CgTalk Maxscript Challenge 023: “BACK TO BASICS: Simple Rig Generator”
DESCRIPTION: Create an automated setup for a simple bone rig, be it character-based, vehicle, creatures, etc. One suggestion would be to automate the IK leg rig tutorial that ships with 3ds Max.
Advanced users can try more complexity if they like, or take the rig further by adding a UI or attempting autoskinning etc if they’re game.
DEADLINE: 07/6/2009
RULES:
[ul]
[li]Do NOT post your code until the deadline![/li][li]Code from scratch. Try not to use pre-exisitng functions or plugins.[/li][li]Show your script references, if any (eg. Looking at another script to assist you).[/li][li]You are encouraged to ask for help where needed, but try to do it on your own. The maxscript reference is an invaluable resource.[/li][li]Post your final script inside [/li]“`
tags (located on your posting toolbar).
[li]Post all code into THIS thread.[/li][li]Post the max version you coded in, plus any maxscript extensions you used.[/li][li]Try to finish the challenge in the proscribed time. There is no definite time limit.[/li][/ul]NOTES: Apologies for the delay… I moved to the UK from Australia and had some computer issues.
Please feel free to request the types of challenges you would like more of in the suggestions thread (BASICS, particles, python etc).
No interest, no time?
Any feedback? What do you want out of the challenges? Variety? Simpler? Complex? Puzzles rather than projects?
What works for you?
Hi Martin,
I haven’t been involved for a long time due to time! please keep up the good work though.
J.
No knowledge of animation/rigging in my case…
No time for me mostly… :hmm:
Work, family etc…
-Johan
Time does seem to be the major factor and I can certainly appreciate that!
To help with the time dilemma I am going to try a series of smaller MAXScript puzzles alongside the normal challenges, similar to Project Euler, so that when you have time to do them you can just tinker at one with no set deadline.
They will be focused around solving one specific problem each but could allow for novel solutions, including integration with Python and .NET, which is becoming more and more common in scripting solutions. I will try to make them varying difficulties.
Does that sound like something you can sink your teeth into?
@MarcoBrunetta: This is one of the reasons the challenges exist! If you have no knowledge of an area in MAXScript the best place to start is by trying it out.
I agree, but I didn’t mean I don’t know about that in maxscript, I meant that I don’t know about rigging in 3d studio…period…
Can’t think in 4 dimensions…
The short puzzles sound like a cool idea, specially if the result are code snippets that can be reused.
No time for me as well, already got a script project going on which needs all of my time
Also I don’t know much about rigging, but like you said erilaz, that should be a motivation instead of a limitation.
I think the issue is to have neither big projects nor frivolous math questions to solve, but rather problems to everyday issues that animators/rigger/modellers and artist have.
This not only reinforces the importance of a scripting knowledge but also opens up massive potential in a DDC program.
Now these problems cant be massive i.e build a automatic rigging system because that alone to build a framework is a long long time. More a case of e.g How can an animator work with a hi-res skinned model? (mesh reduction, auto-skinning, mesh-chopping etc)
How to find missing seams/faces/edges in a skinned model?
How to package all the materials in the scene into one file?
Automatically adjust the UV space to use the most efficient use of unwrapping?
etc, etc… I.e max’s How-To’s…
I.e problems to common issues, and potentially directed more at newcomers to maxscript rather than seasoned pro’s. A 10 second club for new tech people if you will – ‘the 10 day club’ or something. Even example assets could be given out with common problems that need to be solve.
How to auto-generate a lodded skin model?
Also a lot of us are bound to NDA’s which can potentially make it hard to post code. This is why i’d aim it more at people outside of the industry than in it.
charles
You make great points Charles, and I agree. It certainly wasn’t going to be frivolous maths problems like Euler, but very specific TA-related ones that might actually be useful. Your input would be most welcome!
not sure how this one went over, but the first place hwere you might want to start is to have a challenge to write a script that will convert splines into bones, much like the script in the Maya 8 at a glance book does. Where it derives the rotation and orientation based on the path of the spline. And uses a bone for each CV in the chain.