Please help me, as I'm beginning to get really nervous here.. Here's what's wrong: I created a model, added a skeleton, animated it, selected "select key shape" and added a number of shapes for the animation of facial features. Then I entered the animation mixer and once I added a shape the head "exploded" - in other words:lots of crossing polygons in all directions. I have tried with differences shapes, but the problem is always the same. It disappears once I delete the shape track. Please tell me, it's just a matter of pressing a button. I tested the shape keys before I added the skeleton and there were no problems. Perhaps I should also mention, that in the final model, I added the shape keys AFTER enveloping and animating my character. Is that a problem?
Thanx, Peter
P.s.There is a strange white vertex on the model/head that I can see even when the model is not selected. Someone at Softimage removed it for me some time ago, but now its back. I'm really starting to have a bad feeling about XSI.
I just tried moving one of the heads from the heads hierarchy into the same postition as the head on the animated model, and then I enveloped it to the skeleton. This made that (new) head explode as well - even without any shapeanimated. It was enough simply adding it to the skeleton.
"I created a model, added a skeleton, animated it, selected "select key shape" and added a number of shapes for the animation of facial features."
In your model's history the envelope operator should be in the top..Since you last created the shape keys i guess that the cluster shape combiner is at the top so simply drag the envelope operator at the top..maybe this could solve your problem..
"Perhaps I should also mention, that in the final model, I added the shape keys AFTER enveloping and animating my character. Is that a problem?"
I was trying to understand what do u mean with your "final model"..did u make any changes in topology on your final model compared to the "original " model u used for the shapes?I was trying to to figure out the steps u made so i made a simple example..tell me if u had the same workflow.. 1)create a cylinder 2)duplicate the cylinder for the reference shapes and deform them to the shapes u want.. 3)envelope the first cylinder with e.g 2 skeleton bones and animate the e.g effector 4)go to frame 1 select the enveloped cylinder and select save shape key or store shape key.. 5)create the rest shapes with "select shape key" and pick the other cylinders.. 6)drag the envelope operator on the top of the history on your enveloped cylinder.. 7)add the shapes on the animation mixer..everything should work fine.. I also tried the same thing with duplicating the model AFTER i had enveloped it..this gave me really weird results.. In case u worked like this then FREEZE your duplicates and everything will be ok.. I wish i could help u more...if u have time describe your steps, then it'll be easier for me or someone else to help u.
Thanx for the answer. I tried out what you suggested, but it didn't help, so I went for another approach. I pos. and dir. constrained a cube(A) to the head's root, took a copy of that cube( and made it a child of the former, and then I took a new head and parented it to that (last) cube(. Now, when I want to rotate the head, I animate ( and when I want to animate facial features I just add my shape keys as originally intended and it works perfectly. I even put a joint in one of my shape keys, so now I can animate the jaw that way.
Just thought I'd add to this thread another possible way to solve the problem.
When I ran into this problem, I was able to work round it by using an instantiated object. This is the basic way it works.
1) Create your final model (we'll call this model 1) 2) Instantiate the mesh (edit>instantiate single). call it "instmesh2". This allows us to be able to deform the the original model using shape keys (model 1) and then have it's shape propogate to this copy ("instmesh2) 3) This time envelope the skeleton to the instantiated mesh (instmesh2) not the original (model 1). Never freeze this mesh...not only will u lose the envelope, but the mesh will lose it's modelling relationship to the orinal. 4) Duplicate the original mesh depending on the amount of shape morphs u need, deform them to desired shape u want, freeze them, and this time when saving the key shapes make them relative to the orignal model..i.e. select model 1, then goto Deform>shape>select shape key.......and choose all the meshes that u want to use in deforming the original model.
what u should now have is an instantiated mesh whick is deformed by the skeleton it is enveloped to, and whose shape keys (face shapes, bulging muscles etc.etc.) is controlled by the original mesh...therefore we are keeping the envelope operator and the cluster shape combiner seperate, as they are on two different models.
Hope this makes sense, and I hope it works for you.
hi Another method which is ideal especially for facial animation(and not only) is to use splines or polygon masks with nulls(or implicit cubes) cluster costrained on them.. Then u add these nulls as bones on your model and instead of making multiple shapes for your model u make for the splines or polygon masks by transforming the points the nulls r constrained to. The advantage of this method is that since nulls act as bones u can adjust their weight influence on the model instead of direct manipulating points on your model. Especially with splines (and with masks too) u can draw them exactly the way facial muscles work having more control on the expressions u want to create... Of course this method needs some more ..work to be done but it works great especially with dense models and makes "lighter" scenes in my opinion.. For more info visit: www.edharriss.com/..there is a cool tutorial using splines for complex expressions.
and made it a child of the former, and then I took a new head and parented it to that (last) cube(