Add images to new learnings from VoLAix 2 authored by Malte Christian Kögel's avatar Malte Christian Kögel
......@@ -21,22 +21,34 @@ Now your workspace should look something like this:
### Recommended Settings:
#### Auto-Keyframe
Enable Auto-Keyframe to automatically set a keyframe whenever a value is changed (i.e. a change is automatically applied). When multiple keyframes are set, UE will interpolate between them (the exact setting can be changed with right-click on the keyframe). Make sure to always be at the correct position in the timeline to apply the changes at the right point in time. Also, as always, ensure you are working on the additive track.
Enable Auto-Keyframe to automatically set a keyframe whenever a value is changed (i.e. a change is automatically applied). When multiple keyframes are set, UE will interpolate between them (the exact setting can be changed with right-click on the keyframe). Make sure to always be at the correct position in the timeline to apply the changes at the right point in time. Also, as always, ensure you are working on the additive track. The auto-keyframe-setting is toggled with this button: ![grafik](uploads/3abcd5d1cb7478ea2a38943c6eeb2b9d/grafik.png)
#### Inverse Kinematics (IK)
Instead of moving each part of the limbs individually, IK allows you to e.g. place the hand at a certain position with the arm and shoulder following in a natural way. This setting can be enabled and disabled in the ctrl-track. By default it is disabled (at every frame) in the imported animation. To be able to set our own values, we need to first delete all keys in the animation, that set the variable. For this setting it is sensible to work on the original animation track (not the additive track). For most usecases it will suffice to set the IK at the first frame for the entire animation. But of course we can also use keyframes on the ctrl track to en-/disable IK for different sections of the timeline.
Instead of moving each part of the limbs individually, IK allows you to e.g. place the hand at a certain position with the arm and shoulder following in a natural way. This setting can be enabled and disabled in the ctrl-track. By default it is disabled (at every frame) in the imported animation. To be able to set our own values, we need to first delete all keys in the animation, that set the variable. For this setting it is sensible to work on the original animation track (not the additive track).
![grafik](uploads/4f5fcc1801e915370d85e5029bf3202f/grafik.png)
After the pre-existing keys have been deleted, we can enable IK at the first frame for the entire animation. ![grafik](uploads/58dfc3b7bc7ce11585b5f5c955412e79/grafik.png)
For most usecases this will suffice. But of course we can also use keyframes on the ctrl track to en-/disable IK for different sections of the timeline.
Your sequencer should now look like this. If you play the sequence, the animation will play in the editor window:\
![grafik](uploads/668b394c6fb2aeeb0e5924beafcdf484/grafik.png)
![grafik](uploads/0843eb3041edd216f5ca2e154582648d/grafik.png)
## III. Edit the Position/Rotation/Scale of a Body Part
### Without Inverse Kinematics
1. Select the body part you would like to edit in the MH_CR_Picker
![grafik](uploads/9e5f0eb8a8621ee259cd8e513ff396e9/grafik.png)
2. On the left of the screen, in the animation tab the Location, Rotation, Scale values are shown. You can either edit those values directly (more fine-grained control) or change the position within the preview window. Your edits will be applied on the additive track.
![grafik](uploads/ce5f5e519a2c356eee22d3e49558ac31/grafik.png)
### With Inverse Kinematics
For editing e.g. the hand position with IK enabled, simply select the cube around the hand, then move/scale/rotate as above: ![grafik](uploads/033920f5dcf1f8dbed4a4e78c130bc99/grafik.png)
### Editing the original animation
While for most corrections the additive track should be used, the original animation can also be edited. For example
- **Deleting frames**: This can be especially helpful if there is a small number of frames with bad animation data, if there is a gap between the animation keyframes, UE will interpolate between them.
- **Duplicating frames**: We can extend the animation by duplicating frames, we can also use !(EDIT SELECTION) to add & multiply the timeline positions. E.g. multiplying by -1 reverses the order of the selected keyframes, i.e. reverses the animation; multiplying by 2 stretches the animation over double the time, effectively slowing it down to half speed (interpolating between the frames) !(CORRECT?!), etc.
- **Deleting frames**: This can be especially helpful if there is a small number of frames with bad animation data, if there is a gap between the animation keyframes, UE will interpolate between them. ![grafik](uploads/3e5d1e75b3fb0351bdad68ac15e8e81f/grafik.png)
- **Duplicating frames**: We can extend the animation by duplicating frames, we can also use `Transform Selection` to add & multiply the timeline positions.\
![grafik](uploads/d4aa8951033fd6b221422539bfd1807d/grafik.png)\
Simply enter the value into the appropriate text field and click +, -, / or *.\
![grafik](uploads/cf2e6d9288c2fef5b49310cc7c60a969/grafik.png)\
E.g. multiplying by -1 reverses the order of the selected keyframes, i.e. reverses the animation; multiplying by 2 stretches the animation over double the time, effectively slowing it down to half speed (interpolating between the frames), etc. Addition/Subtraction moves the key frames along the timeline.
## IV. Export the Edited Animation
1. Right-Click on the "Body"-Entry in the sequencer, select "Bake Animation Sequence" choose a location and save with default settings.
......@@ -46,5 +58,5 @@ While for most corrections the additive track should be used, the original anima
![grafik](uploads/02d46cb2144e7cd62e6ebb6f899a967f/grafik.png)
## Further Reading
- Here, using keyframes was not covered. For more info about keyframes, have a look at the UE documentation on [keyframes](https://docs.unrealengine.com/4.27/en-US/AnimatingObjects/Sequencer/Overview/Keyframing/) and the UE documentation linked below
- For more info about keyframes, have a look at the UE documentation on [keyframes](https://docs.unrealengine.com/4.27/en-US/AnimatingObjects/Sequencer/Overview/Keyframing/) and the UE documentation linked below
- The UE documentation on [Sequences for Control Rigs](https://docs.unrealengine.com/4.27/en-US/AnimatingObjects/SkeletalMeshAnimation/ControlRig/Sequences/)
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