Question Animation Question
- Thread starter kanyelord
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mastermike8800
Well-known member
Sounds like you need to explore parenting atoms and how that works. Something like that is VERY doable but everything takes a certain amount of time investment. Especially as you are learning. In time you'll understand how VAM animating works and you'll be able to throw together nice scenes much quicker.
I could explain how parenting atoms works but you won't understand it its benefits and limitations until you mess around with it. I'd like to suggest first getting familiar with AcidBubbles Timeline plugin first and foremost. That means reading all its included documentation as that program has a much more powerful system for parenting atoms to each other to make things move in tandem while also being able to animate them.
But to get you started on understanding atom parenting try opening a new scene with your two models. First position them in their t-pose with the control root atom to get them in approximate position to what you are trying to do. On the model you want to be held try disabling all the character's atoms except for the head. (To do this click on a green atom like the hands and where you see the position and rotation checks under ON turn them to both to OFF. Do this with every atom except for the head. Now with the model you want to do the carrying, try positioning one of their hand atoms to the head atom. Now select the head atom of the carried model. Above the area that has the check mark for the position and rotation you'll see a big square button that says 'select link from scene', click it, you'll now have to select the hand atom of the model doing the carrying from the scene. There are two options for almost every atom. 'Control' and 'Object' if you attach it to the control the atoms position and rotation will move relative to the atoms control node. Connecting it to the object connects it to the physical position of the atom. As you'll see both options have their advantages and disadvantages. Now when you move the carrying model's hand the entire body of the carried model moves with it.
This is totally just scratching the surface though and you'll need to make mistakes and apply various plugins to get around VAM's base limitations. Anything is possible with this engine so don't get frustrated. As I said, to start your animating journey you NEED acidbubble's timeline or you'll be wasting effort and time on base VAM functions that can't do the job nearly as well. You should never need to use Animation Pattern Atom for animating models. Best of luck, you'll get there eventually.
I could explain how parenting atoms works but you won't understand it its benefits and limitations until you mess around with it. I'd like to suggest first getting familiar with AcidBubbles Timeline plugin first and foremost. That means reading all its included documentation as that program has a much more powerful system for parenting atoms to each other to make things move in tandem while also being able to animate them.
But to get you started on understanding atom parenting try opening a new scene with your two models. First position them in their t-pose with the control root atom to get them in approximate position to what you are trying to do. On the model you want to be held try disabling all the character's atoms except for the head. (To do this click on a green atom like the hands and where you see the position and rotation checks under ON turn them to both to OFF. Do this with every atom except for the head. Now with the model you want to do the carrying, try positioning one of their hand atoms to the head atom. Now select the head atom of the carried model. Above the area that has the check mark for the position and rotation you'll see a big square button that says 'select link from scene', click it, you'll now have to select the hand atom of the model doing the carrying from the scene. There are two options for almost every atom. 'Control' and 'Object' if you attach it to the control the atoms position and rotation will move relative to the atoms control node. Connecting it to the object connects it to the physical position of the atom. As you'll see both options have their advantages and disadvantages. Now when you move the carrying model's hand the entire body of the carried model moves with it.
This is totally just scratching the surface though and you'll need to make mistakes and apply various plugins to get around VAM's base limitations. Anything is possible with this engine so don't get frustrated. As I said, to start your animating journey you NEED acidbubble's timeline or you'll be wasting effort and time on base VAM functions that can't do the job nearly as well. You should never need to use Animation Pattern Atom for animating models. Best of luck, you'll get there eventually.
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