Figure Setup - looking for tutorials
SpottedKitty
Posts: 7,232
Never tried this part of D|S before, and it looks like I'll need help from a Boy Scout with all the knot badges to get my brain wrapped around it.
I have the Lightwave model of the laser stun gun from Space: 1999 (the one that looks like it was bitten by a radioactive stapler) made by Roger Clow. The other day I realised the material zones were set up well enough I could convert it into a rigged figure so I could have a working Kill/Stun selector switch and a thumb trigger button that can be pressed.
Problem is, I have no idea how to do it. I checked the DAZ site tutorial pages — the first page of the Figure Setup tutorial gives me an "access denied" and asks for a password, the second page I can't quite follow after a certain point; I think the whole thing dates back to when rigging was done by four separate utilities that nearly but don't entirely work like the current Figure Setup pane.
I've got to the point of setting up three Face Groups in the unrigged prop for the Selector Switch, Trigger, and the rest of the mesh, and it imports like that into the Figure Setup pane, but that's where I get lost. My best result so far is creating a Figure with bones for the two switches, but none of the bones obey the Transforms parameters or move in any way.
Are there any basic rigging tutorials out there (that don't go into excruciating detail on how to set up the bone hierarchy for a dragon's tongue and tail) better than what's here on the DAZ (un)help pages?
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Here's a good starting point if you want pictures and videos to see the tools in action: How to Rig a Prop: Cabinet Doors. There are a couple of links to videos in there.
That's about as far as Figure Setup will get you. Your next step will be to add some weight mapping to the face groups associated with the bones. General Weight mapping is the easiest to set up, and you can change the mode with the Weight Map tool selected, on the Tool Settings page, Binding tab, Skinning section, Weight Mapping mode. (Figure Setup only seems to allow TriAx and Parametric weights). (Other settings, I guess, haven't really played with them: General Weight Mode: Linear, Scale Weight Mode: Binding, Normalize: Auto/Auto/Auto)
For each bone: on the Weight Map Tool settings page, add the General map from the list of unused maps (don't freak out if the item turns invisible, it is still there). (I like to select the bone in the Parameters tab so that I can leave the Tool Settings tab open in another pane). The maps will be basically 100% over the entire face group if they are rigid parts, so the fastest way to fill them, with the item selected in the scene, in the viewport right-click and select Weight Editing -> Fill by Bone Selection Group(s). Each face group should now have solid red highlight when the Weight Mapping Tool is active (select the General Weights in the list of maps for the bone), and the parts should move according to the sliders. (I suppose you could remove the Rotation maps, since they are used for the TriAx weight mapping, which is no longer needed).
Now it is just a matter of adjusting the slider limits, and locking and hiding the ones you don't want to be used. You could also do a little fine tuning on the rigging to get the switch rotating around the right point, maybe tilt the axis a bit to make it turn flush to the surface, or to get the trigger button to go straight in, instead of maybe crooked.
Done all that. But... I did say I needed very basic rigging tutorials...
Nope. No red highlight at all, just an orange highlight when I select the bone geometry.
The white bounding markers at the corners of the buttons move, but the actual buttons don't. There's something I'm not doing in the actual weight map area selection bit, and of course I don't know what it is. When you said "add the General Map" at the top of this quote, am I only supposed to click the "Add" button with the "General" type selected, or is there something else? I suspect that "something else" might be what's causing the lack of weight map highlighting.
I'm going to need precise instructions like "click <thisbutton> then <thatbutton>" instead of a more general "do <function>" because I'm just not wrapping my brain around this. It doesn't help that I don't have a very steady mouse hand, so any drag operations like the beginning setup in the Figure Setup dialog need a minute or so of clicky-clicky-clicky before things finally <clunk> into place.
Okay, so you have successfully added the General Weight maps to the bones? Just having them in the list of maps is the first step. The Fill by Bone Selection Group(s) fills the maps, in this case 100% everywhere.
Orange. Red. When you select a face group in the Geometry Editor, the mesh is covered with a dense yellowish-amber cross-hatch pattern. This selection will remain when going to the Weight Map Tool, and if the Weights are set, the red will show through, looking decidely orange-y. If you clear the geometry selection, it should be a vivid red colour, although, for this case, there really isn't any need to use the Geometry Editor other than to see which polygons are in each face group. Just selecting each bone in turn should show the red weight map. (Make sure that the Weight Display -> Draw Weighted Surfaces is checked. Right-click in viewport with Weight Mapping tool active, follow the context menu)
All you have to do is select the bone (Scene tab or Parameters tab, or wherever the bones show up) and add the General Map from the Weight Map tool setting panel. Repeat for each one. Once added, and filled, you need to select it in the list to have it show in the viewport. If you see the bounding box moving, at least the rigging is in place.
I'll work on some screen caps to show the steps. Might take a while, though. I was helping someone else figure out a weight mapping/control slider problem earlier, so I will use that as the example. It is a wardrobe with a door and a drawer, so, one rotating element and one translating element attached to a base frame. More to follow...
Is this what you mean? I've stripped out all the "bulge" entries that originally appeared in the list, because I only need the buttons to X- or Y-Translate.
After this, I try to fill the maps using either "Fill Selected" or "Fill by Bone Selection Group". At this point, a whole lot of nothing happens; no red highlight, no change to the maps list. Does this mean I glitched on creating the Face Groups in the first place? Maybe the bones aren't set up right?
Ah, I see something that might be not quite right. The bones for "Trigger1" and "Selector1" should be child bones under "Layer_0". Not sure what the protocol is, but all figures have a root node to which all other bones are attached, like on Genesis whatever, all bones are eventually attached to the hip through the skeleton's hierarchy.
You can re-arrange the hierarchy in Figure Setup by clicking on a bone in the right side, and dragging it onto a new parent bone. Both should be under "Layer_0" when you're done. Now, hit the Create button to generate a new figure (basically starting over, but it is probably quicker).
Or, you can re-parent the bones in the existing figure. Select the Joint Editor Tool, select the "Trigger1" bone, then in the viewport. Right-click and select Edit -> Re-Parent Bone. Select "Layer_0" in the "Select an Item" popup, and accept. Do the same for the "Selector1", also parenting it to "Layer_0".
This is the right-click menu to re-parent the bone. Next is how the hierarchy should look once you're done (no I do not have a copy of your work, just a little graphical copy/paste of your screenshot).
Okay, once the skeleton is properly arranged, we can proceed with the weight mapping. This is the hierarchy I will work with. It is similar to yours, it just has different names and roles, but is functionally the same, two moving parts attached to a base.
Select the figure in the scene. Change to the Weight Mapping Tool, and go to the Tool Settings tab pane. On the Binding tab, make sure the Weight Mapping Mode is set to "General". The default values for the other options should be okay.
Select the first bone in the hierarchy, "Layer_0" (mine is "Singlewardrobe"). In the bottom half, on the Weight Maps tab, you will see the selected bone. Next to Unused Maps, ensure that General is selected from the list, and click on Add Map. The General Weights map should now be listed down below. Repeat for the other two bones.
Make sure that you will be able to see any weight maps (on by default, I think, but best to verify) by right-clicking in the viewport and selecting "Weight Display" -> "Draw Weighted Surface". Leave "Show Children Weights" unchecked, or it will be confusing at this point.
Now to fill the weights. Right-click again and select Weight Editing -> Fill by Bone Selection Group(s). I haven't noticed a difference which part of the figure is selected when doing it. Probably because the Normalize Weight Maps are set to Auto by default.
When you select a bone, the associated face group should turn bright red in the viewport. Select each bone to verify that they have been weighted.
The final test is to try the controllers to see if the polygons move with the bones. Success?
Don't forget to "Save As -> Support Asset -> Figure/Prop Asset...", or "Save As -> Support Asset -> Save Modified Assets..." if it had been previously saved (instead of having to go through that save as Figure/Prop asset sequence again).
GOT IT!!!1!eleven!1!!
I finally realised what I was doing wrong — way back when I created the Face Groups in the prop object, I didn't realise at first I also had to apply the Face Groups. That's why I was never getting the "weight map red" colour showing when I tried to fill the maps. I also had to double-check at every stage that I was still working in General weight maps, not Tri-ax. Your hint that I should select the "General Weights" in the map list was the final step. Ten minutes to fix all the bone and parameter names and Iray-ify the materials, and that was it.
Many thanks for the help! I should be able to work on a bunch of other props lacking in the bone department now.
Excellent! I hear there's a lot of toilet seats out there that won't move.