Lightwave 3D 8 Cartoon Character Creation: Rigging & Animation

by Hardin, Stephen

• ISBN13: 9781556222542
• ISBN10: 1556222548
• Edition: CD
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-11-01
• Publisher: Jones & Bartlett Learning

Summary

This is the second of two volumes explaining proven methods of creating 3D cartoon characters for animation. These books are the most complete, in-depth, and accurate resource available for character creation and animation using LightWave 3D. The book includes both general theory and comprehensive tutorials for every aspect of rigging and animating 3D characters. This book describes multiple rigging techniques, advanced and alternate animation controls, and dynamics, and includes a comprehensive explanation of facial animation, overlooked in other books. Topics include: Rigging -- weight mapping, bone creation, IK, and deformations; Advanced rigging techniques -- expressions, FK/IK blending, and more; Quadruped rigging; Creating morphs for facial animation and lip-sync; Animation -- using the animation controls, animating with IK, and more; Facial animation -- expressions, lip-sync, and advanced morph controls; Dynamics for secondary body motion and clothes. Also included are descriptions of useful third-party plug-ins, many of which are used in the tutorials. The companion CD includes all the featured third-party plug-ins, example files for the tutorials, and all the illustrations in full colour.

Table of Contents

Introduction	xiii
Chapter 1 Getting Started	1	(17)
1.1 Files and Folders	1	(2)
1.2 Modifying Shortcuts	3	(1)
1.3 Configuring Modeler	4	(5)
Options	4	(2)
Interface	6	(3)
1.4 Configuring Layout	9	(9)
Options	9	(3)
Interface	12	(6)
Part I Morph Creation
Chapter 2 Morphs	18	(66)
2.1 Planning	18	(4)
Modular Morphs	19	(1)
What Morphs Do You Need?	20	(2)
2.2 Eye Morphs	22	(10)
Blink	23	(1)
Squint	24	(1)
Lid_Up	25	(1)
Lid_Low	26	(1)
Frown	27	(1)
Sad	28	(1)
High	29	(1)
Lift	30	(1)
Dilate	31	(1)
2.3 Mouth Morphs	32	(11)
Open	32	(2)
LipsOpen	34	(1)
Pucker	35	(1)
Stretch	36	(1)
Smile	37	(1)
Pout	38	(1)
Sneer	39	(1)
Grimace	40	(1)
Jaw_LT	41	(1)
Jaw RT	42	(1)
2.4 Phonemes	43	(10)
A	44	(1)
E	45	(1)
S	46	(1)
W	47	(1)
O	48	(1)
M	49	(1)
F	50	(1)
L	51	(1)
TH	52	(1)
2.5 Creating the Morphs	53	(31)
Preparing the Object	53	(1)
Eye Morphs	54	(5)
Blink	54	(2)
Squint	56	(1)
Lid_Up and Lid_Low	56	(1)
Frown	57	(1)
Dilate	58	(1)
Mouth Morphs	59	(10)
Open	59	(2)
Smile	61	(3)
Pucker	64	(3)
Jaw_LT and RT	67	(2)
Phoneme Morphs	69	(5)
Asymmetry	74	(10)
Base Asymmetry	74	(1)
Expressive Asymmetry	74	(1)
Left and Right Morphs	75	(2)
Layout	77	(7)
Part II Character Setup
Chapter 3 Rigging	84	(137)
3.1 Planning	84	(9)
What Makes a Good Rig?	84	(2)
Character Deformation	84	(1)
Animation Controls	85	(1)
Consistency	86	(1)
Naming Conventions	87	(1)
Anatomy and How It Relates to Rigging	87	(3)
Human and Anthropomorphic Characters	87	(2)
Caricatured Animals	89	(1)
Joint Mechanics	90	(3)
Hinge Joint	91	(1)
Saddle Joint	91	(1)
Ball Joint	92	(1)
Pin Joint	92	(1)
3.2 Inverse Kinematics	93	(9)
What Is IK?	93	(2)
Controlling IK	95	(3)
Multiple Goals	95	(1)
FK Control	96	(1)
Goal Strength	96	(1)
Match Goal Orientation	97	(1)
Joint Rotation	98	(3)
Rotation Limits	98	(1)
Pre-bending	99	(1)
Stiffness	100	(1)
When to Use IK	101	(1)
3.3 Weight Mapping	102	(19)
Efficient Weight Mapping	102	(2)
Bone Influence	103	(1)
Deformation Control	104	(1)
Hard Bodies	104	(2)
What Weight Maps Do You Need?	106	(2)
Creating the Weight Maps	108	(13)
Mapping the Arms and Hands	108	(2)
Mapping the Head and Neck	110	(2)
Mapping the Legs and Feet	112	(3)
Mapping the Shoes	115	(1)
Separating Left and Right Sides	116	(1)
Mapping the Body	117	(1)
Mapping the Eyes and Eyebrows	118	(3)
3.4 Preparing for Layout	121	(3)
Object Properties	122	(1)
Visibility Options	123	(1)
3.5 Bone Creation	124	(29)
Skelegons or Bones?	124	(1)
Bone Rotation	124	(4)
Gimbal Lock	126	(1)
Gimbal Lock Solutions to Avoid	127	(1)
Control Bones	128	(2)
Rotation Control	128	(1)
Muscle Control	129	(1)
What Bones Do You Need?	130	(4)
Spine	130	(1)
Leg Bones	131	(1)
Arm Bones	132	(1)
Finger Bones	133	(1)
Eye Bones	133	(1)
Creating the Bones	134	(18)
Creating the Spine	134	(3)
Creating the Leg Bones	137	(3)
Creating the Arm Bones	140	(4)
Creating the Finger Bones	144	(3)
Creating the Eye Bones	147	(2)
Creating the Ear Bones	149	(1)
Activating the Bones	150	(1)
Organizing Hierarchies	150	(1)
Checking the Rotations	151	(1)
Initial Bone Settings	152	(1)
Assigning Weight Maps	152	(1)
3.6 Animation Controls	153	(19)
Efficient Controls	153	(1)
Control Shapes	154	(1)
What Controls Do You Need?	154	(5)
Master	154	(1)
Mover	154	(2)
Foot Controls	156	(1)
Arm Controls	157	(1)
Eye Target	157	(1)
Eye Stretch	157	(2)
Creating the Controls	159	(6)
Adding the Controls	159	(1)
Positioning the Controls	160	(1)
Setting the Control Hierarchy	161	(2)
Setting the Control Appearance	163	(2)
Adding IK	165	(4)
Adding IK to the Leg	165	(2)
Adding IK to the Arm	167	(2)
Adjusting the Eyeballs	169	(3)
Exporting the Rig File	172	(1)
3.7 Finishing the Basic Rig	172	(10)
Mirroring the Rig	172	(4)
Fixing the Right Controls	174	(1)
Fixing the Right Eye	175	(1)
Organizing the Rig	176	(2)
Initial Control Configuration	178	(4)
3.8 Testing the Rig	182	(24)
Controls and Posing	182	(1)
Creating Test Poses	182	(1)
Main Controls	183	(1)
FK Controls	183	(1)
IK Controls	183	(1)
Morph Controls	183	(1)
Joints and Weight Maps	183	(1)
Bone Influence	184	(5)
Falloff Type	184	(1)
Faster Bones	185	(1)
Rest Length	185	(1)
Use Weight Map Only	186	(1)
Bone Strength	186	(1)
Bone Joint Settings	187	(2)
Adjusting the Weight Maps	189	(4)
Adding New Weight Maps	189	(2)
Tweaking Weight Maps	191	(2)
Adjusting the Joints	193	(3)
Adjusting the Arms	193	(1)
Adjusting the Legs	193	(1)
Adjusting the Torso	194	(1)
Adjusting the Fingers	195	(1)
Adding Muscle Control Bones	196	(3)
Further Adjustments	198	(1)
Setting Rotation Limits	199	(6)
Upper Leg Limits	199	(1)
Lower Leg Limits	200	(1)
Lower Arm Limits	201	(1)
Upper Arm Limits	202	(2)
Knee and Elbow Helper Limits	204	(1)
Unaffected by IK of Descendants	205	(1)
3.9 Rigging Clothes	206	(15)
Weight Mapping	207	(8)
Mapping the Shirt	207	(2)
Mapping the Pants	209	(2)
Mapping the Socks	211	(1)
Separating Left and Right Sides	212	(1)
Body Weight Map	213	(1)
Finishing the Shirt	214	(1)
Testing the Weight Maps	214	(1)
Independent Clothing Controls	215	(4)
Creating New Weight Maps	215	(1)
Creating Clothes Controls	216	(3)
Preparing the Final Object	219	(2)
Chapter 4 Advanced Rigging	221	(79)
4.1 Expressions Made Easy	221	(4)
Where to Apply Expressions	222	(1)
Motion Modifier	222	(1)
Graph Editor	222	(1)
Channel Modifier	223	(1)
Syntax	223	(1)
LScript Syntax	223	(1)
Bracketed Syntax	223	(1)
Expression Functions	224	(1)
mapRange	224	(1)
vmag	224	(1)
clamp	224	(1)
center	225	(1)
Expression Builder	225	(1)
4.2 Applying Expressions	225	(10)
Eye Stretch	225	(6)
Muscle Bone Expression	225	(3)
Eyeball Bulging	228	(3)
Blink Morph Helper	231	(4)
Creating the Helper Morphs	231	(1)
Adding Expressions	232	(3)
4.3 Modifiers	235	(12)
Shoe Deformation	235	(6)
Follower	236	(2)
Adjusting the Toe Deformation	238	(1)
Joint Morph Plus	238	(3)
Shirt Deformation	241	(6)
4.4 Alternate Rigging Techniques	247	(24)
IK/FK Blending	247	(10)
Multiple Hierarchies	247	(1)
Copying the Hierarchy	248	(2)
IK/FK Blending Expression	250	(1)
Applying Modifiers	251	(2)
Simple Orient Constraints	253	(2)
Adjusting the Wrist Control	255	(2)
Taking It Further	257	(1)
IK Forearm Twisting	257	(2)
Complex IK Forearm Twist	258	(1)
Finger Control	259	(4)
Automated Finger Rotation	259	(4)
Taking It Further	263	(1)
Sliders	263	(1)
Hip Centering	263	(2)
Temporary Hip Centering	264	(1)
Permanent Hip Centering	264	(1)
Hip Centering Expression	264	(1)
Foot Controls	265	(3)
Reverse Foot Setup	266	(2)
Spine Controls	268	(2)
Chest Control	268	(2)
Head Control	270	(1)
Targeting the Head	270	(1)
4.5 Quadruped Rigging	271	(29)
Importing a Rig	272	(6)
Creating the Arm Bones	275	(3)
Adjusting the Rig	278	(8)
Renaming	278	(1)
Positioning Controls	279	(1)
Additional Controls	280	(1)
Final Hierarchies	280	(2)
Bone Adjustments and IK	282	(3)
Bone Settings	285	(1)
Adjusting Item Shapes	285	(1)
Mirroring the Rig	286	(2)
Creating the Tail	288	(3)
Creating the Bones	288	(2)
IK Settings	290	(1)
Testing the Rig	291	(1)
Advanced Controls	292	(8)
Foot Controls	292	(3)
Tail Controls	295	(5)
Part III Animation and Dynamics
Chapter 5 Animation	300	(71)
5.1 Preparing for Animation	300	(5)
Control Channels	300	(2)
Keyframe Channels	302	(1)
Preparing the Final Rig	303	(2)
5.2 Body Animation	305	(22)
Posing the Character	306	(11)
Positioning the Character	306	(1)
Positioning the Torso	307	(1)
Posing the Torso	308	(1)
Posing the Head	309	(1)
Posing the Pelvis	309	(1)
Posing the Legs and Feet	310	(1)
Posing the Arms and Hands	311	(2)
Posing the Shoulders	313	(1)
Posing the Fingers	314	(1)
Posing the Eyes	315	(1)
Stretching the Character	316	(1)
Display Speed	317	(1)
Animating with IK	318	(5)
Character Posing	318	(1)
In-betweens	319	(1)
Fixing an IK Goal in Place	320	(1)
Successive Joint Breaking	321	(2)
Item Selection	323	(4)
Character Picker Setup	323	(4)
5.3 Facial Animation	327	(15)
Facial Expressions	327	(4)
The Eyes	327	(2)
Blinking	329	(1)
The Mouth	330	(1)
Lip Sync	331	(8)
Words vs. Sounds	331	(1)
Using Phoneme Morphs	332	(5)
Using Mouth Morphs	337	(1)
Essential Lip Sync Rules	338	(1)
Using Morph Sliders	339	(3)
Mixing Morphs	339	(1)
Expression Transitions	340	(1)
Adjusting Curves	341	(1)
5.4 Advanced Morph Controls	342	(21)
Simple Joystick Setup	342	(6)
Expresso Controls	343	(1)
Expresso Setup	344	(3)
Renaming the Controls	347	(1)
Custom Joysticks	348	(6)
Joystick Types	349	(1)
Transition Behavior	350	(1)
Joystick Templates	350	(4)
Joystick Expressions	354	(3)
Joystick Functions	354	(1)
Expression Variations	355	(1)
Expression Examples	355	(2)
Custom Joystick Setup	357	(6)
Setting the Scene	357	(2)
Creating the First Joystick	359	(2)
Creating Additional Joysticks	361	(1)
Preparing the Final Joystick Scene	362	(1)
Applying the Joysticks	363	(1)
5.5 Creating a Test Animation	363	(8)
Body Animation	363	(3)
Adding Audio	365	(1)
Facial Expressions	366	(2)
Expression Animation	367	(1)
Lip Sync	368	(1)
Final Pass	368	(3)
Chapter 6 Dynamics	371	(30)
6.1 Using Dynamics	371	(3)
General Dynamics	371	(1)
SoftFX	372	(1)
ClothFX	372	(1)
Fixing	372	(1)
Proxy Objects	373	(1)
Weight Maps and Dynamics	373	(1)
EditFX	373	(1)
6.2 Body Dynamics	374	(5)
Preparing the Object	374	(2)
Applying SoftFX	376	(3)
6.3 Shirt Dynamics	379	(18)
Preparation	379	(10)
Preparing the Scene - Part 1	379	(1)
Preparing the Object	379	(4)
Creating Dynamic Weight Maps	383	(2)
Preparing the Scene - Part 2	385	(4)
Applying ClothFX	389	(6)
Tweaking the Settings	392	(2)
Final Calculation	394	(1)
Fixing Calculation Errors	395	(2)
6.4 Updating the Rig	397	(2)
Applying SoftFX	397	(1)
Applying ClothFX	397	(2)
6.5 Conclusion	399	(2)
Appendix	401	(10)
A.1 Character Creation Plug-ins	401	(5)
Free Plug-ins	401	(4)
Combine Weightmaps	401	(1)
MSort	402	(1)
MorphMap Mixer	402	(1)
Custom Character Picker	403	(1)
Expresso JG	403	(1)
Renamer JG	404	(1)
Masked Morph Copy	405	(1)
Commercial Plug-ins	405	(1)
Quick Picker Pro	405	(1)
Mimic 2	405	(1)
Relativity	406	(1)
FPrime	406	(1)
A.2 Auto Rigging Plug-ins	406	(2)
Free Plug-ins	406	(1)
Simple Rigger	407	(1)
J Auto Rig	407	(1)
Commercial Plug-ins	407	(1)
Auto Character Setup 4	407	(1)
T4D Rigging Tools	407	(1)
A.3 Internet Resources	408	(3)
Lightwave Resources	408	(1)
Official LightWave 3D Web Site	408	(1)
SpinQuad	408	(1)
Flay	408	(1)
LightWave Tutorials on the Web	408	(1)
Communities	408	(3)
LightWave 3D Mailing List	409	(1)
SpinQuad Forums	409	(1)
LightWave Group Forums	409	(1)
CGTa1k	409	(1)
Friends of NewTek	409	(2)
Index	411