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animation that begins and ends
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animation that begins and ends // New Users
Post by Gaz0 // Feb 2, 2007, 5:50am
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Gaz0
Total Posts: 47
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Hello All,
I've made a mB object that has an animation, and I would like to place these objects at various points on a timeline so that several objects can move similarly, but out of sync and with different orientations.
The problem occurs when I move the object forward in the scene editor. Instead of holding the first frame, the object appears as the last frame. And it does this up until the first real frame of the Mb object when it instantly appears as it should. I've tried copying and pasting the first frames, but this was very tedious since the MetaBall object is made of six MB prim. It seems like there should be an easier way to make an object appear a certain way before an animation, and remain the way the animation ends afterwards.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
thanks,
David |
Post by Chester Desmond // Feb 2, 2007, 9:51am
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Chester Desmond
Total Posts: 323
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not 100% sure I am understanding your dilemma but:
If you are moving the animation forward then that would indicate to me that there are no keyframes at the beginning (ie between frame zero and when the animation begins). Try setting a keyframe that tells the ball to stay where you want it until the beginning of the 'real' animation. Otherwise it won't know what to do until then. |
Post by Gaz0 // Feb 2, 2007, 10:07am
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Gaz0
Total Posts: 47
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It seems like you get my problem. Except the MetaBall object is made of several MetaBalls. In order to extend the first frame back, I've been trying to duplicate the first frame on all those MetaBalls. Unfortunately, when I do try to duplicate the first key frames(which is very tedious with the cutting and pasting) my MetaBall composed object gets all screwed up. Is there an easier way to do this? I'm finding the cutting and pasting to be very unprecise.
thanks,
David |
Post by hultek43 // Feb 2, 2007, 10:23am
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hultek43
Total Posts: 234
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I hope that I understand the question well enough to provide some insight/help. Copy the object however and place in scene where desired, then click record where it is at frame 0. Perhaps this will help you achieve your desired result. |
Post by Chester Desmond // Feb 2, 2007, 10:28am
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Chester Desmond
Total Posts: 323
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Your best bet might be to start fresh .. turn off 'autorecord' so that only what you specifically set keyframes for will get recorded and you won't have any undesired keyframes messing things up. Another thing to keep in mind is that metaball structures (containing more than one part) are hierarchic objects so any keyframes set at the top level (the whole structure) may affect the ones you set for each individual part (ie the whole structure is trying to move, while each individual also tries to do what you want...it often gets interpolated so that it does half of each animation and you end up somewhere in the middle of where you want to be).
Set an initial keyframe for each individual where you want it to begin (ie hidden out of sight)..then go to one frame BEFORE where you want the animation to start and set another keyframe for the initial position then go forward one frame and move each object to it's position and set a keyframe. If you don't set the second duplicate keyframe the object will slowly move from its hidden position to it's "real" start position; setting the duplicate KF will tell it to stay where it is for the whole time leading up to the desired start. (almost like inserting a long pause)..
I hop ethis sort of deals with your issue.. I don;t want to go too far into detail in case I'm on the wrong track. Feel free to contuiune asking questions or clarify what I am thinking wrong.
Also one thing I've discovered..if you are doing an animation where all the objects come together to form a whole (like the mercury pool turning into the bad cop in Terminator 2), it is much easier to start with the whole object in its final position, animate the balls flowing away from it and then reverse the whole animation when you're done.
Hope I'm helping here haha |
Post by Gaz0 // Feb 2, 2007, 12:06pm
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Gaz0
Total Posts: 47
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My animation is of a object morphing from a shape into a ball. It is made of several Meta Balls that collapse into one another. My problem occurs when I move the object ahead in time on the scene editor. All the times before the first keyframe appear as a ball(end status) and not my shape(beginning status).
I've attached some screen captures so you can see my set up.
Screen Cap A shows my set up. I have a MetaBall object made up of smaller metaballs. At one point the color shifts, hence the shader box.
Screen Cap B expands my animation so you can see how the meta balls are animated to move through out the duration.
Screen Cap C illustrates what happens if I move then entire animation forward in time and hit the record button to set a keyframe. As you can see, a keyframe was set only for the mast controls and not the individual MetaBalls. Cutting and pasting the first frame of each Metaball has not worked properly and it's very tedious. I also tried selecting the individual Meta balls, so that I could hit the record keyframe button, but tS7 will not let me select those layers individually. |
Post by 3dpdk // Feb 3, 2007, 7:16am
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3dpdk
Total Posts: 212
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I have an interesting solution.
If I understand the problem; you originally started your animation at frame 0, but when you tried to move it up in the time line to begin at frame 13 (as in your screen shot) the MB object returns to it's original primitive shape from time 0 to time 13 at which time it jumps to it's (intended) beginning shape.
Ok. If the proper animation begins at frame 13 then advance the timeline one frame only to 14. Record that frame for the full hierarchal object. You may have to make some very slight change in the object like scale or rotation for it to record - but very slight.
Now in the scene editor, select all the diamonds for the MB object in keyframe 13 and drag them to frame 0. Although there may be some change in the MB shape form frame 13 to 14, it probably won't be noticeable over the increased time span. If there seems to be more movement during these 14 frames than there should be, simply right click each diamond at frame 0 and frame 14, click on properties and select the right angle button. The other two settings will try to blend this slight movement with the rest of the animation ... which may actually work out for the best. Unfortunatly, you have to do this one diamond at a time, you can not set this as a group selection. |
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