Joints

Patmals · Post by **Patmals** » Sat Sep 23, 2006 7:02 am

hmm..i am making my own example at the moment..

can you post your actual example? maybe myself or someone far more 'alert' can pick up what is going wrong for you..

wizaerd · Post by **wizaerd** » Sat Sep 23, 2006 7:16 am

Here's the project...

http://www.wizaerd.com/hold/Experiment.anme

Patmals · Post by **Patmals** » Sat Sep 23, 2006 7:27 am

Oh, i see...

hmm..i wasnt getting this problem before..

i will try and see why mate..

please be patient with me

Patmals · Post by **Patmals** » Sat Sep 23, 2006 7:30 am

If you choose "reparent bone" you will notice one bone is not connected?

I will be back a bit later
sorry

oops..totally wrong....

sorry man..i wll check it agian soon
gotta go to the cemetary now

heyvern · Post by **heyvern** » Sat Sep 23, 2006 8:15 am

You have to make two completely separate shapes one at a time.

The spline through the center of the arm... at the joint... is the key.

Using the create shape tool select one half of the "arm" shape... up to that joint spline.

Hit space... boom a shape.

Now, select the other half... hit space... a new shape is created.

There will be no overlap "gap" or hole. Now you have those two shapes that are independant of each other.

Having the spline through the joint isn't enough. You need two shapes.

EDIT:

Don't forget to use the "hide" tool to hide the stroke on the joint spline. Unless you don't have a stroke there.

-vern

Patmals · Post by **Patmals** » Sat Sep 23, 2006 9:42 am

Thanks Heyvern,

I was trying to sort it out..i knew someone far more knowledgeble (yourself

) would sort it out.

wizaerd · Post by **wizaerd** » Sat Sep 23, 2006 6:26 pm

As I tried to tell you Patmals, it has aboslutley nothing to do with the bones...

Thanks vern, again...

EDIT:

Oops, I replied a bit early... vern, please bear with me. How do you draw and create this shape? I drew two rectangles, (I have autofill turned on, I hate drawing a shape then having to create a shape out of it.) Each of them have an appropriate fill and outline.

Using the point tools I join the two ends (weld the points), so now I have a big rectangle with a line down the middle. I can still use the cumbersome "select shape" tool to still select each half of this big rectangle independantly.

Now however, when I attemot to use the Hide Edge tool on the middle line, it never hides.

Am I drawing my shapes incorrectly to begin with? How much more complicated is it than drawing two rectangles, and I can't even do that correctly...

heyvern · Post by **heyvern** » Sat Sep 23, 2006 7:27 pm

Don't use auto fill.
Don't connect two shapes

EDIT:

Slapped this together... it might make it clearer.

Draw an... arm let's say.

Don't worry about overlapping gaps etc. Just draw the arm. No fill, no shape.

You draw the continuous outline of the whole arm, bicep, forearem, hand (optional. I make hands sepearate shapes most times).

At the elbow joint. You should have one or more "matching" points on either side of the joint. Extra points on either side of the joint for smoother bending.

When the arm is "done" before you make it a filled shape... use the add point tool and connect each side of that joint with a spline. Make sure there is at least ONE extra point in the middle of that crossing spline at the joint.

You now have... "two shapes"... sort of. The arm is continuous... but now it is sort of... split into sections.

Now use the create shape tool and select just the bicep part of the arm. The arms points up to that extra cross section you put in.

Make a shape. Now select the forearm area. You will be selecting the same cross section points that are part of the bicep as well. Make a shape.

Use the hide tool and click on the joint cross section spline points to hide any strokes there.

You now have a perfectly "smooth" continous arm shape... that is actually two filled shapes. When they "overlap" at the elbow... you won't get gaps.

Now you just need to decide which one should be "on top". this depends on what looks right in a given situation.

-vern

wizaerd · Post by **wizaerd** » Sat Sep 23, 2006 7:40 pm

I am obviously too stupid to visualize what you're saying. I have tried to follow what you're saying, but it's not giving me the expected results. I create my outline, I add a middle spline, choose the create shape tool, and it selects the whole thing...

heyvern · Post by **heyvern** » Sat Sep 23, 2006 7:59 pm

I edited my post above with an animted gif.

Don't select the whole thing. Use the lasso and only select one half at a time.

-vern

Celeryhart · Post by **Celeryhart** » Sat Sep 23, 2006 8:10 pm

Whew... glad you said that heyvern.....cause I was going nuts... the lasso or selector tool whatever you call it... worked.. !!! I've been following along with this as I'm really wanting to learn it too.

As I said, I've been taking the moho classes.. and have found the tools awkward to use.. I made a little alien this morning.. which was not part of the class.. but I was dying to make little dance steps...LOL

Check it out.. it's far far far from perfect... but fun to make..

http://celeryhart.com/MohoClasses/week2a.htm

Celeryhart

wizaerd · Post by **wizaerd** » Sat Sep 23, 2006 8:13 pm

Ok, I see the difference... I think... Before you choose the create shape tool, you select the points of 1 half of the shape first, then choose create shape. I wasn't selecting any points prior to using the create shape tool...

Thanx vern, you've helped me out tremendously again...

I've also learned that after drawing the shape, if you use the Fill (paint bucket tool) it will only fill half the shape as well, which I suppose is similiar to selecting half the points then using the create shape tool...

wizaerd · Post by **wizaerd** » Sat Sep 23, 2006 8:15 pm

heyvern wrote: Now you just need to decide which one should be "on top". this depends on what looks right in a given situation.
-vern

One last thing if I may... How do you choose and slect which should be on top?

EDIT:
I think I answered my own question, by selecting the shape and using the "Lower SHape" and "Rasie SHape" tools, no?

heyvern · Post by **heyvern** » Sat Sep 23, 2006 8:16 pm

Sorry for the confusion...

I am using one of those... "universal selection" tools created by... 7feet? Or Fazek? I think it is Fazek's... <sigh>

Anyway... it makes doing stuff like selecting shapes, creating shapes, easier. I never have to click the "lasso" for the shape tool... I just click or drag to select. Click anywhere... on the edge of the line... the center of the shape... etc.

I have totally forgotten how the default tools work!

I can see how that one tiny little thing could make a huge difference. I took it for granted.

-vern

heyvern · Post by **heyvern** » Sat Sep 23, 2006 8:22 pm

wizaerd wrote:One last thing if I may... How do you choose and slect which should be on top?

Use the shape select tool.

Click on one of the shapes and either... use those "arrow" tools to change its order... or go to the draw menu and select "raise shape" or "raise shape to front".

Depending on how many shapes in your layer... you may need to fiddle a bit.

I usually grab the shape I want to be underneath, and raise it to the top. then select the other shape and raise it to the top.

I also have ANOTHER cool script... thingy... from Fazek... I'm sure it is Fazek... that adds a... viewable... layering... kind of... thing. When I click on a shape I can see what level it is at at all times in relation to other shapes.

I must... put... all these scripts... in a zip... and post it.... urrggh!

eFrontier could have made THAT the pro version... all those wicked cool scripts preinstalled... of course they are all freely available here on the forum in the scripting area.

-vern