing Paths adding Actors and Action Clips you must select an animation by clicking on the slot listed in the Project Editor window The Tool icons will become active and the entries in the Project Editor windows will display in color 32 BCHAPTER 3 Animation Properties Name By default animations are named sequentially Animation 1 Animation 2 However you can change the name as you prefer Color By default animations are colored randomly An animation with all the dependent elements Actors Paths will be displayed in color in the Project Editor window the Icons the Animation Editor window the Animation bar and the 3D Viewport Section Level This tool creates an horizontal section of the imported architecture model For each Animation in the scene you can define the height of the section looking down at the model to create a floor plan As the polygons of the base model over the cutting plane will be hidden is very simple to define interior animation paths Ww te v oe v a gt 4 5481 gt 543 S dda Db Lp dpi Figure 3 7 The Section Level paramete
14. represented by a dashed line BCHAPTER 3 Loop It defines the number of times an Actor travels along the animation Lock This checkbox gets active if in your scene there is a Cloner modifier Its function consists in blocking the editing of an Actor during the manipulation of the modifier parameters in case the user has customized the Actor s properties before P les ANIMATION Copy of Animation LJ one ah al P ai h ba h Figure 3 17 Actor s Properties Panel Lock Checkbox and Icon Note To display the Actors Properties window click on the Properties tab in the Asset Browser window 47 BCHAPTER 3 The Actor Path When you select an Actor a new dotted Path that defines the trajectory of that particular Actor will be shown Each Actor has their own path dependent of the main animation path This means that every Actor path is linked to the main animation path Each time you modify the shape or position of the main animation path every Actor path will be altered maintaining the same number of path parts and control points on the splines Design 1 From the Project Editor window select the Actor you would like to edit You will notice that a new dotted path is shown 2 Use the select and move tool to alter the position of the control points on a spline path or to move a fixed path to a new location TIPS To reset the Actor path geometry select the Actor either in the 3D Viewpor
15. 44 Installint ACIOTS sarasin nakane tr ave aeed eases 44 Adding an Actor to the SCe ne srsisisesrsiisseai 45 The Actor Properes ss sisie sararea sameisiat 46 E a e R EESTE E E EE 48 WU a EEEE EEEE E EEEE EE EEEE EE EEEE E E 49 Addinga Modif er 2cic4saseear stare tines hes 49 The Modifier Properties os xa hvtia week eed eas 50 The Preview Dialog teucaddawenstadeeeenuddase vadedaneonnas 53 Making a Preview Animation 22202 s 4a08d 4440 4 33 CHAPTER 4 The Rendering Phase Using your Rendering Software 0 00000 e ee eee 54 TG PIUCING 1 500 000 ened deere oan eee bade dade nan ee 54 SCS Max PUS o5boc ated each aan beaut etnies denen dennten 55 IAS Ca eea ect eee se eee E sone 55 Network Rendering Installation 4 56 VDOT ETTE ro eh at wt nes WEG hat a ee 3 an i maMesh Settings 0 600s cece ee aeeeas 58 Cinema 4D PINCMS 22010cehebeuia eve eueeetab ena evare ones 60 Install nde eee eee oe ee eee 60 Network Rendering Installation 4 6l M a EET ESTE ee eet EE EE T EE EE EE EEE 62 BCHAPTER 1 Introduction What is an i ma Overview Human characters in 3D scenes become ever more important in visualizations animations and illustrations Character animation is a specialized area of the animation process and because of its complexity most of the animation work has catered to very advanced users and programmers leaving virtually no access to all other users an i ma
16. 7t is the area where the Actors will be placed and is defined by the main animation path length and the offset parameter Arrangement Jt is used for defining the way Actors will be placed along a path allowing you to create groups of walking Actors You can choose between a fixed dimension from the starting arrival points or a percentage of the main animation path length Offset Together with the main animation path length this parameter defines the area where the Actors will be placed Left center and right affect the way the area is placed on the main animation path Random Position Randomizes the placement of the Actors inside the defined Area When the Invert check box is selected Actors will be placed either from the starting or ending points of the Main Animation Path Random Actor Randomizes between the list of Actors added in the Actors slot in the Project Editor window and creates new color variations Random Phase This parameter allows you to apply a random offset on the complete Action Clip cycle Random Speed This parameter is used to create variations in the walking speed of an Actor Random Overlay Clip This parameter randomizes between a series of overlay clips used to add complexity to an Actor s movement Note The Actors new instances generated by the Cloner modifier will become hierarchically de pendent on the Base Actor and named with the suffix _Clone X 90 BCHAPTER 3 The availab
17. D human figure who acts in your 3D stage based on paths and actions previously defined Each Actor is unique and has their own characteristics such as speed posture clothing and ethnicity l SCENE Piano_Triangle obj k EE GROUP Group P i ANIMATION Animation Figure 3 16 The Actor Library Actors in the Project Editor Window Installing Actors 1 GotoLibrary menuandselectthe Actor Manager link Use the Browse files button to browse and import the anilib Add On Actor files Figure 3 17 The Actor Manager link from the menu Au BCHAPTER 3 2 Selectone or more anilib files and click the Open button Once they are listed in the Import Screen click on the Import button Library Manager Figure 3 18 The Actor Manager Window Adding an Actor to the scene l Go to the Actors Tab and use the Combobox to see the Actor collections installed in an i ma By default the Show All is displayed 2 Select one collection to display the list of Actors available Choose Icon View mode or List View mode to browse and search for an Actor 3 Click on the Actor and drag and drop it into the Actor slot in the Project Editor window Note By default an Actor called DefaultMan is shown in the Actors slot of your animation Ad BCHAPTER 3 The Actor Properties Name By default Actors are named sequentially Actor 1 Actor 2 Actor 3 However you can define all kinds of renaming rules you desire Wh
18. SS SSS SSS SSS SS SS Gps Metropoly 3 v LJ g d nl il EEN Figure 2 1 a 3D Viewport b Project Editor c Asset Library d Animation Editor BCHAPTER 2 The 3D Viewport This window shows in real time the result of your animation project It also enables you to design Paths move Actors assign Action Clips and perform all the editing tasks rar Admin Help Anima data_src Tests IMPACT_REAR_BEHIND_LEFT ani Figure 2 2 a Transformation Tools b Creation Tools c Navigation Tools d Drawing Aids Tools e Collision Brain Tools Transformation Tools Select and Move Tool With the Select and Move tool you can select from the 3D Viewport any part of an animation such as splines stairs escalators and fixed paths modify their geometry and reposition them on the 3D architectural model You can also define offsets for each Actor in the scene Rotate Tool It allows you to freely rotate splines and fixed paths in X Y planes During the opera tion the cursor will change to a rotation icon Creation Tools Use these tools to create all kinds of animation paths to define the course or direction in which the Actors in a scene will move Spline Path Tool This tool provides a simple method for creating animation paths to drive Actors over surfaces such as floors and ramps Stairs Path Tool This tool is used to define a simple 3D geometry in order to make Actors in t
19. al_01 M3 2 gt lt Material source Skin lib Metal_01 Metal_O1 M3_STD mat material Metal_01 M3 3 gt lt Material source Cloths amp amp Stuff lib Metal_O1 Metal_O1 M3_STD mat material Metal_01 M3 4 gt lt Render gt Specifies which Renderer will use this material confi guration script In this case VRay is set up lt Export gt lt CINEMA 4D gt lt Export type C4D version 11 12 gt lt Render type VRay gt lt Material source Hair lib Metal_O1 Metal_01 M3_VRAY c4d material Metal_01 M3 0 gt lt Material source Head lib Metal_01 Metal_01 M3_VRAY c4d material Metal_O1 M3 1 gt lt Material source Eyes amp amp Mouth lib Metal_0O1 Metal_0O1 M3_VRAY c4d material Metal_01 M3 2 gt lt Material source Skin lib Metal_OI Metal_O1 M3_VRAY c4d material Metal_01 M3 3 gt lt Material source Cloths amp amp Stuff lib Metal_0O1 Metal_O1 M3_VRAY c4d material Metal_01 M3 4 gt lt Render gt Assigns a material file to a specific part of the charac EEE ter mesh In this case to the Cloth amp Stuff mesh element lt Export gt lt MaterialPresetList gt Note an i ma Actors contains five submeshes as follows Hair Head Eyes amp Mouth Skin Cloths amp Stuff 26 BCHAPTER 3 Coding This is an example of simple m
20. aterial With this configuration a single mate rial will be assigned to all the Actors in the scene lt MaterialPresetList gt lt Solid_White gt If under lt Material gt tag the source attribute is set to All the same material will be used on all the five submeshes existing in an i lt Export type MAX version All gt ma Actors lt MaterialPreset name Solid White type user models All gt lt 3DS MAX gt lt Render type Standard gt source All lt Render gt lt Material lib Solid_White Solid_White M3_STD mat material Solid_White M3 gt lt Render type VRay gt lt Material source All lib Solid_White Solid_White M3_STD mat material Solid_White M3 gt lt Render gt lt Render type Mental Ray gt lt Material source All lib Solid_White Solid_White M3_STD mat material Solid_White M3 gt lt Render gt lt Export gt Is the material library assigned to the Actor mesh located under data libra lt CINEMA 4D gt ries presets materials So lid_White lt Export type C4D version All gt lt Render type Standard gt lt Material source All lib Solid_White Solid_White M3_STD c4d material Solid_White M3 gt lt Render gt lt Render type VRay gt lt Material source All lib
21. ations between start end markers will repeat over time in the 3D Viewport video BBox Threshold This tool is used to display a number of Actors in the scene as bounding boxes to speed up screen redrawing Threshold range is from O to 999 Low threshold values will display a large number of BBox and will improve real time performance Unsolved Collisions Toggle When the parameter is set to HIDE default the Actors involved in unsolved collisions will not be shown in an i ma stand alone application and will not be rendered by the plugins Unsolved Actor Threshold Threshold range is from 0 to 100 One hundred percent means that the whole number of Actors involved in unsolved collisions will be hidden Note Remember that any of the Scene Properties can be changed at any time and will not affect the work already done BCHAPTER 3 Render Quality From this combo box you can define the level of detail of the texture maps used by the plugin for rendering Very Low It uses 128x128 texture maps It is ideal for aerial views or extreme long shots with very little visible detail high performance low memory Low It uses 256x256 texture maps It is ideal for long shots or for background actors for example in an audience or busy street scene high performance low memory Medium It uses 512x512 texture maps It is the most versatile quality configuration ideal for medium shots Medium Performance Medium Memory High I
22. ays statistics concerning the number of groups animations actors vertices polygons etc in the scene Note Remember that any of the Scene Properties can be changed at any time and will not affect the work already done 29 BCHAPTER 3 Material Preset File Configuration Configuring and creating new material presets 1s very simple using XML textual data format To edit the files you can use a text editor such as Notepad but an XML editor with syntax checking is recommended Coding Bellow there is an example of complex material using five material sources for each an i ma Actor submesh Each material preset file should be written using the following tags and attributes Is the name displayed in the Scene Properties Window under the Material Preset lt Metal_O gt ComboBox Metal_O1 type user models All gt lt MaterialPresetList gt lt MaterialPreset name Defines which 3D applica tion and version will use the lt 3DS MAX gt next material configuration script lt Export type MAX version All gt lt Render type Standard gt lt Material source Hair lib Metal_O1I Metal_01 M3_STD mat material Metal_01 M3 0 gt lt Material source Head lib Metal_01 Metal_0O1 M3_STD mat material Metal_O1 M3 1 gt lt Material source Eyes amp amp Mouth lib Metal_0O1 Metal_0O1 M3_STD mat material Met
23. ce Engine will automatically add Action Clips to the Escalator Path to generate a realistic Actor behavior Note To add a new Escalator Path you can right click either on the Path slot in the Project Editor window or simply click on the ADD ESCALATOR PATH icon 42 BCHAPTER 3 The Escalator Path Properties Name By default Escalator Paths are named sequentially Escalator 1 Escalator 2 You can change the name as you prefer for a better description Step Width This value controls the step width of the escalator By default it is set at 800 mm You can use the Slide bar to change it between other standard measures or select the Free Mode to manually enter the desired value Inclination This parameter allows you to define either an escalator or a moving walkway when selecting between some standard inclinations or using the Free Mode to manually enter the desired value Speed You can set up the step speed of the escalator from 27 to 55 meters per minute By default it is set up at 27 meters per minute You can use the free Mode to manually enter different values Enter Exit Lenghts These spinboxes are used to modify the size of the escalator moving walkway landing plates Information The Escalator Properties window will display some useful information such as direction rise and angle of inclination of the escalator Figure 3 15 The Escalator Path Properties Window BCHAPTER 3 Actors An Actor is a 3
24. e View as List format this view makes assets more recognizable Note Before you drag and drop any asset you must select the destiny object Example To add an Action Clip to a Spline Path in your animation you must select the Spline Path first 17 BCHAPTER 2 Modifiers Tab The modifiers change some portion of the definition of an animation that may result in a change in the appearance or behavior After drag dropping a modifier into the Animation slot in the Project Editor window the Modifier control will appear just below it Once you have applied modifiers to an animation you can select the Modifier slot in the Project Editor window and use the Properties tab to change the parameters Properties Tab This tab is used to view and change the parameters of the selected object The Properties panel displays a different list of parameters for different types of objects which can be modified through spinboxes combo boxes and sliders Note To add a modifier just select one from the Modifiers tab and drag and drop it into the Animation slot in the Project Editor window 18 BCHAPTER 2 The Animation Editor Window From this window you have full control of the start time length and end time of each animation in your scene Using the markers you can set the playback area that will then be imported by the plugin into the 3D rendering application Animation 2 gt l444ll Db Il gt bl Figure 2 10 a Editing Tool Icons
25. edict collisions between Actors and will automatically create an avoidance path to perform a realistic complex collective behavior The saved ani file will store the collision details from your scene When collisions are disabled Actors will pass through each other during the simulation Disabling collisions is useful while you are designing paths ES View Collision Area When the collision area is enabled an i ma will predict collisions between Actors The collision areas will be shown as red paths 14 BCHAPTER 2 The Project Editor Window This window shows a schematic view of all the elements hierarchically structured compounding your scene and allows for a fast and easy understanding of the animation project From here you can create select and edit all the elements in a scene Go SCENE Piano _Triangle obj b Se GROUP Group ae TIT Y t ANIMATION Animation Figure 2 7 The Project Editor Window Project Hierarchical Structure Scene Use the Scene slot to load the base model change units and Fps control collisions and render quality To access Scene parameters click on the Scene slot in the Project Editor window then select the Properties tab in the bottom section of the panel Group It is the highest level in the hierarchical structure of a scene It can contain multiple animations that make up a unit for example First Floor Animations You can use Groups to organize your scene by changing colo
26. ees ANIMATION b TA ao b FIXED Figure 3 13 The Fixed Path Slot Fixed 3D Geometry Cursor Icons Action Clips By default a Stand Action Clip is assigned To change it just select one active Action Clip from the Assets Library and drag and drop it on the Fixed Path slot in the Project Editor window The icon in the 3D Viewport will change according to the type of Action Clip assigned In some cases you will also need to set up the ENTER CLIP and EXIT CLIP transitions using the Properties window Note To add a new fixed path you can right click either on the Path slot in the Project Editor window or simply click on the ADD STAIRS PATH Icon AQ BCHAPTER 3 The Fixed Path Properties Name By default fixed paths are named sequentially Fixed 1 Fixed 2 Fixed 3 You can change the name as you prefer for a better description Fixed Clip By default fixed paths use the Stand Action Clip but you can replace it and assign any of the fixed clips in the Clips Library Loop Time You can create loops of the central clip in a fixed path in order to change the duration of the final clip by using the slide bar Enter Clip It creates the transition between the last Action Clip in the previous path element and the Action Clip in the fixed path Depending on the type of Action Clip assigned to the fixed path and the relationship with the other path elements the list of available Enter Clips will vary Exi
27. eleted To keep them in the scene you should use LOCK or SWITCH TO BASE commands 92 BCHAPTER 3 The Preview Dialog Make Preview displays the Make Preview dialog enabling you to create an AVI file preview of the animation in the current 3D Viewport Figure 3 19 The Preview Animation Dialog Making a Preview Animation 1 Goto the Scene Menu and click on Make Preview to displays the Make Preview dialog 2 Change the preview parameters or accept the defaults and then click MAKE If Microsoft AVI MPG4 is selected as the output type the software will render the preview and save it in a file using the prefix name defined before 3 To play the preview click the Open Folder button and double click the saved video file Note After the prefix name an i ma will add the file creation time and date as follows _2011_02_14_10_36_28 53 ECHAPTER 4 The Rendering Phase Using your Rendering Software an i ma offers a set of plugins specially designed to import and render a large quantity of 3D human characters optimizing memory usage and giving you the flexibility to use external renderers such as VRay and Mental Ray Figure 4 1 The final image rendered with 3DS MAX 2009 The Plugins Main Features Efficient geometry handling On demand dynamic vertex deformation data loading Standard Vray and Mental Ray ready Materials Presets Automatic gamma corrected materials Exposure c
28. en an Actor is selected the name will be shown in the 3D Viewport Color By default an Actor uses the same color defined in the animation However you can change the color as you prefer When the Actor is selected the color will be blended with the Actor s texture and showed in the 3D Viewport Texture Color By clicking on the SHUFFLE button an i ma will randomly create color variations of the Actor s clothing Overlay Clips The overlay clip groups are used to add complexity to the Actor s movement You can use the combo box to select one Group from a list and use the SHUFFLE button to randomly alter the internal order of the clips they contain If the Cloner modifier is used expressions will be assigned automatically to each Actor in the scene Clip Phase Use the slide bar to produce an offset on the complete clip cycle and change the pose of an Actor Speed By default each Actor has their own speed You can change this value using the spinbox Action Clips inside an animation will be executed at this particular speed If the Cloner modifier is used speed variations will be assigned automatically to each Actor in the scene Start Space amp Relative Offset These two parameters define the position from where an Actor starts their motion The Start Space moves an Actor along the path while the Relative Offset creates parallel trajectories of an Actor which are associated to the master path The Actor s path is
29. he animation go up and down stairs realistically Fixed Path Tool It creates a type of path where trajectories are fixed This means that the spatial layout of the actions cannot be modified However you can alter the time in which an Actor will perform Escalator Path Tool This tool gives you the possibility to define the 3D geometry of a fully animated escalator or moving walkway and make Actors ride or step on and off them realistically Figure 2 3 a Spline Path b Stairs Path c Fixed Path d Escalator Path Note To enable these tools you must select an animation either from the 3D Viewport or the Project Editor window Subsequently the tool icons will become active 10 BCHAPTER 2 Navigation Tools These tools are used to manipulate your point of view of the model They include the Pan Zoom and Orbit tools Pan Tool Use the Pan tool to move the camera your view vertically and horizontally Activate the Pan tool from either the Navigation Tool palette or using the keyboard shortcut ALT right mouse button Zoom Tool Use the Zoom tool to move the camera your view in or out Activate the Zoom tool from either the Navigation Tool palette or using the keyboard shortcut ALT left mouse button right mouse button Orbit Tool Use the Orbit tool to rotate the camera about the model This tool is useful when viewing geometry from the outside Activate the Orbi
30. hown in the Project Editor window Project Editor g ll SCENE Wall hwo Figure 3 5 The Default Group Slot Examples of Management By Levels From an architectural point of view you can create one group per building level obtaining in this way a spatial organization of your project animations By RAM Consumption An important aspect of good efficient workflow is managing RAM consumption as it is so closely tied to the way individual objects are treated and the file size they generate A good way to organize the animations in your scene is under groups that can be imported separately so when you organize your architectural visualization project you can merge exclusively the animations you want to render and not all of them Group Properties Name By default Groups are named sequentially Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 However you can change the name as you prefer for a better description Color By default Groups are colored randomly However you can change the color at your convenience Note To add a new Group you can right click either on the Project Editor window or simply go to the EDIT gt ADD GROUP from the Main Menu 31 BCHAPTER 3 Animations A set of Actors Paths and Actions defines an Animation lal lear 1 0 File Edit Scene Library Admin Help 0 oe Project Editor SCENE gt 444i D I gt DD Figure 3 6 The Animation selected Add Animation Animation 1 By default after loading the
31. ick on a new spot on the 3D Viewport or press the ESC key 38 BCHAPTER 3 The Stairs Path Properties Name By default stairs are named sequentially Stair 1 Stair 2 Stair 3 You can change the name as you prefer for a better description Step Number The starting number of steps in a stair is calculated automatically using architectural standards If you need to adjust the values use the checkbox to enter the correct number or use the arrows to increase decrease the quantity Step Width By default the starting width of the steps in a stair is 1 Use the checkbox to enter the correct number or use the arrows to increase decrease the quantity Information The Stairs Properties window will display some useful information such as direction and height of the stair and riser and tread of each step Figure 3 12 The Stair Path Properties Window Note To add a new Stair you can right click either on the Stairs Path slot in the Project Editor window or simply click on the ADD STAIRS PATH icon 39 BCHAPTER 3 The Fixed Path Design 1 From the Project Editor window select the animation where you would like to design the path You will notice that the Tool Bar icons become active 2 Click on ADD FIXED PATH icon Under the Path tab in the Project Editor window a new Fixed Path slot will be created 3 You will be prompted to set the point where the action will be executed 62 SCENE b 22 GROUP b l
32. le parameters for an animation containing only a fixed path are Figure Clone N Number of Actor copies to be generated Area 7t is the area where the Actors will be placed Shape You can use two kinds of shapes rectangle and circle to create groups of people talking or sitting Random Position Randomizes the placement of the Actors inside the defined area When the invert check box is selected Actors will be placed either on the starting or ending points of the main animation path Random Rotation Randomizes the rotation of the Actors inside the defined area Random Actor Randomizes between the list of Actors added in the Actors slot in the Project Editor window and creates new color variations Random Phase This parameter allows you to apply a random offset on the complete Action Clip cycle Random Overlay Clip This parameter randomizes between a series of overlay clips used to add complexity to an Actor s movement dh dh d a r a a r Pt a r ai r a 4h dh dh dh dh 4h dh dh 4b dh 3 20 The Cloner Modifier parameters 91 BCHAPTER 3 anflma File Edit Scene Library Admin Help CO se es Project Editor sone ase Nocel b x gt lt gt lt gt 4b 4b dd 4 gt 64 gt 4 gt 4b 4b 4b 4D dD 1362 S44 411 DID DDI Figure 3 21 The Cloner Modifier in action Note if you cancel the Cloner modifier from the scene all the instances will be d
33. ontrol BCHAPTER 4 3ds Max Plugins They add connectivity to Autodesk 3ds Max and 3ds Max Design allowing to import an i ma ani scenes They work for both 32 amp 64 bit versions of 3DS Max 2008 2009 2010 2011 Install Using the Installer This plugin can be copied into your 3ds Max plugins folder using the installation software provided Copying the files manually 1 Locate the folder where the application 3ds Max is stored on your computer The default for it is in C Program Files Autodesk 3ds Max 20xx 2 Copy the files AnthmaMAX20xx dli and Anima xml into the folder plugins located inside 3ds Max directory 3 Edit the file Anima xml using a text editor and add the path to an i ma stand alone software usually C Program Files aX YZ design an i ma 1 0 4 Copy the file Anima MAX20xx dll into the folder where an i ma stand alone is installed i aX Z design an ijma 3DS MAX 2010 64 bit Plugin Setup Wizard N Setup will install an ijma 305 MAX 2010 64 bit Plugin into the following folder To continue dick Next If you would like to select a different folder cick Browse Atleast 4 9 MB of free disk space is required Figure 4 2 The Plugin Installer BCHAPTER 4 Network Rendering Installation Configure Plugins Make an i ma work on a renderfarm is very simple You do not need to install an ma stand alone on all the network machines but simply configure plugins to load an i ma dlls over the net
34. or Window 2 203 19 FOUN TOOK EEEE T EE E EE 19 The Icon States cess eesin ae a eE a neta hee EEA eee 20 Preferences Panel lt 2954h400404 e508 d a46ho5 44o 5 eed eed enon 2l The Animation Projecti TU oG 24 44438 boc ees eed eek too ee wah eho a een eee ee ke 22 Scene Properties eerisari repam ed taa kon eed 22 Render Quality ssrsresiasssrsekissrireisiras 24 Material Presets e Bhat the tak ee eedd ike eke phe Torma ON 69034356848 e aoe a5 eee ee 25 Material Preset File Configuration 26 Importing your Architectural Models 06 e cece eens 28 What should I import x26 tuxenanesuwasane awd 28 How O IMPO sesksressryipriiprr kyris eee s 29 OUDS Gaaeestevateuetneeee onda EE dane mets 31 Examples of Management 224040 2veyeedeneege 31 Group PYODETNGS serrit stit ttar rin PRISTANE 31 AM MAUONS saaara a a A dee eee N 12 Add ANIMALON wate EEEE pE E EE ER E RE A 32 Animation Properties ta24eeentae atte euedaeees 33 n EET EE E E eupe dua aes E POL Types esses 8 BEE CEA RSH eT EREE EEN 2 esp nees errearen ek ER E E 36 The Spline Pah Properes s essrori 035 208s vee 37 The Slas POUT 64 44 66 8G AGA HGE REAR EN ES EHR ES 38 The Stairs Path Properties ones ahaa enemaw snes a0 The Fired Fa oeanbeewnyneeeeeeaekat een aces 40 The Fixed Path Properties 0254254 tnanesdsaa 4 The Lscalaror Plie etas i iiiaae a ek a one 42 The Escalator Path Properlies issiisssrssissrsi 43 ACIS eraen E E E e E E E works
35. r drawing Mouse Over The icon will turn red when you drag the mouse over it Click on the white triangle and a sub menu will be displayed Selected When you click on an active icon it will turn yellow and the command will be ready for use Figure 2 11 Unactive Active Mouse Over Selected BCHAPTER 2 Preferences Panel an i ma offers many options for its display and operation These options are available on the Preference dialog box available from the menu bar under EDIT gt PREFERENCES Frame Slider Label It specifies the method for displaying time in the time slider and throughout the pro gram You can use these time display formats Frame Number This is the default display mode and shows the individual frames of video or film Time in Seconds It labels the tick lines on the slider using seconds Gizmos Size It sets the size of 3D icons used for manipulating objects such as spline points and axis X YZ arrows FSAA Anti Aliasing This parameter specifies the level of full scene anti aliasing used to hide the jagged effect of image diagonals creating localized blurring along these edges and reducing the appearance of stepping A high FSAA value affects the amount of processing power left to render the scene and may reduce your system performance The graphics card takes charge of this task 897 J897 F Ma ll P Ii bh Figure 2 10 The Frame Slider Note A high FSAA value may reduce your s
36. r in action Note You can move and rotate an animation using the 3D tools direclty from the OpenGL window 33 BCHAPTER 3 Position and Rotation You can either edit the values inside the dialog boxes or use the Gizmo to move and rotate an animation to a new position in the 3D world Path Direction Click on the Invert buttom to change the direction in which the Actors move along the path Play Loop When this checkbox is selected the shorter animations in the scene will loop the number of times necessary to reach the longest animation length All the animations will approximate in duration a al a a all a all Figure 3 7 Animation Properties Move Gizmo Note You can move and rotate an animation using the 3D tools directly from the 3D View port 34 BCHAPTER 3 Paths A path is the course or direction followed by the Actors in a scene It can be compound by four types of courses Spline Stairs Fixed and Escalator Figure 3 8 The Animation Path Path Types Spline Path It makes Actors in the animation travel along a course over formal surfaces such as floors and ramps Stairs Path It guides Actors in the animation up and down stairs realistically Fixed Path It makes Actors in the animation behave according to a fixed trajectory defined by the Action Clip Escalator Path It makes Actors in the animation ride or step on and off escalators and moving walkways
37. rements System Requirements an ijma 1 0 has been designed to run on a wide range of hardware and software configurations although performance levels will vary depending on the processing speed and available memory of the system For general animation and rendering Intel Pentium 4 1 4 GHz or equivalent AMD processor Intel 64 or AMD64 processor recommended 2 GB RAM 8 GB recommended 3 GB Available Hard Disk Space Direct3D 10 technology Direct3D 9 or OpenGL capable graphics card 256 MB or higher video card memory GB or higher recommended Internet connection for web downloads and an i ma Registering access Operating Systems Microsoft Windows 7 Professional x32 or x64 Microsoft Windows Vista Business x32 or x64 SP2 or higher Microsoft Windows XP Professional x32 or x64 SP2 or higher BCHAPTER 2 Anima lterface Overview The Main Screen an i ma software has a clean simple intuitive interface for building and manipulating a complex character animation scene using intuitive tools The interface using collision dynamics simulation gives the user a straightforward way to create realistic animations which can be computed on the fly while the user is editing involving multiple characters File Edit Scene Library Admin Help C Anima data_src Tests IMPACT_REAR_BEHIND_LEFT ani ER i j K ole Rs Project Edito Es M a i aj z g Piano_Triangle obj r gt a a gt SSS
38. rs and using your own naming criteria Animation A set of Actors Paths and Actions defines an animation 15 BCHAPTER 2 Actors It is a 3D human figure who acts in the 3D stage based on Paths and Actions previously defined Path It is the course or direction in which the Actors in your scene will move It consists of four types of courses Spline Stairs Fixed and Escalator Action Clips It is a movement or a series of movements performed by an Actor which define their behavior or conduct in the animation Animation Action Clip Figure 2 8 The Project Hierarchical Structure 16 BCHAPTER 2 The Asset Browser Window It is used to manage Actors Action Clips Modifiers and Object Properties The following description provides an overview of the functionality of the Asset Browser window sa Default Figure 2 9 con View of the Actors Library View as List of the Action Clip Library Properties Panel Actors and Clips Tabs Collections A drop down box provides a list of the Actors Action Clip collections installed in an i ma Just select one of them to display the list of Actors Action Clips available Ee View as List It provides a list view of the Actors Action Clips including a small icon and description of the asset characteristics Fy icon View It shows each Actor Action Clip item as a large icon with its label below Since the icons and the file names are larger than those in th
39. s To access the an ijmaMesh Object Settings select the geometry of an Actor and go to the Modify panel The available parameters are Textures RGB Level This control affects the color output of the Diffuse Color Map Dark Light It multiplies the RGB values of the colors of the texture maps by the amount set by the spinner which affects the brightness of the color Lowering the value decreases the brightness and makes the map colors darker Default 0 Display Properties This control affects the real time displaying performance BBox Mesh It defines the number of Actors to be displayed with full geometries Default 99 Rendering Control The RENDERABLE option is turned on by default Motion Blur It enables or disables motion blur for an an i maMesh object If you choose either form of motion blur here in the Rendering Control dialog you must also choose to apply that type of blur in the Render Scene dialog Renderable This checkbox makes the imported scene appear or disappear from rendered output Smoothing It enables the auto smoothing feature to eliminate the facets on geometry APLE ET Actor 1_ Clone 1 a Modifier List al ailis slr Textures RGE Level Rendering Control Motion Blur Off Object C Image W Renderable MW Smoothing Update Options CMan0006 ani a Reload Plugin info E anfima anjilma 1 0 for 305 Max Copyright c a design 2011
40. t Clip It creates the transition between the last Action Clip in the following path element and the Action Clip in the fixed path Depending on the type of Action Clip assigned to the fixed path and the relationship with the other path elements the list of available Exit Clips will vary Figure 3 14 The Fixed Path Properties Window BCHAPTER 3 The Escalator Path Design 1 From the Project Editor window select the animation where you would like to design the path You will notice that the Tool Bar icons get active 2 Click on ADD ESCALATOR PATH icon Under the Path tab in the Project Editor window a new Escalator slot will be created 3 If the escalator is the first element in the Path slot you will be asked to place the starting and arriving points Point 1 Point 2 The cursor will show 1 meaning that the starting point must be placed Subsequently a simple 3D geometry of the escalator will be displayed in the 3D Viewport while you move the cursor The cursor showing 2 means that the arriving point should be placed If you are creating the Escalator Path after another element in the Path slot a simple 3D geometry will be displayed in the 3D Viewport while you move the Cursor 62 SCENE Piano_Triangle obj b EE GROUP Group P jes ANIMATION Animation I FA ESCALATOR Escalator 1 Figure 3 15 Escalator Path Slot Escalator 3D Geometry Cursor Icons Action Clips an i ma Crowd Avoidan
41. t or from the Project Editor window Right click to display the Content Menu select ACTOR PATH and then RESET Figure 3 18 The Actor Path Reset Note If you use the Cloner modifier in your scene the Actor paths will be generated automatically AG BCHAPTER 3 Modifiers They modify some portion of the definition of an animation that may result in a change in appearance or behavior Below there is a simple overview of the individual modifiers aa CLONER Cloner Duplicate Actors Figure 3 19 The Modifiers Library The Cloner Modifier in the Project Editor Window Adding a Modifier 1 Go to the Asset Library window and click on the Modifiers tab The list of Modifiers will be displayed pA Select one and drag and drop it into the Animation or Actor slots in the Project Editor window 3 Use the Properties tab dialog to edit the parameter values of the modifiers Note When you apply a modifier it appears directly below the Actor slot in the Project Editor window 49 BCHAPTER 3 The Modifier Properties SS Cloner TET Specially designed to create crowd simulations the Cloner modifier creates instances of Actors in the animation With an 1 ma Crowd Avoidance Engine character motions will be choreographed automatically for a perfect interaction and realistic result The available parameters for an Animation containig Splines are Clone N Number of Actor copies to be generated Area
42. t tool from either the Navigation Tool palette or using the keyboard shortcut ALT left mouse button Pivot Snapping Tool When the Pivot Snapping tool is activated the selected object acts as the center or pivot for the previous tools Activate the Pivot Snapping tool from the Navigation Tool palette Layer List Tool By clicking on this icon the Layer List window will be displayed When importing a 3ds or Obj file into an ijma the name on the original layers materials is kept Use the Layer List tool to control the visibility and color of geometry within large models 11 BCHAPTER 2 Rendering Method Tools These tools are used to set the rendering method for the current 3D Viewport In large scenes performance levels can vary depending on the video card processing speed and memory Changing from one render method to another can be useful to speed up the drawing process Figure 2 4 Solid View BBox View Solid View This tool renders objects with smooth shading and normal maps and displays specular highlights fil BBox View This tool draws objects as bounding boxes with no shading applied A bounding box is defined as the smallest box that completely encloses an object 12 BCHAPTER 2 The Drawing Aids Tools These tools give you control over the positioning and alignment of the control points of the splines They are especially important tools for those who build precise models in real world units of
43. t uses 1024x1024 texture maps It is great for medium shots medium performance high memory Very High It uses 2048x2048 texture maps It is great for medium close up shots with lots of visible details low performance high memory Note Remember that any of the Scene Properties can be changed at any time and will not affect the work you could have done MCHAPTER 3 Material Presets You can use this feature to select between some available presets to create photo realistics images using color normal and specular maps or to create abstract figures simulating simple materials such as plastic metal and plaster utilized in traditional architectonic scale models an i ma This is the default material used by an i ma With this preset character will render full colored and with cloth color variations active Normal maps are used to enhance details This is a photorealistic preset Metal_01 Is a metalic set up To accurately define the small zones of detail it uses the normal maps provided with an i ma Actors Plaster_01 Simulates a plaster effect on characters Normal maps and bump maps are used to enhance details Plastic Transparent Produces a transparent plastic effect on characters Normal maps are used to enhance details Solid White Is a very basic plain material with no normal maps ideal for rendering testing as it offers a high performance during loading of the scenes and rendering This panel displ
44. you can change the name as you prefer for a better description Information The Spline Properties window will display some useful information such as length and number of control points in the spline curve Figure 3 10 The Spline Path Properties Window Note To add a new spline you can right click either on the Spline Path slot in the Project Editor window or simply click on the ADD SPLINE PATH icon 37 BCHAPTER 3 The Stairs Path Design 1 From the Project Editor window select the animation where you would like to design the path You will notice that the Tool Bar icons become active 2 Click on ADD STAIRS PATH icon Under the Path tab in the Project Editor window a new Stairs slot will be created 3 You will be asked to place the starting and arriving points Point 1 Point 2 The cursor will show 1 meaning that the starting point must be placed Subsequently a simple 3D geometry of a stair will be displayed in the 3D Viewport while you move the cursor The cursor showing 2 means that the arriving point should be placed ED SCENE Piano Triangle obj b EE GROUP Group te ANIMATION Animation d ft A a ELGE Figure 3 11 The Stair Path Slot Stair 3D Geometry Cursor Icons Action Clips an i ma Crowd Avoidance Engine will automatically add the Action Clips to the Stairs Path to generate an accurate character animation Note To exit from any of the Path designing commands simply right cl
45. ystem performance specially if your scene contains a large number of characters BCHAPTER 3 The Animation Project The Scene To start your animation project you need to prepare your 3D architectural models for import into an i ma The imported 3D model will only be used as a reference for the design of the animation paths Piano Triangle obj 4 4 4 y h Baai y a r y 4 Figure 3 1 Scene Properties Window Project Tree Scene Slot Scene Properties Units The Units dialog establishes the unit display method used to measure geometry in your scene giving you the choice between standard units feet and inches or metric Paths Use this dialog to save the location of the geometry file using either absolute or relative paths A full path is a path that points to the same location on one file system regardless of the working directory or combined paths A relative path is a path relative to the working directory of the user or application 22 BCHAPTER 3 FPS The frame rate of an animation is generally expressed in frames per second fps This is the number of frames displayed for every second of real time The standard rates are as follows NTSC 30 frames per second PAL 25 frames per second FILM 24 frames per second If you need to set up a special frame rate you can use the CUSTOM option in the combo box Playback Loop When Playback Loop is ON the scene anim
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