I''m studying about character motion for this vacation. Really impressed by poser and bipad(3d max) I cannot but start this hard journey. I want to make a motioning program. And all the questionn below is about programming Not about poser tutorial. First question, What kind of motion technique used in poser and bipad? I slightly know about Inverse Kinematics but, I think there are more than that. When I put down poser chacter to the floor, they bent their knee properly. I think there are prefered angle. elbow usually bented inner direction so they dont seem to be broken. Second question is ''How can i set Angle limitation''. I dont want motion charater seem to be crumpled by artist''s mistake. Third question is How can I make motion more Realistic. When I set two steal motion, How Can I interpolate the Two motion more Life-like, more Muscle-powered-like. All the answer can be replace by One recomandation(or more) of book. I like in South Korea. So I can''t pre-read professional book in Bookstore. Because their are so limited range of books are imported. Please Recommand a Precise book for me. What can be a jewel for me. If I know the name of good books, I can import the books. little Note can be can be really Lot help for novice. Thanks.

i''m not sure if you want to learn how to use 3dsmax, or whether you want to learn how to program your own animation code....

but if you are looking to program your own code (or learn what goes on inside of 3dsmax) i would recommend "Computer Animation Algorithms and Techniques" by "Rick Parent"... isbn 1-55860-579-7. It covers all the math and theory behind inverse kinematics, quartinions, higher-level interpolation, soft-body models, etc...a very well rounded book on advanced computer animation theory. Check it out on amazon.com; sometimes they let you read excerpts from the book before you buy it.

-duck

Thanks^^ I found that book in a bookstore. It is published in our country(licensing with original publisher). And It(hard cover edition) cost just 25$.(one third price)
Thanks for recommandation. It may really helps.

[edited by - kiplring on January 10, 2003 9:41:21 AM]

3ds max and (probably) poser both support inverse kinematics (IK) to help develop keyframed character animations. I believe the most robust solver for IK is the cyclic coordinate descent (CCD) technique.

3ds max (and maybe poser) also support the input of motion capture (mocap) data, and it is possible to purchase mocap data if you have the money. The character studio add-on to 3ds max (biped is part of character studio) does ship with some sample mocap data. The mocap data directly manipulates the bones rather than using IK to calculate bone positions. Given mocap data, you could use IK to "retarget" a bone to a new location. For example, with this mixed mocap/IK approach, you could have your character doing a silly little dance that would be very difficult to hand animate using keyframes, then retarget one hand and arm to wave at somebody passing by. Basically, it is possible blend the mocap animation with an IK animation to create a new animation.

The character Gollum in the recent movie Lord of the Rings The Two Towers was primarily mocap.

Graham Rhodes
Senior Scientist
Applied Research Associates, Inc.