Jump to content
Hash, Inc. Forums

Distortion box based character rig -Character Box


Recommended Posts

Here is Matt going 'round the bend' again!... if Vern were still around I know he would pick-up on this! I just saw Character Box from Japanese company PSOFT.... for modo.

 

Link: http://www.psoft.co.jp/en/product/cbox/index.html

 

It is sort of a cage based rig- where you size the cages to envelope the various parts of your model. This is how ikinema works too. This approach gives very smooth deformations no matter how dense the underlying mesh is. I always thought we have what it takes to do this in A:M, in conjunction with an existing rig setup (which you still need for all your FK/IK and constraints) So- instead of endlessly dinking with weighting or cogs or smartskins you would have a 'set-it-and-forget-it' solution... which would allow you to continue modelling after you rig and not have to worry about what bone(s) this new geometry needs to weight to...

 

The one thing I remember as I crudely attempted such a setup- that we DO NOT HAVE that would/could make it possible... is the ability to assign the control-points of our deformation boxes to a bone, like weighting on a point-by-point basis.

 

The Yen to dollar price comes to around $575... yikes! I remember paying $300 for TSM1 back in the day!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

http://www.psoft.co.jp/en/product/cbox/index.html

 

I am 'thinking INSIDE the box...'

 

I keep coming back to this, I am amazed at how unpopular an idea this is... 'I think' this can be done with the existing technology already found within A:M... just need a couple of the features to 'talk to one another...'

 

-Distortion meshes need to be constrainable to bones

-Distortion meshes various CPs need to be weightable to various bones

-you would still use an existing rig, like TSM2 or 2009rig or SOCCI... whatever... once it is setup- a different character could be replaced within the rig swiftly. You would still animate with the control bones of the existing rig... just no need to worry about CP density... weighting... smartskinning... cogs... etc

TEMP.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Hash Fellow

I'll note that they7 don't appear to be using distortion boxes, it's more of a graphic tool for distributing CP weights.

However, I looked at their demo movie... all i see is very twitchy, sudden motions that don't let you see the full range of the deformations clearly and if this is the best it does on shoulders and hips it's not good enough for real purposes...

 

cbox.JPG

 

 

Do they have a better example up there?

 

 

I still say you could get the same thing with Bone Falloffs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah- bone falloffs are powerful, and I need to get the hang of controlling them better... setting the 'inner diameter- scaling' etc to get them just right... but I like the way they work and their ease-of-use. I am just smitten by this 'distortion box' method after exporting one of my characters to mixamo and playing around with the 'bendy-wendy' results- it was fantastic as far as smooth joint and torso deformations go.

 

I don't think mixamo lets you do that anymore, play with your character interactively. The new definition of Animation (as far as Adobe is concerned) is 'to add a pre-programmed (free or purchased$$$) action to your character...' as soon as you discover you need something more 'custom' you realize... you need to be able to ANIMATE your character!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Hash Fellow

Watch this...

 

clip4028BoneFalloffs.mov

 

 

 

 

I can imagine some sort of wizard that would set the BoneFalloff capsule parameters for you after you placed the weighter bones.

 

I don't believe that Cbox is completely automatic. You still have to place those boxes in the right place on your model and make some decisions about how they transition, right?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...