After years of prevarication and slipping back to Muvizu I am determined to actually start making something in Iclone but the main thing that always holds me back is not knowing where to start with body animation.

There are so many tools available but which ones do people actually use and in which order. I appreciate that it might be "horses for courses" and that different methods will be employed in different situations but I am looking for some general principles.

I would be very grateful if any of the more experienced animators could say how they would approach a particular task. I think it would be useful information for the community as a whole if there were some "best practices"

Thank you

There are very many Template Animations included with the Program.

Start by experimenting with the Templates in the Left-hand side in my Screenshot. Go down the list, trying them all, with just one Character in the Viewport. Eg; Chuck.

Those Templates can be Broken & Deleted in the Timeline, to keep part of an Animation. I think Warlord has a separate Video Tutorial re; how to do that.

Produce a simple Project, using just eg; Chuck & Gwynn, interacting with each other.

When you're comfortable with that, Apply the Motions in the Right-hand side of my Screenshot to Chuck & Gwynn, in the same Project.

If you do it very slowly stage by stage over a few weeks (Depending upon your spare time), you'll remember how to do it.

In short; - Start with very basic Character Animation & then slowly add embellishments.

Tip - Always start with Grid showing & in the correct perspective, as per my Screenshot. (Ctrl +G & then F, Keys). That allows you to add a Terrain & Sky. Add that Preview Camera View as Camera 1 & then lock it.

That's all you need for your simple starter Project. Post Screenshots & ask questions, as you do it.

Anyone-else? 

Screenshot:

But I guess what I am after as well is say you wanted an old man sitting on a bench eating sandwiches. What order would you animate in?

Would you start with a custom motion or use the body puppet?

Would you then  use the Edit Motion Layer or Modify Animation?

If there is a general order that the masters like you and Colour work in it would be good to know!

Thank you

By the way I have replied to your character generator query in the other post!

But I guess what I am after as well is say you wanted an old man sitting on a bench eating sandwiches. What order would you animate in?

Would you start with a custom motion or use the body puppet?

Would you then  use the Edit Motion Layer or Modify Animation?

If there is a general order that the masters like you and Colour work in it would be good to know!

Thank you"

Mark's the Master. I'm the Pupil ;)

What Mark said ;)

1) iC5 has seated Pose & Motion Templates. You could also use "Sit Here" AML Template.

2) I think there's a sandwich Market place Prop. If not, Google warehouse. Or make one, using 3D Blocks Templates.. Link/Attach that to the Character's right hand.

3) Use Edit Motion Layer for the Hand Motion. Facial Animation, for chewing .

etc.

Tip - I recently posted a request for help re; a Shovelling Motion, using Reach Target. Many chipped-in. Mark & Igor Posted video Tutorials.:)

The upshot was that we all practised a shovelling Motion beforehand. So - Putting yourself in the frame & acting-out a Motion (Miming) beforehand, helps in getting a Character's body parts Moving/Rotating in the correct orientation.. That's basically what you do with Motion Capture.

In general, I use a mix of clips, motion puppet, and key-framing, which are all valid methods. And, even though I have been at iClone since 2006 (!), I'm still learning every day...:unsure: 

When using existing motion clips, there may be parts you don't like or want to separate. A very useful option is then to "break" the clip in the timeline. Put the timeline cursor at the desired point on the clip, right-click, and select Break. To the right you will have the second part of the clip that you can now move about.

This is particular helpful with talking motion clips. While somebody is talking they may move their hands about. However, once they stop talking the hands come to rest as well, so that is where you would break the clip. You can then move the clip to the point where they start talking again. In the interim you would have some filling motion, such as them nodding their head.

Remember also that you can change the timing of clips and clip segments by dragging the right side of the clip to the right to lengthen and to the left to shorten the duration.

In dialog, I try to match the movement of the hands with the dialog. For example, if there is emphasis in the speech it is matched by the hands. I've seen clips where there is movement but the timing doesn't match the dialog and it just looks odd. So motion clips are a great start, but they do need customizing.

Another helpful use of the break is to remove the beginning of a walk (produced by right-clicking a character and selecting Move Forward), where the character starts up, which always looks kind of cumbersome. 

And don't forget the camera! The camera is your friend in masking less than perfect elements of your animation. Also, if there is an unfortunate motion transition, just have the camera look somewhere else! :w00t:

It is good to ask questions, because they often lead to technical discussions where people share their expertise. We recently had that with "Reach Target", for example, which is a way to have a character interact with objects in a controlled way.

And maybe, if you're lucky, Mark will whip one of his "whacky" tuts together! :cool:

Great tip about breaking up clips to isolate the part you want.

Thank you all

Mick