I drag the characters on to their respective pink & blue dummy.  NEXT STEP:  "Click the Play button and the characters will play interactive motions".  NO nothing happens.

So I drag the animation motions to each character, press play, and they wander off doing their own thing not interacting at all.  HELP!!

I also need to know where to find the folders for Alleys 4 bonus outfits?

Thanks.

It's pretty easy but just takes trying it a few times.  I messed up too at first.:w00t:

Just start with a blank project - drag one of the position dummies to the scene.  Then drag the male to the male position and the female to the female position.  Then press play - you should not have to drag the motions to the character.  I am referring to the lovers motions.  I haven't played much with the other grouping yet.

The key is to put the position mat down before adding the character to your project (at least I think so, not positive) but that seems to work.   Okay, I've just tried this a few times, and you need to put the position mat down first, then add the characters by dragging them carefully to the correct position.  When they are in the right position, when you release them with your mouse, they are in the starting position of the action, rather than standing stiffly, so you can tell you have hit the right spot.

Sometimes you might have to tweak a motion with a couple of keyframes, but it is fairly easy to do - mostly if there is a height discrepancy between two characters.  I see the the family motions, they have separate "hugs" for adult and child, however, I was able to use a child with the adult by adding two keyframes.

As for bonus textures, a good place to look would be (but I don't know) in your iMaterials Library for default content.  Or was there a separate download link for these?

As Charles pointed out, there are unanswered questions and things are not completely obvious.  The basic principle is straightforward, but avoiding body parts getting in each others way will be a challenge.  And, how to use these at the end of a scene for example?

Alley,

it was a separate download and it was an exe install file.  I can find the faces & hair, but nothing in materials folder or sub folders for the clothes.

EDIT: There was a bonus motion exe file, but not a bonus texture exe file

BTW, the way it usually works for charcater textures is that you either find the textures applied to a separate character (which seems to be the case here, judging from the website) or as separate uppers, lowers, and shoes.

"zuijlen" is part of my last name which is "Van Zuijlen," which is Dutch, but I have lived in the US for almost 17 years. 

I used to frequent the Anime Studio forum a while ago but I haven't been there recently. I also have not touched the program in a long time.

I have lived long enough to know there is a difference between marketing and reality...  The motions are very nice indeed and tweaking is part of the game...

Scene/project 1 with characters prior to interaction.

Scene/project 2 with characters interacting with dummy.

Since both scenes contain the same footage on the timeline up to the interaction point, for scene 2 I slid the "Mark in" starting point on the Play bar to the point just before the interaction was to start. (Because I don’t need the beginning part of my project, just the end). At this point I add the "dummies" then the actors and I should have the ending scene to my movie. NO.

The Terms of Endearment for Lovers seems to ONLY work AT THE BEGINNING OF A PROJECT ONLY!!!

Since ic4 currently has no way to delete the beginning section of a project, the only way I see to make an ending shot is to recreate the entire set and scene in the same positions that they are in the end of the movie. How convenient!

Does anyone have any solutions? Reallusion please feel free to come out of hiding. This post has been sent to "customer support"..

The problem is you have to recreate everything and start your ending scene at the beginning of a new project, not at the end of a current project.

These are:

Bonus_Texture_Terms_Of_Endearment_Family_And_Friends.exe

Texture_Terms_Of_Endearment_Lovers.exe

Once installed you will find them in the following location.

Reallusion\Template\iClone 4 Template\iClone Template\Materials Lib\Terms of Endearment

HINT: After you install Reallusion content packs a Readme file will open up and tell you where the content has been installed. It is certainly worth making a note of the location in case of difficulties later.

Please post iClone questions in the iClone forum rather than the Reallusion - General forum. I don't like to move threads but this is for non product related discussion. Thank you.

What if at the end of the current running position, where you want this new action to start...you Add Camera.  The new camera will be in whatever position you were at at end of last scene if you are at the end of the scene with your scrubber.  Now I think you can remove the markers and go back to beginning position and the camera will be in the same position.  Possibly I am missing something here so I apologize if I am.

Also, I was just playing around, but if you want these motions to work mid-scene, you can also apply them without the personna markers.  You are right in that with the markers, the animation wants to start at the beginning. 

Thanks Peter,  I have both essential man & woman as well as both endearment packs, can you tell me what "base character" I need to start with for each of the bonus characters?

For example:

Elderly Woman material files should be labelled as follows:

Violet_Overcoat_Upper_Blue_iMtl - this would mean it uses the Overcoat base from Overcoat and Bootcut for the upper.

Violet_Sheath_Lower_Blue.iMtl - this would mean it uses the Sheath lower from Slim and Sheath.

Thanks Alley,

Just to update you; I'm done with the video and will post it soon.  I just re-created the ending set and re-shot with the love motion, in the beginning.  The camera was never an issue.   What do you mean about:   " if you want these motions to work mid-scene, you can also apply them without the personna markers."  Are the pink & blue dummies the personna markers?   RL sent me an email today saying it will be a week before they can get back to me with a solution.  I guess they see my name and stick my at the bottom of the pile.;)

Hi Charles,

Fear not. The delay is down to the Chinese New Year holidays and nothing do with you personally. ;)

sorry, what I meant was that the motions are all in your motion directory and can be applied just like any other motion mid-timeline...you probably knew this...but then the trick is to position the actors correctly so they intereact properly.  But I suppose that was a dumb comment :doze: because if you are using these after other motions mid-timeline, I imagine setting them up to interact properly would be pretty difficult.

To recreate the character you want, you load this character, replace the head and add hair.  

Then, you go to Upper and click Load Material. The Material Library will open and there should be a subdirectory called Terms of Endearment with further subdirectories for each pack and then for each character.  Load the appropriate material and do the same for Lower and Shoes.  (I had some trouble finding the right shoes for the woman.) Add accessories, such as glasses.

Here is a scene with recreated Husband and Wife characters. No endearment yet...

EDIT: IMPORTANT, it seems that I used the wrong CloneCloth Lower for the Husband's pants, that's why you see the small gray patch. There is nothing wrong with Alley's textures, but you knew that didn't you? :D

I'm not sure if I did more steps than necessary, so tell me if I did.  I started with a fully dressed Trey or Violet that best fit the description.  Then I loaded the clonecloth per the material description.  Then I loaded the material.

BTW, in picture above, the casual pant was applied to Fit Pant by mistake - that is why there are splits in the seam.

The clone cloth uppers and lowers in G3 are all designed to mix and match.  However, the clonecloth comes in pre - matched sets.  i.e. Shirt Upper Male comes with Fit Lower Male.  The difficult or challenge happens when you want to put the upper from one set together with the lower of another.  If you load the clone cloth character called "Shirt and Fit".  It is simple to apply the iMaterial to the Shirt, but how do you get a different cloth base on the lower because the base cloth models are not supplied separated like that.]

This is why I did the tutorial on Organizing your Clone Cloth.  So you could go through a lengthy exercise, one time only, so that in future it will be simple to combine any upper with any lower without a lot of work.

I'm glad you like the characters.  I really took a lot of care with them, even adding wrinkles to the elderly hands and necks.  Hopefully you can manage the suggested body parameter changes that I included for the little girl, the teens and the elderly woman.

I did the "Organizing your Clone Cloth" --- that is a big help to have done and available.

Where do I find "the suggested body parameter changes that I included for the little girl, the teens and the elderly woman"  this is news to me.   Thanks.  PS if you get a chance check out my finished video in the showcase thread.

I will go watch your video now. :)

For my inital attempt I had used Casual B for both Upper and Lower of the Husband; I needed to change the Lower to Casual A. It looks fine now:

At first my results were, to say the least, different - an older woman wearing only a skirt, lower arm slieves and a collar.:w00t:

I'll be trying the motions this week-end, so the information posted here should be a great help.

Alley,

Could you send me the readmes please.

Thanks for the read-me adjustment files.  These do add alot more to each of them.  I started with the characters I already dressed and saved, then I made the adjustments and saved them with a new name.  Now I have even more characters in my available cast of thousands.  Want to also thank you for the free 3G denim & top combo on your web site, she is rockin'. 

A tip for those slow like me to catch on:  After I did the adjustments for the first character........I noticed on the second character that there is a "Mirror" box to check for parts like hands.  :hehe:

Wires - sent email to you with readme's. :)