Hi there! Well, for 3dsmax there''s cstudio to animate humans, and animals that walk on two legs, the other two hanging in the air... How would you animate animals that walk on four legs, ie. cows, dogs, cats etc., in a way that looks realistic ? Does a plug-in for 3dsmax (or trueSpace) exist, is there another way? Thanks in advance, - Unshaven

Try ::gasp:: DOING IT WITHOUT A PLUGIN!!! :screams are heard in backround::

Ok, seriously, take your cat, make a pulley that moves his catfood around in circles when you pull string. Video tape it, duplicate it in 3D. Its really simple if you have a mvie or refpics to look at.

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Hurry! We must stop the forces of evil!

WHAT FORCES OF EVIL?

quote: Original post by Thanos
Try ::gasp:: DOING IT WITHOUT A PLUGIN!!! :screams are heard in backround::

that was exactly what I didn''t want to hear

well, I''m no animation guru, maybe I''ll try out the video thing,
but I wouldn''t call it "simple"

one leg at a ime brotha!

quote: Original post by neonzero2
one leg at a ime brotha!

pffffffff... thanks for enlightment

Well, that''s actually pretty simple. Firstly you, of course, need to research the skeleton of the animal you need to animate, just look for pictures of it via google, then, create a biped, adjust it, and start. At the beginning it may seem hard, but, with the help of reference pics (like, packs of running goats etc), you will get used soon. And remember, always try going with minimal count of keyframes, or you will get a hell of a mess (when you''re done with the motion, you can add more keyframes for subtle stuff, of course). When you''re doing a walkcycle, make all the major motion with 5 keyframes, 8 keys for a run cycle, etc. If you always stick the niminal amount, you will probably be amazed, how easy everything goes. GL, hope i helped.

The life is given to a person to force him in understanding what life is given him for.

Here are some references that might help you out:

The main page
http://www.freetoon.com/prestonblair/intro/frame.html

The pages about four legged animals and walkcycles
http://www.freetoon.com/prestonblair/02-charactermov/pages/118.html

http://www.freetoon.com/prestonblair/02-charactermov/pages/120.html

A pretty simple technique : use 2 synchronized cstudio objects, one for the front legs, one for the back... You won''t get tremendous results, but it works. With some practice you can even make the animal jump.