Beginner questions

[wookiee_cookiee]

Hello,

I am fresh user and just trying to get my head around this awesome tool I’ve made some test setup for character, play around with it and got some questions, maybe you could help me to start off

1. in Manipulator, while adjusting markers, it is pretty intuitive to rotate with CTRL+MMB but is there a way to make rotation snap to given value ? for example step is 5 degrees like in unreal?
   

   

2. Sometimes when I make one marker (chest) too big it covers other markers like shoulders/scapulas and i cant select them, because I dont see them, I know i can manually find them in outliner but is there some quicker work around to select them?
   

   
   
   
   

3. What is the rule a thumb for overlapping groups for humanoid, it is best to keep arms/egs on separate group?

4. Is there a feature to drag select markers? if no would you consider it :)? it would be awesome for group editing
   

   

5. Is there a way to input precise values into marker axis limits beside moving slider control? and it would be great to have possibility to save all limits as a template - to reuse it for other humanoids
   

   

6. Hair case - my character Jinx has long hair braids, I create markers by selecting FK controls but they are every 3rd joint, I know I can create markers based on joints which would give me more accurate results and reparent them to FK controls but what to do with those joints which dont have FK controls? if I leave them like this (parented to joints) it will explode in simulation
   

   

7. Stiffness in Live Mode, my solver has low stifness 0.001 but when trying to drag around character in live mode it looks like the stiffness was still 1 as default
   video:
   

8. When creating custom marker meshes based on character is there a way to mirror shapes? for example I’ve cutted the characte mesh and replaced markers for one hand and just mirror it to other side?
   

   

anyway, I am very excited about this tools and looking forward to learn all it abilities

Cheers

[marcus]

Hi @wookiee_cookiee, welcome to the forums!

@wookiee_cookiee

in Manipulator, while adjusting markers, it is pretty intuitive to rotate with CTRL+MMB but is there a way to make rotation snap to given value ? for example step is 5 degrees like in unreal?

There is not; however the values are also accessible in the Channel Box as Shape Rotation, that’s where you can finalise the values to remove any decimals.

@wookiee_cookiee

Sometimes when I make one marker (chest) too big it covers other markers like shoulders/scapulas and i cant select them, because I dont see them, I know i can manually find them in outliner but is there some quicker work around to select them?

Great observation; this is true, we haven’t found a way around this, other than to scale down the Marker to reach the inner ones. It’s possible we could incorporate selection in wireframe mode, like one can in Maya with normal meshes, and select the wireframe as opposed to the shape. But it’s not there yet. The Outliner + Channel Box is the other option.

@wookiee_cookiee

What is the rule a thumb for overlapping groups for humanoid, it is best to keep arms/egs on separate group?

Very much depends on what the character looks like and is supposed to to. Characters typically do not exist in a vacuum and generally have a specific purpose in mind. For example, if a character is sitting at a table with one arm resting on the table and the other holding the chin; you might put the upper back, head and arm in one group, so as to control the stiffness of that pose. With the other arm in another group to control that separately.

@wookiee_cookiee

Is there a feature to drag select markers? if no would you consider it :)? it would be awesome for group editing

Yes, very much delayed, but either the next release or the one following it.

@wookiee_cookiee

Is there a way to input precise values into marker axis limits beside moving slider control? and it would be great to have possibility to save all limits as a template - to reuse it for other humanoids

We left precise control to the Channel Box, we think it already does a good job at this. That said, the next release will allow typing numbers into that box too.

As for a template, indeed, this is what Export Physics is for.

• Ragdoll in a Nutshell pt. 2 - Export Physics

@wookiee_cookiee

Hair case - my character Jinx has long hair braids, I create markers by selecting FK controls but they are every 3rd joint, I know I can create markers based on joints which would give me more accurate results and reparent them to FK controls but what to do with those joints which dont have FK controls? if I leave them like this (parented to joints) it will explode in simulation

You can assign to the original joints, and later retarget markers to their corresponding control.

• Retargeting 2.0 and Maya 2023 - Learn Ragdoll

@wookiee_cookiee

Stiffness in Live Mode, my solver has low stifness 0.001 but when trying to drag around character in live mode it looks like the stiffness was still 1 as default
video:

That stiffness comes from the FK tool currently active (top-left menus in the Manipulator UI). It’s meant to produce a FK-looking behaviour used for posing, with only enough softness to cope with contacts and self-intersections. It can be tuned, but is a little crude in this version.

See the Wrench button on the lower-left of the screen, atop the timeline. Try mucking about with those sliders to see if anything fits your liking.

For a 0-stiffness, you can also use the Pinch tool instead, the little circle icon on the top-left.

@wookiee_cookiee

When creating custom marker meshes based on character is there a way to mirror shapes? for example I’ve cutted the characte mesh and replaced markers for one hand and just mirror it to other side?

There is not. For the Maya mesh itself, you could use the geometry mirroring of Maya, or connecting from outMesh to inMesh between them, and assign each to the Markers with Maintain History checked in the Replace Mesh dialog. But it’s typically quickest to go through the motions. Haven’t found a solid workflow for symmetry on this one.

Thanks for the questions, these are all great observations and room for us to improve!

[wookiee_cookiee]

Hey @marcus, thanks for all the answers and hints !

next questions:

• Iam using a Newton field (box shape) to simulate hit on certain parts of the character, is there a way to exclude/mask out some markers from field?

• how can I replicate soft ground for example character falling on ground covered with snow?
  -is there a way to assign markers for IK legs with pole vectors ?

cheers!

[marcus]

@wookiee_cookiee

Iam using a Newton field (box shape) to simulate hit on certain parts of the character, is there a way to exclude/mask out some markers from field?

The volume shape of the field is meant to cope with this, then there’s an option for Markers to “Ignore Fields”.

But there is currently no option similar to light linking where you get complete control over which Marker is affected by which field.

@wookiee_cookiee

how can I replicate soft ground for example character falling on ground covered with snow?

You can make the ground simulated too, and give it some translate stiffness and damping. See this one for example.

Need workflow suggestions

Looks awesome! One of the things that can contribute to a toy-look is the hard contacts and non-deformable behaviour of the Markers and ground. A small plastic toy would behave similarly when thrown against a marble floor, but large fleshy creatures in the real world do a lot of squishing, as does the ground. In the next release, you’d have soft contacts to help with this. But in the current release, there are at least 2 things you can try. Translate Motion = Soft Soft plates on the ground W…

If you make a grid of several smaller ground planes, you can emulate the appearance of a soft deformable ground.

The next release will feature “Soft Contacts” which would make this a breeze.

@wookiee_cookiee

is there a way to assign markers for IK legs with pole vectors ?

Of course.

• Manikin and IK - Learn Ragdoll

[wookiee_cookiee]

Soft ground works nicely !

But had some issues with IK legs, I’ve followed tutorial, and it records to the IK controls from default pose, but when I try to modify pose the legs markers dont respond correctly

also has been struggling with some jumpy markers especially on scapulas, I’ve got pretty exaggerated pose (hips,shoulders) and I am turning on simulation on given frame and in first frame of sim I’ve got some weird movement, first I though it maybe because some of controls use also translation not only rotation which probably breaks constrains between markers, so zeroed out them, helped a little but not all. So next idea maybe the marker is out of the limits range, I’ve increased them but still got weird movement on scapulas even after setting shole group stifness to high as 0.1, any ideas what could be wrong?

also I’ve notice I can set stiffnes for single marker, and there is also a groupd stifness, how this works? I though that group values override the single ones

and last thing, what is best approach for hip/root control ? typically on rigs there is Root control for general body movement and hips control under it for hips swing etc, first idea is to assing to root but when pose is exagerrated with Hips control then the marker is off… or maybe I overcomplicate it

[alanjfs]

Heya!

@wookiee_cookiee

But had some issues with IK legs, I’ve followed tutorial, and it records to the IK controls from default pose, but when I try to modify pose the legs markers dont respond correctly

It looks like Markers were assigned to the controls, rather than the joints driven by those controls.

If you find the joints that drive the geometry, those are typically the ones you’ll want your Markers to follow. And then you’ll retarget those to the controls you want to record onto.

@wookiee_cookiee

also has been struggling with some jumpy markers especially on scapulas, I’ve got pretty exaggerated pose (hips,shoulders) and I am turning on simulation on given frame and in first frame of sim I’ve got some weird movement

This looks like the shoulders were assigned at a given position, but then translated out of that position on playback. You can either:

1. Give the shoulder Translate Motion = Soft to enable translation to participate in simulation
2. Include the clavicle in your simulation, where the shoulder is typically attached. No bones in the human body translates, it’s all rotations.

The foot does a little jerk, likely because the leg is starting outside of the assigned limit. Either widen that limit, or edit the animation to fit.

@wookiee_cookiee

also I’ve notice I can set stiffnes for single marker, and there is also a groupd stifness, how this works? I though that group values override the single ones

They are multiplied together.

@wookiee_cookiee

first idea is to assing to root but when pose is exagerrated with Hips control then the marker is off… or maybe I overcomplicate it

Do you have an example of what you are seeing? Doesn’t sound it should be impossible to pull off.