Another great video thank you! Is it ok to make some keys stepped/linear if you want more ‘snap’ etc please? Rather than everything in spline? So a combo of both. Also ok to delete some keys if not working or need to speed up/slow down animation etc?
Thanks for uploading this very informative tutorial. Please keep them coming as I have subscribed to your channel for future lessons on how to animate.
would love to see how you do a simple swing with a double handed sword. aiming both arms.. i'm having lot of complications to do that.. one arm looks fine. but the other looks horrible:D i dont know if i have to do use of constrains and IK both arms. or what would be the best way. i even have some problems trying to parent .. and what is the best order to parent.. right hand leading sword and sword leading second hand? i need to learn how to do those "LOCATOR/ null groups".. still being confused at it. but your video helped me to animate at least one handed attacks.
Hi, yeah I know exactly what you mean two handed weapons can be a nightmare. I'll put this on the list of videos to make as I think it would help others too. As a quick tip until I can make the video, it's best to have the right hand control drive the sword prop, and then parent (not parent constraint) the left hand under the sword prop. This will allow you to key the position of the left hand in relation to the right, and allow you to create a more natural position throughout the animation. Also, if you have the ability on your rig to stretch the left arm, then switch this on as it will help you in the extreme poses.
wow so parent is different from parent constraint.. other methods i saw people using were creating locators etc. but really i have difficulties to get the exact way the guys show in the video. they talk about creating locator. parenting to the weapon and create a group. but i dont know if they do parent with maintain offset on or off..:( i hope one day to see the double handed attack . i will try to find about what you say. i guess the stretch part will help its true, but if i need to create it like a "REAL movement".. i will take a look at what you say, thank you for your time attention and help! was so nice from your part! by the way.. it would be better to use IK right?
Yeah so you could use the 2 locator method, that is mostly used if the character is referenced into the file and won't let you change the hierarchy of the character. If it's not I would say just keep it simple, position your left hand roughly where it needs to be, and parent it under the sword. Then you can key it how you want. The drawback of parent contraints is you can't key them, hence the reason they are creating a group under that is keyable. Your left hand will def need to be IK, but it's personal preference for the right hand. Personally I like FK for combat stuff because you get a lot of the natural arcs in the arms from the bodies motion. There is also the option to use IK, but with it orientated to the chest which is a nice compromise between the two. Hope this helps :)
yes i think my project has a referenced character in this case. About the locators and groups I still have some problems/confusion creating and what steps to follow. so if i use parent instead of parent constrain means i could move the hand every frame and keep maintaining the movement of the animated parented object? i cannot parent .for some reason maybe i need to create those null zero groups. but i dont know if the locator needs to be in a position or could be in the 0 0 0 of the viewport.. well sorry for too many questions. you were really helpful! feel free to answer and thank you so much!
hey there, great detailed tutorial. Im just curious i mean im still learning more about animation in maya. Mostly i do 3d modeling in blender but im wondering where can i actually get good rigs at free? I mean i found some but perhaps there are better ones out there for building a game animation demo reel. Also what are your thoughts on this subject, do you think the models being shown matter for an animation demo reel?
Hey, thanks. I think it’s important to use characters with natural appeal. So their proportions are slightly exaggerated. There are some ok free ones at animationbuffet.blogspot.co.uk/ . Personally I like to see these rigs being used for body mechanics shots artofjoe.blogspot.co.uk/p/blog-page.html . And for acting shots the Malcolm rig www.animschool.com/DownloadOffer.aspx . Hope this helps.
How2Animate Thanks for the quick reply. Will def. check the websites out and yeah I was thinking about the body mechanics rigged models. It seems like they would be great with more freedom for action shots. Gonna slowly work my way up again by perfecting my walk amd run cycles. Took an animation class in college but its been a while. Keep up the good work though, look forward to comimg here again when im ready to move up.
New Tutorial! How to animate a spear throw in Maya ua-cam.com/video/eSzLu8am-gM/v-deo.html
New Fight Tutorial for advanced animators here ua-cam.com/video/U2QezujmTvg/v-deo.html
Thanks a lot! Exactly I'm looking for: how to learn to animate. Thanks so much for all your other tutorials!
Another great video thank you! Is it ok to make some keys stepped/linear if you want more ‘snap’ etc please? Rather than everything in spline? So a combo of both. Also ok to delete some keys if not working or need to speed up/slow down animation etc?
more tutorials needed
Thanks for uploading this very informative tutorial. Please keep them coming as I have subscribed to your channel for future lessons on how to animate.
Thanks for the sub! Glad you found it helpful. I'm busy with other projects for the next couple of weeks but will make some more tutorials after that.
would love to see how you do a simple swing with a double handed sword. aiming both arms.. i'm having lot of complications to do that.. one arm looks fine. but the other looks horrible:D i dont know if i have to do use of constrains and IK both arms. or what would be the best way. i even have some problems trying to parent .. and what is the best order to parent.. right hand leading sword and sword leading second hand? i need to learn how to do those "LOCATOR/ null groups".. still being confused at it. but your video helped me to animate at least one handed attacks.
Hi, yeah I know exactly what you mean two handed weapons can be a nightmare. I'll put this on the list of videos to make as I think it would help others too. As a quick tip until I can make the video, it's best to have the right hand control drive the sword prop, and then parent (not parent constraint) the left hand under the sword prop. This will allow you to key the position of the left hand in relation to the right, and allow you to create a more natural position throughout the animation. Also, if you have the ability on your rig to stretch the left arm, then switch this on as it will help you in the extreme poses.
wow so parent is different from parent constraint.. other methods i saw people using were creating locators etc. but really i have difficulties to get the exact way the guys show in the video. they talk about creating locator. parenting to the weapon and create a group. but i dont know if they do parent with maintain offset on or off..:( i hope one day to see the double handed attack . i will try to find about what you say. i guess the stretch part will help its true, but if i need to create it like a "REAL movement".. i will take a look at what you say, thank you for your time attention and help! was so nice from your part! by the way.. it would be better to use IK right?
Yeah so you could use the 2 locator method, that is mostly used if the character is referenced into the file and won't let you change the hierarchy of the character. If it's not I would say just keep it simple, position your left hand roughly where it needs to be, and parent it under the sword. Then you can key it how you want. The drawback of parent contraints is you can't key them, hence the reason they are creating a group under that is keyable.
Your left hand will def need to be IK, but it's personal preference for the right hand. Personally I like FK for combat stuff because you get a lot of the natural arcs in the arms from the bodies motion. There is also the option to use IK, but with it orientated to the chest which is a nice compromise between the two. Hope this helps :)
yes i think my project has a referenced character in this case. About the locators and groups I still have some problems/confusion creating and what steps to follow. so if i use parent instead of parent constrain means i could move the hand every frame and keep maintaining the movement of the animated parented object? i cannot parent .for some reason maybe i need to create those null zero groups. but i dont know if the locator needs to be in a position or could be in the 0 0 0 of the viewport.. well sorry for too many questions. you were really helpful! feel free to answer and thank you so much!
hey no worries, it's probally easier for me to do a video to explain it. Will try and get done today or tommorow
Very good tutorial, learned a lot! Can you share the character model, if possible?
hey there, great detailed tutorial. Im just curious i mean im still learning more about animation in maya. Mostly i do 3d modeling in blender but im wondering where can i actually get good rigs at free? I mean i found some but perhaps there are better ones out there for building a game animation demo reel. Also what are your thoughts on this subject, do you think the models being shown matter for an animation demo reel?
Hey, thanks. I think it’s important to use characters with natural appeal. So their proportions are slightly exaggerated. There are some ok free ones at animationbuffet.blogspot.co.uk/ . Personally I like to see these rigs being used for body mechanics shots artofjoe.blogspot.co.uk/p/blog-page.html . And for acting shots the Malcolm rig www.animschool.com/DownloadOffer.aspx . Hope this helps.
How2Animate Thanks for the quick reply. Will def. check the websites out and yeah I was thinking about the body mechanics rigged models. It seems like they would be great with more freedom for action shots. Gonna slowly work my way up again by perfecting my walk amd run cycles. Took an animation class in college but its been a while. Keep up the good work though, look forward to comimg here again when im ready to move up.
nice tutorial. where do you work?
Thanks alot, I'm currently at Climax Studios in the UK
did u make your model
?
How long would it take me to create a 4 minutes animation in Maya?
It depends on so many factors such as your experience level, how complex the scene is and how many characters.
please can u provide me reference video
hello sir r u still replying here?