Animation in 3D Studio MAX (Part 1)

A general approach to animation in 3D Studio MAX

You've probably seen a lot of beautiful animation made on a computer in a variety of graphics packages. For example, the cartoon "Shrek" or "Ice Age" or "Robots", etc.

Having mastered this section, you will be able to create their own motion of objects in 3D Studio MAX. This may be animation for computer games, cartoons, screen savers, illustrations, presentations, etc. Using 3D Studio MAX you will be able to handle any such challenge.

The basic principle of animation is fairly simple. It is used by nearly all programs associated with the creation of moving objects (such as 2D, and 3D). You specify different values ​​for the parameters of the object at different times.

You can animate almost any parameter: the object's position in space (X, Y, Z), rotation, scaling, object, etc. You can also animate the color of the material parameters and modifiers.

The principle of animation

The animation is based on the principle of human vision. If before the eyes of man are changing rapidly on one another still more similar images, a person has a sense of movement. Every single picture is called a frame (farme).

Figure 1. The sequence of frames. With their rapid change of an effect of moving dots.

The main difficulty in creating any animation - creating a huge number of frames. One minute animated film requires 720 to 1,800 individual images, depending on the quality of the animation. Creating images by hand - a very time-consuming work. So come to the aid of machinery key framing.
Its essence is as follows. Most of the frames in the animation - it is a slightly modified the previous frames. If you create only the principal, key personnel (key frame), in which there is a fundamental change in the position of the object, its shape, color, etc., can greatly accelerate the process of creating animation. In this case, those shots that need to be among the key (called tween), can be easily created with the help of simple calculations. Then all the key frame and tween dock and get ready animation.

Animation keys and their settings

The program includes 3D Studio MAX you create only the main frame (key frame). 3D Studio MAX itself calculates and creates something that should be between the keys, so that in the end we got a whole animation. This method of animation is based on the notion of <key>. In addition, 3D Studio MAX also has another way to animate objects - with the help of <path> or <on the path>.

The key - is a fixed value of a parameter at a given time. Basic animation keys - to move, rotate and resize. The keys are set in the right frame. They can be any number, but not more than number of frames.

change in the object
a key ------------------------------------------------ ----- key 2

Before you strip with the numbers of personnel and the slider Time Slider (time band).

Figure 2. Temporary band with spaced keys on her animation

Green squares opposite the frame numbers 0, 10, 23, 40, 55 - are the keys animation. In the frames of these numbers are subject to some change.
These changes may be, as mentioned above, very different: change the object's position, size, change materials, sound effects, etc.
The slider allows you to navigate between frames.

Methods for setting keys in 3D Studio MAX

A. Automatic

You go to a frame of animation, and include a special mode Auto Key (automatic placement of keys), change in any way an object (for example, move it). At the time the band have the key.

When you switch to automatic creation of key animation, the time the bar turns red.

Figure 3. Auto Key mode is enabled

In the Keys, which are located on the time zone, contains information on the status of an object in space (move, rotate), and change its size. All other keys can be seen in a special editor, key animation, which will be discussed later.

If the key is the first in the current animation for this parameter, the second key is automatically created in the zero frame to preserve the original values ​​of the parameter. So, if you press the Auto Key, select the object, drag the slider and the modified object - you will automatically receive two keys: in the frame where the slider, and the zero frame.

Figure 4. When you install the key in the 15th frame will automatically appear in the zero key frame.

Create a simple animation of a primitive object. "The falling cylinder."

A. Create a cylinder

. Figure 5. The object is ready for animation.

Two. Turn on Auto Key

Figure 6. Turn on Auto Key

Three. Move the slider, for example, the 20-th frame

Figure 7. The slider moved to the 20th frame.

4. Rotate the object using the Select and Move tool

Figure 8. Turn the cylinder.

Five. There will be two keys: the 20th and in the zero frame.

Figure 9. Automatically has 2 key animation, in which the recorded changes in the rotation parameter on the Y axis of the object Cylinder.

To start the animation and see what happened, click on Play.

Figure 10. Buttons play the animation.

Two. The alignment keys manually.

This method gives more control than the method Auto Key, because you have a chance to try out a new idea and then just give it up without destroying the work. When you like what you see, you click the big button or press the Set Keys <K> on the keyboard to set the key. If you do not, the keys will not be installed.

Figure 11. Enabled Set Key.

In order to increase the number of frames in the line (after the standard 100 frames - about 3 seconds), you must click on the Time Configuration

Figure 12. Location Time Configuration button

A dialog box appears.

Figure 13. Time Configuration dialog box

Consider the most used options.
Frame Rate - Frame rate. Here are three standards to choose from:
NTSC - 30 frames per second
PAL - 24 frames per second
Film - kinostandart, 24 frames per second
and Custom - any number of frames set by the user. The number of frames affects the speed of what is happening in the animation. For example, if an object permeschaetsya from one point to another for 90 shots at 30 frames per sekudnu, it will last for 2 seconds. If the frame rate - 24 c / s, the duration of the move will be almost 4 seconds. Now you understand how to create slow motion effects in the movies. The desired scene is recorded with high frame rates (eg, 120 instead of 24), and played with a standard speed of 24 frames per second.
But the window verenmsya Time Configuration.

The next section - Animation, animation.
Start Time - a frame that will be the first in a line of frames
End Time - a frame that will be the last in a line of frames
Length - the nominal number of frames in the scene. It is this parameter, we change if we want to increase or decrease the number of frames.
Frame Count - the actual number of frames in the scene (at a higher, since the beginning not the first, but with a zero)
After. as the necessary changes made, click OK.

Animated texture parameters

Now let's create an animation material which will be imposed on our Cylinder. Carefully look at the panel Material Editor (material editor) and find a group of parameters Blin Basic Parameters.

Figure 14. The group parameters Blinn Basic Parameters in the editor window materials

We find there is a parameter Diffuse ("Scattered"). On the other hand it is possible to see a rectangle, which defines the color of the material.

Figure 15. Diffuse parameter group Blinn Basic Parameters.

If you click it, you will arrive at a choice of color.

Figure 16. Window Color Selection: Diffuse Color - select color.

Now try to make the animation changes color. The principle of operation is the same as the previous animation, just by moving the sliderTime Slider, we will change the color of the object. Thus, the procedure is as follows:
A. In the material editor assign the material color.
Two. Turn on Auto Key
Three. Move the slider Time Slider in the last frame.
4. Change the color of the material.
Five. Assign a material object.
6. There are two keys: the first and last frames.

Figure 17. Assign the color of the material and turn Auto Key.

Figure 18. Move the slider to the last frame, change the color of the material, assign material object.

Note that the indicator color around the front of Diffuse a red frame. This box shows that the parameter is animated.

The result of any animation - video. That is, must provizualizirovat animated scene to a file. Just go to the familiar menus Rendering => Render.

Figure 19. Window Render.

Must select Files, which is located in Render Output. To do this you just have to scroll down the contents of the tab.

Figure 20. Section Render Output Window Render Scene

After clicking on the Files button opens a dialog box Render Output File, in which we ask the name and file format, which will be rendered. The format of video files among Windows - *. Avi. That's it, we choose in the list Save as Type.

Figure 21. Window Render Output File.

Once you click Save, a window will open AVI File Compression Setup - choose the method of video compression.

Figure 22. Window AVI File Compression Setup. The main point - the drop-down list of Compressor.

What is video compression, and what does it need? The fact that the video - this is a very large amount of information. After the video - this set of successive static pictures. The file size is obtained by a huge (average 1:00 uncompressed video resolution of about 780 * 576 - 20 gigabytes). In order to reduce this to an acceptable size, using a variety of programs (called codecs), which are due to more or less imperceptible deterioration in the quality of images reduces file size. Codecs are installed separately, as any other program, but a number of codecs built into Windows.

In the Compressor are all installed on your computer codecs. The best option - DivX. If it does not, of the standard codecs, we recommend that you Cinepak.

Then select the number of frames that need to be provizualizirovat. This operation is performed under Time Output.

Figure 23. Section Time Output tab Common. Option is active Active Time Segment.

Single - will be rendered one frame, one on which at present stood slider. The option we used when visualized by static images.
Active Time Segment - will be rendered all the frames of animation.
Range ... To ... - specify at what at what needed to render a frame. This option is used when needed provizualizirovat only part of the animation.

In our case, we need to choose Active Time Segment, as we need to provizualizirovat entire animation.

After the rendering process turns AVI file that plays a standard player, Media Player by Microsoft.