| Q.01 | How does the converter work between 3D programs and Animanium? |
| A.01 | Animanium’s 3D platform utility works inside the 3D program and converts scenes for use in Animanium and also handles importing the character motion back into the 3D package. The utility is used to define a root node and the different joint types. This information is exported and ready for use in Animanium. After animating the character in Animanium the utility is used to open the timesheet with specific keyframe options. Top |
| Q.02 | I can’t make the exact pose I want. Are there any tips? |
| A.02 | A combination of IK and FK often works well. Remember that using Snaps will hold bones in place and act as anchors as you pull and rotate the body. Press Tab to switch between IK and FK mode. Top |
| Q.03 | Can Animanium make facial animation along with finger motion? |
| A.03 | If the fingers use bones, then yes, fingers can easily be animated. Animanium does not display a deformable mesh and instead uses geometry proxies to preview what the geometry will look like. Since most facial animation relies on deformable meshes this is best done in the 3D program. Top |
| Q.04 | Can Animanium import the camera information from 3D programs? |
| A.04 | Yes. Top |
| Q.05 | What does the rigging require for exporting to Animanium? |
| A.05 | To maximize the full IK power of Animanium, rigs should be built as a hierarchy of connected bones. This means no dummies or other nodes in-between bones. Please see “Mdl_man” for an example of the hierarchy and how to setup geometry and handles. Top |
| Q.06 | Is there an undo function in Animanium? |
| A.06 | Yes, Animanium has one level of Undo. Another technique is to roll the scroll-wheel to reset to the previous pose. Top |
| Q.07 | How can I animate multiple characters in Animanium? |
| A.07 | Backgrounds can be handled in two different ways. The first way is to simply export a scene from the 3D program as a Background using the Animanium utility. This exports geometry and the camera. The other method is to use another Animanium .ts file as a Background. This lets you see other Animanium characters while you animate the current one. Top |
| Q.08 | How can I handle backgrounds? |
| A.08 | Backgrounds can be handled in two different ways. The first way is to simply export a scene from the 3D program as a Background using the Animanium utility. This exports geometry and the camera. The other method is to use another Animanium .ts file as a Background. This lets you see other Animanium characters while you animate the current one. Top |
| Q.09 | Is there a graph editor function in Animanium? |
| A.09 | No. Top |
| Q.10 | Are there any constraint functions in Animanium? |
| A.10 | Animanium includes two types of constraints: Pose-Free Snap, and Pose-Lock Snap. Pose-Free Snap is used to pin a bone or handle in place so that it does not move, but it will still rotate. Pose-Lock Snap freezes a bone or handle in place so that it neither moves nor rotates. This also prevents that bones children from moving. Top |
| Q.11 | Is there a way to store poses? |
| A.11 | Yes – poses can be assigned to hotkeys in Animanium so they are easy to recall. Press Ctrl+ to set the pose and Alt+ to recall the pose. Top |
| Q.12 | Any lipsync? |
| A.12 | No, Animanium does not provide access to morph targets and does not display a deformable mesh in its viewport. Top |
| Q.13 | Any layer system? |
| A.13 | No, Animanium uses a pose-to-pose system that creates keys for the entire body at each keyframe. Top |
| Q.14 | How can I increase the display speed? |
| A.14 | One way to increase the responsiveness of Animanium is to use the “Hierarchical Lock” function on things like hands. This turns those bones green and removes them from the IK processing, making the system faster. Another way is to adjust the Scale to 10 and/or the Max Error to 0.00007. Change Scale back to 1 before saving and exporting. Lastly, of course, use an efficient mesh when creating Geometry. Top |