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| Rigging
in LightWave — Modeler Setup |
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The
Legs
I go to the left leg next, and starting from
a selection around the foot, I use the View
> Selection > Expand option to select
the polygons up the leg until I reach the edge
of the hip where the leg joins to the body (and
the bone connects to the hip). I create a weightmap
called 'WM_LeftLeg'. I then hide the selected
polygons.
I repeat this again for the right leg, this time
creating a 'WM_RightLeg' weightmap. Note that
because the legs are quite close to each other,
its quite common for a small amount of cross-influence
to occasionally cause problems between the legs.
This is why it's a good idea to give each leg
its own weightmap.
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The
Body
With all the extremities now hidden away, I can
simply create my final weightmap for the remaining
polygons, called 'WM_Body'. After creating the
weightmap, I then unhide the character using View
> View > Unhide and save the now
finished object, ready for rigging in Layout.
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Handy
Weightmap tools in Modeler
If you want to see how your weightmaps all look,
then you can view up to four weightmaps simultaneously
using the Vertex Map panel (found under Windows
> Vertex Maps Panel). This panel is
a quick and easy way to select and edit weightmaps,
morphs and more.
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By holding down the CTRL
key, you can select up to four weightmaps simultaneously
and see them displayed in weightshade mode at
the same time (in glorious bright colour!) |
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Testing
basic deformations
Since LightWave 8, there have been a few new
tools added to the arsenal for character rigging.
One in particular that comes in quite handy is
the Setup > Skelegons > Rotate Skelegon.
This allows a skelegon and a weightmap to be
selected, then rotated to test the deformation
using a set of virtual rotation handles (the light
blue handles with HPB on the ends of them) or
numerically. Having this ability is a useful part
of workflow when working with weightmaps.
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NOTE : This can also
be done in Vertex Paint (Map > Colour >
Vertex Paint) to test weightmaps as well, for
those with previous versions of LightWave (and
LightWave 8), however Vertex paint does not display
the mesh in subdivision mode. |
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Now the character is both
rigged, and weightmapped, making it ready for
setup in Layout. Note that while you may have
created weightmaps in your model, you don't need
to use them if you don't wish to, so its not a
crime to add weightmaps 'just in case' even if
you don't plan on using them later on (you can
always delete them later anyway)
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Come back and join me in
part 2 of this tutorial where I'll run through
setting up the skelegons and rigging in the character
without the use of the weightmaps at all. This
tutorial will demonstrate some basic rigging principles,
as well as show how well LightWave bones work
without the need for weightmaps.
Until then...
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Kevin Phillips has freelanced,
taught and worked with LightWave for many years
His passion for 3D has enabled him to get his
fingers into literally every CG facet, from programming
to production. He's currently working in both
studio and classroom environments every week,
and facilitating NZLWUG meetings every month.
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| Copyright
© 2005 NewTek Europe |
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