Mannequin Used To Manipulate 3D Models

Really wanted an easy way to put potion data into my 3D models.

I'm strongly considering getting a kinect and doing the poses myself. Which records a lot of data and does need a lot of cleaning up afterwards. I'm not even sure exactly how accurate it is.

Or this one, which seems to be a lot more accurate. You only have to pose it for the keyframes and let the software do the inbetweens. The price's out of my range tho.
 
Intiguing, but with the 750 USD approximate pricetag (and the continued strength of the yen vs USD), a pricey option with only fairly limited (at this point) application.

As previously stated, if the developers can allow non-humanoid configurations ie. some sort of kit with reassembly capability OR allow intelligent manipulation in software (applying certain modifiers to the motion/pose vis a vis distances/dimensions), this could be a cool introductory tool to get young minds engaged in sciences (in development) and digital arts (in application).

Maybe with some time we'll see the price come down and these could really take off. I mean, as much as I love certain-games-which-shall-not-be-not-named-for-the-protection-of-innocents, there is a limit to how many times I will accept the wrist twisting wave-off as dismissal. ;)
 
Most animation are humanoids, so it should cover the majority of character animations anyway. Tho the ability to interchange parts (Wings and tails) would be nice.

This is what i was referring to when i mentioned kinect

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8Q3fx9P9fY

There's a lot of filtering and editing involved to make the motion data smooth. The doll may be a good clean source if you're used to doing stop motion or animations that are physically impossible for you. Still a bit on the expensive side for a hobbyist ($700+ ouch)
 
Was announced almost a year ago now. Still have to wait till this winter to get one. I know the animation classes where I work want one of these things.
 
How is the technology used in making jurassic park back in 1993 cutting edge?
 
I would say motion capture from a real person would be better except that the Japanese are probably thinking about using this tech to manipulate the 3D model into positions most real humans are not capable of.
 
raz-0 said:
How is the technology used in making jurassic park back in 1993 cutting edge?
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Because it is called power animator and it is still be used under a new version it is called MAYA. a combo of old unix power animator and new code.


Nintendo has been using this since donkey kong country as there standard 3d model making package in all there dev kits since 1994.
 
JUSTJOEL73 said:
I would say motion capture from a real person would be better except that the Japanese are probably thinking about using this tech to manipulate the 3D model into positions most real humans are not capable of.
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Well, those things do cost quite a bit for in house ($20,000 all the way up to $80,000), hiring an independent is about $10 per second of motion data, renting equipment is about $800 a day.

I'd imagine the turn around time for the doll is rather short since it's right there on your desk. May not be as smooth as motion tracking, but still better than manually twisting the joints with a mouse.

Of course, you can still go homebrew and get a kinect.


My interest in this is from when i tried my hand at animation a few years ago

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97oDywI1x70

My first (and last) serious attempt at animation, prior to that i was just doing bouncing balls and shoeboxes. 3D Modeling turned out to be dead easy, fifteen minutes into the tutorial and you can make *ANYTHING*. It's the skeleton that will kill you. I've got a few more ideas for videos, but i am NOT looking forward to going through that again. Maybe i'll give it another go if i can find a cheap way to animate the skeleton. I've got my eye on getting a kinect, but a doll will work too if they can get the price down.
 
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