Section 1: Biped / Trooper Animation.
1.1.0 Introduction
Hidden/Spoiler:
First, I'd like to say: If you are struggling to animate or finding yourself getting frustrated, don't worry. This is a lot of complex learning, character rigging and animation in itself is quite literally it's own career path. There are dedicated artists who animate in video games that well... typically don't actually do anything else. With that being said this is an easy enough concept to learn and practice, just be aware that nobody gets good at animation overnight. I am hoping through a series of examples I can give you a pretty good idea of how to animate your characters and establish an acceptable workflow to make this adventure easier.
1.1.1 Setting Up A New Scene For An Animation Rig
FOR SOFTIMAGE 2015 USERS:
Hidden/Spoiler:
All of your setup is already done and you can download my prefab scene here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tk5tNq ... sp=sharing
This includes Layers already being set up as well as all controllers already bound and in place. You can actually at this point Completely skip to Section 1.2.0 if you wish.
This includes Layers already being set up as well as all controllers already bound and in place. You can actually at this point Completely skip to Section 1.2.0 if you wish.
FOR SOFTIMAGE 7.5 MOD TOOL OR LOWER USERS:
Unfortunately unless you are using the full version of 2015, there will be a little bit of leg work here to set up your scene to use an animation rig.
1.1.2: Import Your Skeleton
Hidden/Spoiler:
Your very first step in all of this is to grab the Rig Pieces from this link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IFxHIs ... sp=sharing
This is going to include all of the pieces you need to import into XSI in order to create the rig for animation.
Second, if you dont already have it: you will need a copy of the Unit Template Beta emdl for the skeleton, this is the basic skeleton used on MOST models in SWBF2.
You can download Unit Template Beta here: http://www.secretsociety.com/forum/down ... e_Beta.zip
Now, when you first open up you are going to want to import the Unit Template Beta emdl into your scene, This can simply be done by going File > Import > Model.
This is going to include all of the pieces you need to import into XSI in order to create the rig for animation.
Second, if you dont already have it: you will need a copy of the Unit Template Beta emdl for the skeleton, this is the basic skeleton used on MOST models in SWBF2.
You can download Unit Template Beta here: http://www.secretsociety.com/forum/down ... e_Beta.zip
Now, when you first open up you are going to want to import the Unit Template Beta emdl into your scene, This can simply be done by going File > Import > Model.
1.1.3: Create Your Layers
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So layers, are basically a quick way that we can control different items in are scene that are visible and selectable, and can help us quickly and easily access or not access things we want to. A example of this is, typically while animating, we will want to see our model and how it deforms, but we don't want to accidentally click the model instead of our controllers, so we make its layer visible but not selectable.
To set up your layers first hit the "6" key in XSI, this will bring up a new Scene Layer Manager window. First, rename "Layer_Default" to "Scene". At the top of this new window click Layers > New Layer to create a new Layer. You will want to have a total of 7 layers and name them as follows:
A little detail of what these will be for:
Bones: This will hold all of the bones for our unit, we want this to be hidden and unselectable while animating so we don't accidentally click them. YOU SHOULD NEVER MODIFY A BONE ITSELF DURING ANIMATING. If you have been doing this, your doing it wrong, don't worry we will show you a more proper method.
Mesh: This layer will hold our Model and will be visible but not selectable so we can see how our geometry is deforming during animation.
ShadowVolume: This layer will hold our shadow mesh, and will be hidden and not selectable, for the purpose of animation we really don't even need it.
Effectors: This layer will hold our IK end chain effectors, we will want this visible and selectable while we set up our rig, but hidden and not selectable when we are animating.
Roots: These are the roots of our bone chains, we have to be careful NOT to modify anything in this layer at all, it will be made unselectable and hidden at all times.
Scene: This will hold all of the objects for our scene, such as the GroundDummy Actor/Root, a light and our camera. This will be unselectable and hidden at all times.
Controllers: Everything in this layer will be used to animate, this entire layer will be visible and selectable through the entire animation process, it is for our purpose the single most important layer.
To set up your layers first hit the "6" key in XSI, this will bring up a new Scene Layer Manager window. First, rename "Layer_Default" to "Scene". At the top of this new window click Layers > New Layer to create a new Layer. You will want to have a total of 7 layers and name them as follows:
A little detail of what these will be for:
Bones: This will hold all of the bones for our unit, we want this to be hidden and unselectable while animating so we don't accidentally click them. YOU SHOULD NEVER MODIFY A BONE ITSELF DURING ANIMATING. If you have been doing this, your doing it wrong, don't worry we will show you a more proper method.
Mesh: This layer will hold our Model and will be visible but not selectable so we can see how our geometry is deforming during animation.
ShadowVolume: This layer will hold our shadow mesh, and will be hidden and not selectable, for the purpose of animation we really don't even need it.
Effectors: This layer will hold our IK end chain effectors, we will want this visible and selectable while we set up our rig, but hidden and not selectable when we are animating.
Roots: These are the roots of our bone chains, we have to be careful NOT to modify anything in this layer at all, it will be made unselectable and hidden at all times.
Scene: This will hold all of the objects for our scene, such as the GroundDummy Actor/Root, a light and our camera. This will be unselectable and hidden at all times.
Controllers: Everything in this layer will be used to animate, this entire layer will be visible and selectable through the entire animation process, it is for our purpose the single most important layer.
1.1.4: Set Up Your Layers
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First, begin by bringing up the XSI explorer window (you can do this by pressing the "8" key) while inside the explorer window press "L" to put the explorer into Layer Mode, you can return to Scene Mode at anytime by pressing the "S" key while in the explorer window.
while in layer mode in the explorer you can drag and drop items from one layer to another. Start by dragging all your bones into one layer, For all purposes we consider HP_WEAPONS and BONE_ROOT to be bones. Everything else can be easily identified by the name GroundDummy.bone_[name].
When complete your bone Layer should look like this:
IMPORTANT NOTE: notice the small "H" beside the icon of bone_r_hand, bone_l_hand and hp_weapons. This means the objects are hidden, we want them visible for when we set up our rig, so click all 3 of those objects and press the "H" key to unhide them.
Next select everything with the name GroundDummy.root_[name], and make sure you select GroundDummy.Dummyroot as well and drag them into the "roots" layer, your layer should look like this:
Next drag everything with the name GroundDummy.eff_[name] into the Effectors layer. Your layer should look like this:
Finally drag your GroundDummy.override_texture into the Mesh Layer, and Drag the GroundDummy.sv_jettrooper into the ShadowVolume layer. The remaining objects can stay in the Scene Layer. This is how all 3 of those layers should now look:
After all items are dragged into the proper layer, Open the Scene Layer Manager again with the "6" key. The Bones, Controllers and Effectors layer should be both visible and selectable at this point. The Mesh Layer should be visible but not selectable, and the Roots, Scene and Shadow Volumes layers should be not visible or selectable. Here is a screenshot of my scene with all the appropriate boxes checked:
while in layer mode in the explorer you can drag and drop items from one layer to another. Start by dragging all your bones into one layer, For all purposes we consider HP_WEAPONS and BONE_ROOT to be bones. Everything else can be easily identified by the name GroundDummy.bone_[name].
When complete your bone Layer should look like this:
IMPORTANT NOTE: notice the small "H" beside the icon of bone_r_hand, bone_l_hand and hp_weapons. This means the objects are hidden, we want them visible for when we set up our rig, so click all 3 of those objects and press the "H" key to unhide them.
Next select everything with the name GroundDummy.root_[name], and make sure you select GroundDummy.Dummyroot as well and drag them into the "roots" layer, your layer should look like this:
Next drag everything with the name GroundDummy.eff_[name] into the Effectors layer. Your layer should look like this:
Finally drag your GroundDummy.override_texture into the Mesh Layer, and Drag the GroundDummy.sv_jettrooper into the ShadowVolume layer. The remaining objects can stay in the Scene Layer. This is how all 3 of those layers should now look:
After all items are dragged into the proper layer, Open the Scene Layer Manager again with the "6" key. The Bones, Controllers and Effectors layer should be both visible and selectable at this point. The Mesh Layer should be visible but not selectable, and the Roots, Scene and Shadow Volumes layers should be not visible or selectable. Here is a screenshot of my scene with all the appropriate boxes checked:
1.1.5: Import The Controller Objects.
Hidden/Spoiler:
These Objects were shipped as .msh pieces so in order to import you will need XSIZETOOLS installed (information on that can be found here: viewtopic.php?f=36&t=26664
Before you import make sure you press the "6" key and click the little grey square to the left of the "Controllers" layer to change your current active layer to the Controllers Layer, this will make it so all your control objects automatically import to this layer.
To import a .msh at the top of XSI simply go XSIZETOOLS > Import .MSH as seen here:
Incase you didn't already download the pieces you need to download can be found here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IFxHIs ... sp=sharing
After you import to the proper Layer your Scene should look like this:
Before you import make sure you press the "6" key and click the little grey square to the left of the "Controllers" layer to change your current active layer to the Controllers Layer, this will make it so all your control objects automatically import to this layer.
To import a .msh at the top of XSI simply go XSIZETOOLS > Import .MSH as seen here:
Incase you didn't already download the pieces you need to download can be found here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IFxHIs ... sp=sharing
After you import to the proper Layer your Scene should look like this:
1.1.6: Setting Up Your Legs IK
Hidden/Spoiler:
First when we set up our chains, press "8" to open up your explorer window, then Press "L" to turn it into Layer Mode, go to your effector layer and select all of the objects in this layer, (that is select everything with the name GroundDummy.eff_[name] and then press "Enter" to bring up their properties. With your properties open change your primary display icon the "Rings" and the size to 0.05. this will make it easier for us to select our effs. You can see the Effs new appearance below:
Next so that we can find our constraint tab easier make sure you change XSI to 1024x768 Mode By going View > Layouts > 1024x768
Now we will start with the left foot, Select GroundDummy.bone_l_toe and at the bottom right of the screen click the tab that says MAT (Green Box in Image below) to swap to the Material tab, at the bottom of the properties here you will see the constraint button click it (Red Box In Image Below).
With the constraint tab open, click on "Pose" to constrain the pose of the toe Bone, This will bring up a pick session, simply click the Controller_Left_Toe to constrain its pose. (I highlighted both the toe bone and the controller in the image below)
Next click GroundDummy.eff_l_calf and click Constrain > Pose and click on Controller_Left_Foot. I highlighted both objects below:
Now Click on GroundDummy.bone_l_foot but with this bone click Constrain > Orientation and then click Controller_Left_Foot.
Here is an image of where to find constrain orientation:
Here is an image of both GroundDummy.bone_l_foot and Controller_Left_Foot highlighted
Now we just need to parent out controllers, Select Controller_Left_Toe_Rotation and click the button right underneath the constraint tab (highlighted in a green box) and then click Controller_Left_Foot. This will make the Toe rotation controller the parent of the Left Foot controller.
here is an image of the toe rotation controller and the parent button highlighted.
here is an image of both Controller_Left_Toe_Rotation and Controller_Left_Foot highlighted.
Now click Controller_Left_Toe and click the Parent button again, and then click Controller_Left_Toe_Rotation to make the Toe controller the parent of the rotator. I highlighted both below:
Next we need to enable Inverse Kinematics on the Leg chain in order to see some results. So click GroundDummy.bone_l_calf then press "CTRL + R" to bring up the Inspect Chain Properties window. Under this window change FK/IK Blend to 1, and then click the box that says "force IK" your window should now look like this:
Now click GroundDummy.bone_l_thigh and then click Constrain > Chain Up Vector (I highlighted the bone and the proper constraint below)
Now when promted to, pick UpVector_Left_Knee I highlighted the bone_l_thigh and the proper controller below
Now if we look at our leg suddenly our leg is all backwards, this is because the resolution plane of our bone is actually rotated the wrong direction (I will never understand why Pandemic did this but... they did)
This is very easy to fix, first click the GroundDummy.bone_l_thigh and press enter to open it's properties, then click the Kinematic Join Tab (Green Box), Then Click the Resolution Plane Tab (Red Box) and make sure Res. Plane is set to Up Vector and your Roll is set to 180 (Blue Box) and your leg should now be facing forward.
Now everything is done for the left leg, if you grab your toe Controller and Translate it you can now move your leg (you will want to swap back to the MCP tab at the bottom right of the screen if you are still in mat mode)
IMPORTANT: If you move anything right now make sure you undo it or you will lose your resting pose. Only move at this phase to test.
If now rotate the Toe Rotation controller youll notice it will raise the heel upwards:
And if you grab the UpVector_Left_Knee you can change the direction your knee faces:
AND AGAIN: IF YOU MADE ANY MOVEMENTS TO TEST MAKE SURE YOU UNDO OR YOU WILL HAVE TO REDO ALL OF THIS AGAIN TO GET A RESTING POSE.
Side note for moving the feet: you should never actually have to move the Controller_Left_Foot, Its mostly there to help guide your foot bone, you don't need to keep it visible but I like it visible so i can easily see if my foot is flat.
Now repeat all of these steps for the opposite leg, using the other legs controllers and your Leg rigging is Done.
Next so that we can find our constraint tab easier make sure you change XSI to 1024x768 Mode By going View > Layouts > 1024x768
Now we will start with the left foot, Select GroundDummy.bone_l_toe and at the bottom right of the screen click the tab that says MAT (Green Box in Image below) to swap to the Material tab, at the bottom of the properties here you will see the constraint button click it (Red Box In Image Below).
With the constraint tab open, click on "Pose" to constrain the pose of the toe Bone, This will bring up a pick session, simply click the Controller_Left_Toe to constrain its pose. (I highlighted both the toe bone and the controller in the image below)
Next click GroundDummy.eff_l_calf and click Constrain > Pose and click on Controller_Left_Foot. I highlighted both objects below:
Now Click on GroundDummy.bone_l_foot but with this bone click Constrain > Orientation and then click Controller_Left_Foot.
Here is an image of where to find constrain orientation:
Here is an image of both GroundDummy.bone_l_foot and Controller_Left_Foot highlighted
Now we just need to parent out controllers, Select Controller_Left_Toe_Rotation and click the button right underneath the constraint tab (highlighted in a green box) and then click Controller_Left_Foot. This will make the Toe rotation controller the parent of the Left Foot controller.
here is an image of the toe rotation controller and the parent button highlighted.
here is an image of both Controller_Left_Toe_Rotation and Controller_Left_Foot highlighted.
Now click Controller_Left_Toe and click the Parent button again, and then click Controller_Left_Toe_Rotation to make the Toe controller the parent of the rotator. I highlighted both below:
Next we need to enable Inverse Kinematics on the Leg chain in order to see some results. So click GroundDummy.bone_l_calf then press "CTRL + R" to bring up the Inspect Chain Properties window. Under this window change FK/IK Blend to 1, and then click the box that says "force IK" your window should now look like this:
Now click GroundDummy.bone_l_thigh and then click Constrain > Chain Up Vector (I highlighted the bone and the proper constraint below)
Now when promted to, pick UpVector_Left_Knee I highlighted the bone_l_thigh and the proper controller below
Now if we look at our leg suddenly our leg is all backwards, this is because the resolution plane of our bone is actually rotated the wrong direction (I will never understand why Pandemic did this but... they did)
This is very easy to fix, first click the GroundDummy.bone_l_thigh and press enter to open it's properties, then click the Kinematic Join Tab (Green Box), Then Click the Resolution Plane Tab (Red Box) and make sure Res. Plane is set to Up Vector and your Roll is set to 180 (Blue Box) and your leg should now be facing forward.
Now everything is done for the left leg, if you grab your toe Controller and Translate it you can now move your leg (you will want to swap back to the MCP tab at the bottom right of the screen if you are still in mat mode)
IMPORTANT: If you move anything right now make sure you undo it or you will lose your resting pose. Only move at this phase to test.
If now rotate the Toe Rotation controller youll notice it will raise the heel upwards:
And if you grab the UpVector_Left_Knee you can change the direction your knee faces:
AND AGAIN: IF YOU MADE ANY MOVEMENTS TO TEST MAKE SURE YOU UNDO OR YOU WILL HAVE TO REDO ALL OF THIS AGAIN TO GET A RESTING POSE.
Side note for moving the feet: you should never actually have to move the Controller_Left_Foot, Its mostly there to help guide your foot bone, you don't need to keep it visible but I like it visible so i can easily see if my foot is flat.
Now repeat all of these steps for the opposite leg, using the other legs controllers and your Leg rigging is Done.
1.1.7: Setting Up Your Hip Rig
Hidden/Spoiler:
The hip rig is honestly one of the fastest and simplest to set up, first select GroundDummy.bone_pelvis, then choose Constrain > Pose and click Controller_Pelvis Below is an image of both the bone and the controller selected.
Next select GroundDummy.bone_root and choose Constraint > Pose, and constrain this as well to the Controller_Pelvis. Below is an Image of both of these selected.
Now if you translate your pelvis controller and move it around you'll notice your unit moves nicely with it, and at the same time the knees bend and the feet stay in place.
Again remember if you move the pelvis controller to test it out to UNDO all your transforms otherwise you will screw up your static pose.
Next select GroundDummy.bone_root and choose Constraint > Pose, and constrain this as well to the Controller_Pelvis. Below is an Image of both of these selected.
Now if you translate your pelvis controller and move it around you'll notice your unit moves nicely with it, and at the same time the knees bend and the feet stay in place.
Again remember if you move the pelvis controller to test it out to UNDO all your transforms otherwise you will screw up your static pose.
1.1.8 Setting Up Your Spine
Hidden/Spoiler:
Now typically when you create a spine curve in XSI you add a depth node for your hips and your chest, the problem here, is this ADDS things to the skeleton, and we actually CAN'T add things to the skeleton or we won't have a working unit template. So we need to do a little bit of clever work arounds to get this to work properly, This is why I included 2 controllers, one for the lower spine and one for the ribcage.
So first we need to create a new spine: at the top of your XSI window click Animate > Skeleton > Create Spine
This will enter you into a pick session where you will have to pick a hip object and then pick a chest object. So when the pick Session begins click Controller_Lower_Spine (Highlighted in the image below)
next you will click on your chest object, so click Controller_Rib_Cage (highlighted in the image below)
Now when the new popup window comes up be sure to change the number of vertebra to 2, Remember your hips are not technically a vertebra, so you always want to go one number lower than what the number of bones in your spine chain is. (this is part of that clever working around I was talking about)
You should now see 3 newly create boxes along your spine bones (I highlighted them here)
Now Select GroundDummy.bone_a_spine and go Constrain > Pose, and select vertebra1 (this will be the lowest box on your newly created Spine, I highlighted both in the picture below)
Next select GroundDummy.bone_b_spine and go Constrain > Pose and select vertebra2 (this will be the middle box on your spine, highlighted below)
Finally Select GroundDummy.bone_ribcage and go Constrain > Pose and select Vertebra (this will be the top most largest box in your spine highlighted below)
Now at this point your spine may be a little sideways, this is because IK is not turned on for the Spine by default.
To fix this simple click GroundDummy.bone_ribcage and hit "CTRL+R" to bring up the inspect chain properties menu, change FK/IK Blend to 1 and click the box to Force IK.
now open explorer view with the "8" key and find your newly created spine (default name is spineCurve) and branch select it by clicking with the middle mouse button then press the "H" key to hide it and all its children, we want this hidden because we actually wont be using this directly to animate, we will only animate using the rib controller and the lower spine controllers i provided in the msh file. (I personally find it easiest to find this in explorer layer mode which is "8" key to open explorer and "L" key to change to layer mode)
now either select the two green nulls on your screen or look for chestdepth and hipdepth and hide those as well with the "H" key.
Finally, select Controller_Pelvis and click the Parent button (found right below the Constrain Button) and then click Controller_Lower_Spine (I selected both in the screen shot)
Then Select Controller_Lower_Spine and click Parent again and this time click Controller_Rib_Cage (both are highlighted below)
Now if you move around and rotate the Controller_Rib_Cage and the Controller_Lower_Spine you should be able to see your spine curve operate nicely.
AND AGAIN (and I will keep repeating this until we have a nuetral pose set) If you do move anything around while testing be sure to UNDO your steps of you will screw up your static pose.
So first we need to create a new spine: at the top of your XSI window click Animate > Skeleton > Create Spine
This will enter you into a pick session where you will have to pick a hip object and then pick a chest object. So when the pick Session begins click Controller_Lower_Spine (Highlighted in the image below)
next you will click on your chest object, so click Controller_Rib_Cage (highlighted in the image below)
Now when the new popup window comes up be sure to change the number of vertebra to 2, Remember your hips are not technically a vertebra, so you always want to go one number lower than what the number of bones in your spine chain is. (this is part of that clever working around I was talking about)
You should now see 3 newly create boxes along your spine bones (I highlighted them here)
Now Select GroundDummy.bone_a_spine and go Constrain > Pose, and select vertebra1 (this will be the lowest box on your newly created Spine, I highlighted both in the picture below)
Next select GroundDummy.bone_b_spine and go Constrain > Pose and select vertebra2 (this will be the middle box on your spine, highlighted below)
Finally Select GroundDummy.bone_ribcage and go Constrain > Pose and select Vertebra (this will be the top most largest box in your spine highlighted below)
Now at this point your spine may be a little sideways, this is because IK is not turned on for the Spine by default.
To fix this simple click GroundDummy.bone_ribcage and hit "CTRL+R" to bring up the inspect chain properties menu, change FK/IK Blend to 1 and click the box to Force IK.
now open explorer view with the "8" key and find your newly created spine (default name is spineCurve) and branch select it by clicking with the middle mouse button then press the "H" key to hide it and all its children, we want this hidden because we actually wont be using this directly to animate, we will only animate using the rib controller and the lower spine controllers i provided in the msh file. (I personally find it easiest to find this in explorer layer mode which is "8" key to open explorer and "L" key to change to layer mode)
now either select the two green nulls on your screen or look for chestdepth and hipdepth and hide those as well with the "H" key.
Finally, select Controller_Pelvis and click the Parent button (found right below the Constrain Button) and then click Controller_Lower_Spine (I selected both in the screen shot)
Then Select Controller_Lower_Spine and click Parent again and this time click Controller_Rib_Cage (both are highlighted below)
Now if you move around and rotate the Controller_Rib_Cage and the Controller_Lower_Spine you should be able to see your spine curve operate nicely.
AND AGAIN (and I will keep repeating this until we have a nuetral pose set) If you do move anything around while testing be sure to UNDO your steps of you will screw up your static pose.
1.1.8 Setting Up Your Arms And Shoulders
Hidden/Spoiler:
So first for this i'm going to start with the left side on the shoulder, select GroundDummy.eff_l_clavicle and go Constrain > Pose and then select Controller_Left_Shoulder. (I have both selected in the screen shot below)
Next select GroundDummy.bone_l_clavicle and open its chain properties by going "Ctrl+R" make sure to check the box that says "Force IK"
Now click GroundDummy.bone_l_upperarm and inspect its chain properties (Ctrl+R) and make sure to turn FK/IK blend to 1 and check the box that says "force IK"
Now select GroundDummy.eff_l_forearm and go Constrain > Pose and then click the Controller_Left_Arm (I highlighted both below)
Now Select GroundDummy.bone_l_hand and go Constrain > Pose and then click Controller_Left_Hand (I highlighted both below)
Now click on GroundDummy.bone_l_upperarm and go Constrain > Chain Up Vector and click UpVector_Left_Elbow (both highlighted below)
Now click Controller_Left_Hand and click Parent (button just below the Constrain button) and click Controller_Left_Arm (both highlighted below) (and yes this is not backwards you want the HAND to be the PARENT of the ARM so the ARM FOLLOWS THE HAND)
Now click Controller_Left_Shoulder and then click Parent and choose Controller_Left_Hand (this is so when we rotate the Shoulder controller the whole arm moves with it)
Finally click Controller_Rib_Cage and then click Parent and choose Controller_Left_Shoulder so our shoulders move with the ribcage when we move it.
Thats it, you can now rotate and translate the shoulder controller, or move the hand controller and the elbow controller to see how it all moves. You can at this point actually hide the Controller_Left_Arm if you wish, its purpose is to have the eff of the forearm follow the hand it does not need to be visible.
remember if you move things to test to UNDO your steps. When you are ready simply repeat all these steps for the right side of the body.
Next select GroundDummy.bone_l_clavicle and open its chain properties by going "Ctrl+R" make sure to check the box that says "Force IK"
Now click GroundDummy.bone_l_upperarm and inspect its chain properties (Ctrl+R) and make sure to turn FK/IK blend to 1 and check the box that says "force IK"
Now select GroundDummy.eff_l_forearm and go Constrain > Pose and then click the Controller_Left_Arm (I highlighted both below)
Now Select GroundDummy.bone_l_hand and go Constrain > Pose and then click Controller_Left_Hand (I highlighted both below)
Now click on GroundDummy.bone_l_upperarm and go Constrain > Chain Up Vector and click UpVector_Left_Elbow (both highlighted below)
Now click Controller_Left_Hand and click Parent (button just below the Constrain button) and click Controller_Left_Arm (both highlighted below) (and yes this is not backwards you want the HAND to be the PARENT of the ARM so the ARM FOLLOWS THE HAND)
Now click Controller_Left_Shoulder and then click Parent and choose Controller_Left_Hand (this is so when we rotate the Shoulder controller the whole arm moves with it)
Finally click Controller_Rib_Cage and then click Parent and choose Controller_Left_Shoulder so our shoulders move with the ribcage when we move it.
Thats it, you can now rotate and translate the shoulder controller, or move the hand controller and the elbow controller to see how it all moves. You can at this point actually hide the Controller_Left_Arm if you wish, its purpose is to have the eff of the forearm follow the hand it does not need to be visible.
remember if you move things to test to UNDO your steps. When you are ready simply repeat all these steps for the right side of the body.
1.1.9 Setting Up The Head / Neck / Main Direction
Hidden/Spoiler:
Now that the rest of the controllers are assembled we just need to add the finishing touches. Staring with the neck, click GroundDummy.bone_neck and click Constrain > Pose and then click Controller_Neck.
Next click GroundDummy.bone_head and click Constrain > Pose then click Controller_Head
Now click Controller_Neck and click Parent, then click Controller_Head
now click Controller_Rib_Cage and click Parent, then click Controller_Neck.
Now we want to create a control object for our whole unit so we can change directions, so at the top of the screen go Model > Primitive > Polygon Mesh > Cone, adjust its settings however you want for size I prefer mine to be around this size
Rotate it 90 degrees along the X axis using the property editor on the left of your screen then click Transform > Freeze All Transforms
Finally rename it, I usually like to rename this "Controller_Main_Direction" or something like that. Then Open up your explorer with the "8" key and make sure you are in scene mode by pressing the "S" key, click both the spineCurve and the Controllers Null and drag and drop them under your newly created arrow.
you can now use this object to move the entire Rig or rotate the entire rigs direction.
now go into the explorer again and go into Layer mode ("8" key followed by "L" key) find the controllers layer, left click and click select members, this will select all your controllers.
with all of the controllers selected go to Transform > Set Neutral Pose
NOW YOUR CAN MOVE ANYTHING YOU WANT. Literally, with the neutral pose set, if you ever want to restore the default pose, all you have to do is Press 8 to open the explorer, Press L to enter Layer Mode, Right click the controllers layer, Select all members, then hit CTRL+SHIFT+R to reset all transforms and your model will snap back to the static pose.
Next click GroundDummy.bone_head and click Constrain > Pose then click Controller_Head
Now click Controller_Neck and click Parent, then click Controller_Head
now click Controller_Rib_Cage and click Parent, then click Controller_Neck.
Now we want to create a control object for our whole unit so we can change directions, so at the top of the screen go Model > Primitive > Polygon Mesh > Cone, adjust its settings however you want for size I prefer mine to be around this size
Rotate it 90 degrees along the X axis using the property editor on the left of your screen then click Transform > Freeze All Transforms
Finally rename it, I usually like to rename this "Controller_Main_Direction" or something like that. Then Open up your explorer with the "8" key and make sure you are in scene mode by pressing the "S" key, click both the spineCurve and the Controllers Null and drag and drop them under your newly created arrow.
you can now use this object to move the entire Rig or rotate the entire rigs direction.
now go into the explorer again and go into Layer mode ("8" key followed by "L" key) find the controllers layer, left click and click select members, this will select all your controllers.
with all of the controllers selected go to Transform > Set Neutral Pose
NOW YOUR CAN MOVE ANYTHING YOU WANT. Literally, with the neutral pose set, if you ever want to restore the default pose, all you have to do is Press 8 to open the explorer, Press L to enter Layer Mode, Right click the controllers layer, Select all members, then hit CTRL+SHIFT+R to reset all transforms and your model will snap back to the static pose.
1.2.0 Using The Rig
Hidden/Spoiler:
So if you followed construction of the rig you probably at least know the basics of how it works, but i'm going to run people through it here so you all know exactly how to pose.
1.2.1 Using The Main Direction
Hidden/Spoiler:
Controller_Main_Direction can be Rotated to adjust the entire rigs direction.
It can also we translated to change the entire position of the model (Remember though, BF2 will only use your bones local rotations, so translation is mostly for your visualization in XSI, it will not affect your ingame animation)
It can also we translated to change the entire position of the model (Remember though, BF2 will only use your bones local rotations, so translation is mostly for your visualization in XSI, it will not affect your ingame animation)
1.2.2 Using The Rigs Legs
Hidden/Spoiler:
Typically you will want to position the legs by moving the Controller_Toe into position this can be translated to move the entire leg.
You can also rotate the Controller_Toe to rotate the entire foot uniformly
You can rotate Controller_Toe_Rotate to raise the heel and create a bend in the foot, IT IS NOT RECCOMENDED TO TRANSLATE THIS CONTROLLER ONLY ROTATE
You can translate the Controller_Knee to adjust the knee's facing direction, the knee will usually follow this Controller and face towards it
You can also rotate the Controller_Toe to rotate the entire foot uniformly
You can rotate Controller_Toe_Rotate to raise the heel and create a bend in the foot, IT IS NOT RECCOMENDED TO TRANSLATE THIS CONTROLLER ONLY ROTATE
You can translate the Controller_Knee to adjust the knee's facing direction, the knee will usually follow this Controller and face towards it
1.2.3 Using The Rigs Body
Hidden/Spoiler:
Controller_Pelvis can be translated into position and the leg bones should bed naturally to suite its new position.
It can also be rotated and again most things should follow it accordingly
Controller_Lower_Spine Can be translated (although it is reccomended to only slightly translate as to not create an unnatural looking curve)
Controller_Lower_Spine can also be rotated again lower spine should be slight adjustments as to not look unnatural
Controller_Rib_Cage as well can be Translated
And as well can be rotated to give the spine some nice movement, you will notice that moving either Controller_Lower_Spine or Controller_Rib_Cage will automatically move the entire spine nicely because of the spine curve we have set up
It can also be rotated and again most things should follow it accordingly
Controller_Lower_Spine Can be translated (although it is reccomended to only slightly translate as to not create an unnatural looking curve)
Controller_Lower_Spine can also be rotated again lower spine should be slight adjustments as to not look unnatural
Controller_Rib_Cage as well can be Translated
And as well can be rotated to give the spine some nice movement, you will notice that moving either Controller_Lower_Spine or Controller_Rib_Cage will automatically move the entire spine nicely because of the spine curve we have set up
1.2.4 Using The Rigs Arms
Hidden/Spoiler:
The Controller_Shoulder can be translated to move the Clavicle bones
You can also rotate the Controller_Shoulder to change the direction of the entire arm chain
The Controller_Hand can be translated to move the arm chain into a new position following the Hand
It can also be rotated to adjust the orientation of the hand
You can translate the UpVector_Elbow to change the direction the elbow is facing at anytime, the elbow will always face towards the controller
It is recommended that you do NOT rotate the Controller_Arm and instead position the arm chain using only the Shoulder Controller, The Elbow Controller and the Hand Controller, the entire purpose of the Arm Controller is just to ensure a smooth IK movement. (again you can hide this controller if the temptation is too large to move it)
You can also rotate the Controller_Shoulder to change the direction of the entire arm chain
The Controller_Hand can be translated to move the arm chain into a new position following the Hand
It can also be rotated to adjust the orientation of the hand
You can translate the UpVector_Elbow to change the direction the elbow is facing at anytime, the elbow will always face towards the controller
It is recommended that you do NOT rotate the Controller_Arm and instead position the arm chain using only the Shoulder Controller, The Elbow Controller and the Hand Controller, the entire purpose of the Arm Controller is just to ensure a smooth IK movement. (again you can hide this controller if the temptation is too large to move it)
1.2.5 Using The Rigs Neck And Head
Hidden/Spoiler:
The Neck actually follows a basic FK rig, The controller should only be ROTATED and not translated.
The Head as well should only be ROTATED and not translated as it is a simple FK chain
The Head as well should only be ROTATED and not translated as it is a simple FK chain
1.2.6 Resetting The Rigs Position
Hidden/Spoiler:
If at any point you need to return the Rig to its resting position First open the XSI explorer by pressing the "8" key, then press the "L" key to enter Layer Mode, find the Controllers Layer and Left click it then click Select Members.
This will automaticall select all your controllers, then simply click Transform > Reset All Transforms (or just use the keyboard shortcut CTRL+SHIFT+R, if you have followed the guide to this point or are using my .scn rig this will automatically snap all controllers to the resting position.
This will automaticall select all your controllers, then simply click Transform > Reset All Transforms (or just use the keyboard shortcut CTRL+SHIFT+R, if you have followed the guide to this point or are using my .scn rig this will automatically snap all controllers to the resting position.
1.2.7 KeyFraming And Basic Animation
Hidden/Spoiler:
Basically until you animation is done you will only be animating your Controllers, DO NOT KEY YOUR BONES UNTIL YOUR ANIMATION IS READY TO EXPORT.
Here I have started at frame one moved the hand controller forward and pressed the key button to add a new key to the controller.
Now I moved to frame 30, moved the arm back and put another key. If I press play now i will see the arm move front to back.
Now for the sake of example we will say thats the animation I want, to get the rig ready for export, press "8" to open the explorer, then press "L" to change to Layer mode, then right click the "Bones" Layer and click "Select Members" to select all your bones
Now on the left side of your screen make sure you are in Rotation mode and the small button that says "Local" is highlighted.
Now simply use the Arrow keys to go back and forth between frames and use the "K" key to apply a keyframe to all frames (IMPORTANT: ONLY KEY LOCAL ROTATIONS, DO NOT KEY TRANSLATIONS OR YOUR RIG WILL GO WONKY. Remember translation DOES not matter in swbf2 anyways, you should only need to key local rotation)
When you are done with your keyframes, simply select GroundDummy.dummyroot and export with the animation box check
Here I have started at frame one moved the hand controller forward and pressed the key button to add a new key to the controller.
Now I moved to frame 30, moved the arm back and put another key. If I press play now i will see the arm move front to back.
Now for the sake of example we will say thats the animation I want, to get the rig ready for export, press "8" to open the explorer, then press "L" to change to Layer mode, then right click the "Bones" Layer and click "Select Members" to select all your bones
Now on the left side of your screen make sure you are in Rotation mode and the small button that says "Local" is highlighted.
Now simply use the Arrow keys to go back and forth between frames and use the "K" key to apply a keyframe to all frames (IMPORTANT: ONLY KEY LOCAL ROTATIONS, DO NOT KEY TRANSLATIONS OR YOUR RIG WILL GO WONKY. Remember translation DOES not matter in swbf2 anyways, you should only need to key local rotation)
When you are done with your keyframes, simply select GroundDummy.dummyroot and export with the animation box check
1.3.0 Examples
Hidden/Spoiler:
So here I will be making a series of examples to help you get an idea of how to Animate with the Rig, the goal here is to teach you some common animation techniques and also to help you understand how easy this can be with a proper rig. Hopefully this will encourage the community to make more custom animations.
1.3.1 Custom Walk Cycle: The Leg Work (Theory)
Hidden/Spoiler:
So first, A little bit of theory here, so a walk cycle is actually very simple, for most walk cycles you actually just use the same concept over and over, but slightly move different bone one the legs to make the cycle a little bit different, or maybe smooth out certain frames between. All you are basically going to do is use the same 4 poses over and over. I will go into detail of each pose below.
CONTACT POSE
Contact pose is usually the pose you start a repeatable walk cycle in, in this pose the hips are slightly lower than they are in the static pose of the model, both feet are touching the ground. One foot is in front of the body, and one foot is behind the body. The leg towards the front of the body should be placed almost as far as possible with just a slight bend in the knee, the foot at the front of the body should be rotated to pointed diagonally, roughly 30-45 degrees. The back leg should be placed almost as far as possible backwards with again a very slight bend in the knee, the back toe should be flat to the ground, but the back heel should be raised roughly 30-45 degrees.
DOWN POSE
This is also called the "Low Pose" or the "Recoil Pose", in this pose the hips are slightly lower than they would be in the contact pose, the foot at the front of the body should now be completely flat to the ground, and the front calf should be roughly 90 degrees to the ground, that is the calf should be pointing mostly if not directly upwards. The back heel should now be rotated so the foot is almost flat, the toe should only be slightly curled upwards, the back leg thigh should be 90 degrees to the ground.
PASSING POSE
At this phase the back leg and front leg pass eachother, and the back leg will now be placed slightly towards the front of the body, and the front leg will be placed towards the back of the body. The hips should be slightly higher if not equal to the height they would be at in Contact Pose, the front leg will be brought backwards with the foot still flat on the ground, it should be brought back almost as far as it can go, with only a slight bend at the knee. The back foot will be rotated so the foot points directly downwards towards the ground, the foot will then be brought forward so that is aligns roughly in line with the characters butt, there should be a relatively significant bend in the knee.
UP POSE
This is also called the "High Pose" or the "High Point" (i've heard it referred to as the Stretch Pose once or twice, don't ever call it that, just don't). At this point the leg that is now at the back of the body will have its heel raised about 30-45 degrees while its toe is still flat to the ground, the leg should be positions back as far as it can go with little to or no bend at the knee. The hips in this pose should be slightly higher than they are in the Passing Pose. The Leg that is now at the front of the body should have its foot rotated so it is pointing towards the ground at an angle of about 30-45 degrees, the leg should then be brought forward and the calf bone should be made to run roughly parallel to the back calf bone.
And finally, we now return to Contact Pose, except this time the feet and legs are now in the mirrored position from what they were in at the start of our animation, at this point all we have to do is repeat all of the poses again, but mirrored so the legs swap.
Typically when you make these poses you want to space each keyframe 2 frames apart. For a total of 25 frames, you would then move your frame range back to 24 to hide the last contact pose to make the animation repeatable. Here is a list of frames and the poses I used.
Frame 1: Contact Pose (Right Foot In Front, Left Foot in Back)
Frame 4: Down Pose (Right Foot In Front, Left Foot in Back)
Frame 7: Passing Pose (Right Foot Passing To Back, Left Foot Passing To Front)
Frame 10: Up Pose (Right Foot Now In Back, Left Foot Now In Front)
Frame 13: Contact Pose (Right Foot in Back, Left Foot in Front)
Frame 16: Down Pose (Right foor in Back, Left Foot in Front)
Frame 19: Passing Pose (Right Foor Passing to Front, Left Foot Passing to Back)
Frame 22: Up Pose (Right Foot Now in Front, Left Foot now In Back)
Frame 25: Contact Pose (Right Foot in Front, Left Foot in Back)
When all played together and the animation for our walk can now be seen in this GIF. (note: for this I had realtime playback turned to 75% to slow the animation so you can see whats happening)
CONTACT POSE
Contact pose is usually the pose you start a repeatable walk cycle in, in this pose the hips are slightly lower than they are in the static pose of the model, both feet are touching the ground. One foot is in front of the body, and one foot is behind the body. The leg towards the front of the body should be placed almost as far as possible with just a slight bend in the knee, the foot at the front of the body should be rotated to pointed diagonally, roughly 30-45 degrees. The back leg should be placed almost as far as possible backwards with again a very slight bend in the knee, the back toe should be flat to the ground, but the back heel should be raised roughly 30-45 degrees.
DOWN POSE
This is also called the "Low Pose" or the "Recoil Pose", in this pose the hips are slightly lower than they would be in the contact pose, the foot at the front of the body should now be completely flat to the ground, and the front calf should be roughly 90 degrees to the ground, that is the calf should be pointing mostly if not directly upwards. The back heel should now be rotated so the foot is almost flat, the toe should only be slightly curled upwards, the back leg thigh should be 90 degrees to the ground.
PASSING POSE
At this phase the back leg and front leg pass eachother, and the back leg will now be placed slightly towards the front of the body, and the front leg will be placed towards the back of the body. The hips should be slightly higher if not equal to the height they would be at in Contact Pose, the front leg will be brought backwards with the foot still flat on the ground, it should be brought back almost as far as it can go, with only a slight bend at the knee. The back foot will be rotated so the foot points directly downwards towards the ground, the foot will then be brought forward so that is aligns roughly in line with the characters butt, there should be a relatively significant bend in the knee.
UP POSE
This is also called the "High Pose" or the "High Point" (i've heard it referred to as the Stretch Pose once or twice, don't ever call it that, just don't). At this point the leg that is now at the back of the body will have its heel raised about 30-45 degrees while its toe is still flat to the ground, the leg should be positions back as far as it can go with little to or no bend at the knee. The hips in this pose should be slightly higher than they are in the Passing Pose. The Leg that is now at the front of the body should have its foot rotated so it is pointing towards the ground at an angle of about 30-45 degrees, the leg should then be brought forward and the calf bone should be made to run roughly parallel to the back calf bone.
And finally, we now return to Contact Pose, except this time the feet and legs are now in the mirrored position from what they were in at the start of our animation, at this point all we have to do is repeat all of the poses again, but mirrored so the legs swap.
Typically when you make these poses you want to space each keyframe 2 frames apart. For a total of 25 frames, you would then move your frame range back to 24 to hide the last contact pose to make the animation repeatable. Here is a list of frames and the poses I used.
Frame 1: Contact Pose (Right Foot In Front, Left Foot in Back)
Frame 4: Down Pose (Right Foot In Front, Left Foot in Back)
Frame 7: Passing Pose (Right Foot Passing To Back, Left Foot Passing To Front)
Frame 10: Up Pose (Right Foot Now In Back, Left Foot Now In Front)
Frame 13: Contact Pose (Right Foot in Back, Left Foot in Front)
Frame 16: Down Pose (Right foor in Back, Left Foot in Front)
Frame 19: Passing Pose (Right Foor Passing to Front, Left Foot Passing to Back)
Frame 22: Up Pose (Right Foot Now in Front, Left Foot now In Back)
Frame 25: Contact Pose (Right Foot in Front, Left Foot in Back)
When all played together and the animation for our walk can now be seen in this GIF. (note: for this I had realtime playback turned to 75% to slow the animation so you can see whats happening)
1.3.2 Custom Walk Cycle: The Leg Work (Animating)
Hidden/Spoiler:
So before we begin, because we will be using automatic Keys, I strongly reccomend you key all of your controllers at the first frame, you can do this by clicking on the timeline at the bottom of the screen and bringing it all the way to frame one, then press "8" to open the XSI explorer, press "L" to change to layer mode, and right click the controllers layer, and select members.
Next with all the controllers selected click the little "R" under the transforms section to change it into rotation mode and simple press the "K" key to set a new keyframe.
Now press the little "T" to put it into translation mode and again press the "K" key to apply a keyframe to all controllers.
so now that we understand our poses its time to start animating, first click on the little grey box at the bottom right of your screen, and change your framerange to 25 (since we know we will only need 25 frames.) I highlighted this area in the Blue box in the image below.
Now we want to turn on Auto Keying, this will make it so any changes we make to our controller will automatically be keyed to our timeline. When auto Keying is turned on the button will be Red, I highlighted this area in the blue box below.
now we can move our bones, move your timeline all the way back to frame one by clicking on the timeline, now because our default pose has the legs spread a bit, grab the Toe controllers and translate them along the X axis to bring both legs closer together, they should not be touching but should be a little closer together.
Now grab the knee controllers and bring them closer together so both of your knees face perfectly forward (controller_left_knee & controller_right_knee)
Now we are going to start with extending the right leg forward, remeber in our reference pose though the foot has to be rotated so the heel is pointing upwards between 30-45 degrees, so first grab the toe controller and rotate it into position like so:
Now move the Toe Controller forward along the Z axis and upwards along the Y axis until the leg is fully extended and the heel of the foot controller is just touching the ground like so:
Now for the left leg, we want to start by grabbing the toe rotation controller to raise the heel upwards approximately 30-45 degrees, so grab the toe rotator and rotate it like this:
Now grab the left toe controller and move it back all the way until the leg is fully extended (be careful not to move it so far that the controller detaches from the foot, we only want it to be as far as it can extend naturally but still have the foot touching the ground)
Now click the Controller_Pelvis and move it slightly downwards on the Y axis, it doesnt need to be far down, just enough to bend both the knees very very slightly
Now our first pose is done, if we look above though we notice that frame 25 is the same pose as frame 1 in our list of poses from the theory section, so we are going to quickly copy over our keys. Start by pressing "8" to go into explorer mode, then "L" to go into layer mode, select the controllers layer and right click, then click select members.
Now press "0" to bring up the animation manager. First go to the top and Click Edit > Select All Curves.
Now press CTRL+A to select all Keys. Your window should now have all points highlighted red like so.
Now Press CTRL+C to copy all frames, move the red verticle line marking your current frame to frame 25, then press CTRL+V to paste all the keys. It is worth noting that if you need to zoom out to see more of your timeline in the animation manager, you can do so by pressing "Z" key, then using the right mouse button to zoom out and the middle mouse button to zoom in, you screen should now look like this
Now that we have our contact pose, move to frame 4 and we are going to start on making our down pose, start by grabbing the right toe controller and rotating it so the foot is flat with where the ground is.
Now bring translate the toe controller downwards so it meets the ground and move it back along the Z axis until the calf bone is almost entirely upright.
Now grab the left toe rotator and rotate it until the toe is mostly aligned with the foot controller, it should have just a slight curl on the toe.
Now grab the Toe controller and rotate it so the entire foot is pointing downwards around 30-45 degrees
Now translate the foot upwards so the toe is just slightly off the ground, and move it forward along the z axis until the thigh bone is roughly 90 degrees pointing downwards.
Now finally grab the controller_pelvis and move it slightly downwards so the calf bone on the front foot moves just slightly forward and we are done with the Down Pose
Now we need to do our Passing Pose, First move to frame 7 so we animate in the right fram, start by grabbing your right foot and moving it back so the tip of the toe lines up with the characters groin.
Now grab the left toe rotation controller and rotate it so the toe and the foot are totally flat
Now grab the left Toe controller and rotate it so the entire foot faces downwards
Now move the toe controller slightly upwards so that the point of the toe is slightly above the other foot, and the back of the left foot is lined up with the characters butt.
finally move the Controller Pelvis upward until your leg is perfectly straight, then move it just slightly down to bend the knee very slightly. Our passing pose is now done.
Now onto our Up Pose, first move to frame 10 so we make sure we key in the right frame. Start by grabbing the right toe rotator and rotating the heel upwards to be roughly 30-45 degrees.
Now move the foot backwards until the tip of the toe is in line with the characters butt
Now grab the left toe controller and rotate it so the entire foot faces downwards towards the ground at about a 30-45 degree angle.
Now translate the toe controller slightly down and forward until the calf bones are roughly parallel to one another, and the foot should be just slightly infront of the pelvis's centre
finally grab the pelvis controller and translate it directly upwards until the back oriented leg is completely straight and now our up pose is complete.
Now we need to create the complete reverse of our original Contact Pose, start by moving to frame 13, and grab the left toe controller, rotate it so the toe faces upwards by about 30-45 degrees.
now translate the toe controller all the way forward until the leg is straight.
grab the back toe's controller and move it all the way back until the leg is straight
and finally, move the pelvis controller down until the legs both have a slight bend to them
Now with your second contact pose complete, simply use the steps above for the other poses to recreate your poses again for the other side of the body
here is the frame list for your incase you forgot:
Frame 1: Contact Pose (Right Foot In Front, Left Foot in Back)
Frame 4: Down Pose (Right Foot In Front, Left Foot in Back)
Frame 7: Passing Pose (Right Foot Passing To Back, Left Foot Passing To Front)
Frame 10: Up Pose (Right Foot Now In Back, Left Foot Now In Front)
Frame 13: Contact Pose (Right Foot in Back, Left Foot in Front)
Frame 16: Down Pose (Right foor in Back, Left Foot in Front)
Frame 19: Passing Pose (Right Foor Passing to Front, Left Foot Passing to Back)
Frame 22: Up Pose (Right Foot Now in Front, Left Foot now In Back)
Frame 25: Contact Pose (Right Foot in Front, Left Foot in Back)
once you are complete you will have the leg movement finished on your walking animation
Next with all the controllers selected click the little "R" under the transforms section to change it into rotation mode and simple press the "K" key to set a new keyframe.
Now press the little "T" to put it into translation mode and again press the "K" key to apply a keyframe to all controllers.
so now that we understand our poses its time to start animating, first click on the little grey box at the bottom right of your screen, and change your framerange to 25 (since we know we will only need 25 frames.) I highlighted this area in the Blue box in the image below.
Now we want to turn on Auto Keying, this will make it so any changes we make to our controller will automatically be keyed to our timeline. When auto Keying is turned on the button will be Red, I highlighted this area in the blue box below.
now we can move our bones, move your timeline all the way back to frame one by clicking on the timeline, now because our default pose has the legs spread a bit, grab the Toe controllers and translate them along the X axis to bring both legs closer together, they should not be touching but should be a little closer together.
Now grab the knee controllers and bring them closer together so both of your knees face perfectly forward (controller_left_knee & controller_right_knee)
Now we are going to start with extending the right leg forward, remeber in our reference pose though the foot has to be rotated so the heel is pointing upwards between 30-45 degrees, so first grab the toe controller and rotate it into position like so:
Now move the Toe Controller forward along the Z axis and upwards along the Y axis until the leg is fully extended and the heel of the foot controller is just touching the ground like so:
Now for the left leg, we want to start by grabbing the toe rotation controller to raise the heel upwards approximately 30-45 degrees, so grab the toe rotator and rotate it like this:
Now grab the left toe controller and move it back all the way until the leg is fully extended (be careful not to move it so far that the controller detaches from the foot, we only want it to be as far as it can extend naturally but still have the foot touching the ground)
Now click the Controller_Pelvis and move it slightly downwards on the Y axis, it doesnt need to be far down, just enough to bend both the knees very very slightly
Now our first pose is done, if we look above though we notice that frame 25 is the same pose as frame 1 in our list of poses from the theory section, so we are going to quickly copy over our keys. Start by pressing "8" to go into explorer mode, then "L" to go into layer mode, select the controllers layer and right click, then click select members.
Now press "0" to bring up the animation manager. First go to the top and Click Edit > Select All Curves.
Now press CTRL+A to select all Keys. Your window should now have all points highlighted red like so.
Now Press CTRL+C to copy all frames, move the red verticle line marking your current frame to frame 25, then press CTRL+V to paste all the keys. It is worth noting that if you need to zoom out to see more of your timeline in the animation manager, you can do so by pressing "Z" key, then using the right mouse button to zoom out and the middle mouse button to zoom in, you screen should now look like this
Now that we have our contact pose, move to frame 4 and we are going to start on making our down pose, start by grabbing the right toe controller and rotating it so the foot is flat with where the ground is.
Now bring translate the toe controller downwards so it meets the ground and move it back along the Z axis until the calf bone is almost entirely upright.
Now grab the left toe rotator and rotate it until the toe is mostly aligned with the foot controller, it should have just a slight curl on the toe.
Now grab the Toe controller and rotate it so the entire foot is pointing downwards around 30-45 degrees
Now translate the foot upwards so the toe is just slightly off the ground, and move it forward along the z axis until the thigh bone is roughly 90 degrees pointing downwards.
Now finally grab the controller_pelvis and move it slightly downwards so the calf bone on the front foot moves just slightly forward and we are done with the Down Pose
Now we need to do our Passing Pose, First move to frame 7 so we animate in the right fram, start by grabbing your right foot and moving it back so the tip of the toe lines up with the characters groin.
Now grab the left toe rotation controller and rotate it so the toe and the foot are totally flat
Now grab the left Toe controller and rotate it so the entire foot faces downwards
Now move the toe controller slightly upwards so that the point of the toe is slightly above the other foot, and the back of the left foot is lined up with the characters butt.
finally move the Controller Pelvis upward until your leg is perfectly straight, then move it just slightly down to bend the knee very slightly. Our passing pose is now done.
Now onto our Up Pose, first move to frame 10 so we make sure we key in the right frame. Start by grabbing the right toe rotator and rotating the heel upwards to be roughly 30-45 degrees.
Now move the foot backwards until the tip of the toe is in line with the characters butt
Now grab the left toe controller and rotate it so the entire foot faces downwards towards the ground at about a 30-45 degree angle.
Now translate the toe controller slightly down and forward until the calf bones are roughly parallel to one another, and the foot should be just slightly infront of the pelvis's centre
finally grab the pelvis controller and translate it directly upwards until the back oriented leg is completely straight and now our up pose is complete.
Now we need to create the complete reverse of our original Contact Pose, start by moving to frame 13, and grab the left toe controller, rotate it so the toe faces upwards by about 30-45 degrees.
now translate the toe controller all the way forward until the leg is straight.
grab the back toe's controller and move it all the way back until the leg is straight
and finally, move the pelvis controller down until the legs both have a slight bend to them
Now with your second contact pose complete, simply use the steps above for the other poses to recreate your poses again for the other side of the body
here is the frame list for your incase you forgot:
Frame 1: Contact Pose (Right Foot In Front, Left Foot in Back)
Frame 4: Down Pose (Right Foot In Front, Left Foot in Back)
Frame 7: Passing Pose (Right Foot Passing To Back, Left Foot Passing To Front)
Frame 10: Up Pose (Right Foot Now In Back, Left Foot Now In Front)
Frame 13: Contact Pose (Right Foot in Back, Left Foot in Front)
Frame 16: Down Pose (Right foor in Back, Left Foot in Front)
Frame 19: Passing Pose (Right Foor Passing to Front, Left Foot Passing to Back)
Frame 22: Up Pose (Right Foot Now in Front, Left Foot now In Back)
Frame 25: Contact Pose (Right Foot in Front, Left Foot in Back)
once you are complete you will have the leg movement finished on your walking animation
1.3.3 Exporting / Testing Your New Animation In-Game
Under Construction
