Subject: Re: Bones!!!!!!
Date: Wed, 25 May 94 15:25:30 CDT
From: setzer@comm.mot.com (Thomas Setzer)

> This is one of the drawbacks of the current LW bones implementations.
> If you have an object that has an arm hanging down at its side, moving
> a bone that is placed in the arm will create a drag on the object's side
> as well (although the force is diminished over the distance from the bone).
> Currently, there are a few ways to combat this problem: model appendages
> pointing out from the character, use additional pinning bones near critical
> surfaces to prevent effects from other bone forces, or specify a distance
> for the offending bones beyond which they have no effect. For complex
> characters, you almost need a combination or hybrid of bones and deformation
> lattices (like in Caligari).

Wow.  So if you wanted to do a twittling thumbs anim, where the hand was on the
lap of the twittler, the nearby fingers and possibly the lap may jiggle up and
down with the twittling?  Can you set the level of the "force" you talked about?

Hmmm, sounds like Imagine is not too far off.  

Heres what I would like to see.  I like getting to choose the big and small
subgroups, indicating which faces to move and which to bend.  I HATE having
to name all those damn subgroups.  So, why not have a "bones subgrouping" 
function.  You would click on a bone(in pick object mode).  Then select
bones subgrouping from the menu(or hot key).  This would put you into the
pick faces mode.  Select your faces for the big subgroup, hit a special
key when you are done.  Now select your faces for the small subgroup, hit a
special key when you are done.  You are then returned to pick object mode.
When you select a bones that already has the subgroups identified, you could
change them using the same method, only difference being there would already
be faces selected when you enter that mode.  The main things this would do 
are: 1) eliminate the need to type(YUCK I HATE TO HAVE TO GO FROM MOUSE TO
KEYBOARD TO MOUSE ETC), and 2) eliminate the need to track the names of all
the subgroups (this would get tedious and troublesome on a monster with 10
arms and 50 fingers).

Just a thought.


Tom Setzer
setzer@ssd.comm.mot.com

"And of course, I'm a genius, so people are naturally drawn to my fiery
intellect.  Their admiration overwhelms their envy!" - Calvin


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