Help with Figure Setup tools

leroysquab

Please pardon my ignorance being very new to figure rigging but I see to be having trouble within the first couple of steps. I've built a figure in Hexagon and am attempting to rig it for posing in DS4. I had read a very good and succinct explanation by Richard H. detailing the matter but I'm not getting very far. I can import my geometry into Figure Setup tools, I can set up my bone heirarchy and get them properly oriented so they are set to twist, bend and move correctly but when I create the actual figure, only the 1st bone in the figure actually moves. I can see the bone outline moving correctly for the rest but the figure is not conforming to it. I tried checking out a youtube tute which seems to suggest a weld function not in my newer version. Any ideas?

Mattymanx

is any node of the skeleton named "body" ?

What part of the figure is considered the "Hip" and is the rest of the parts branched off of it?

leroysquab

Well, I was being brief in my description... actually I'm just trying to get the damned 2nd bone in the heirarchy to bend. Being overzealous, I initially attempted to rig my entire figure with over a hundred parts (though not all moving), never having done this before and actually went thru and set everything into a proper heirarchy with distinct individual names... not so easy because it's not a humanoid figure... and quickly realized I was in well over my head. I've included a picture. It's called a tachikoma. It's from the anime scifi series Ghost in the Shell, basically it's a small robo-tank based on a jumping spider. There is no hip however there is a central hub on the bottom but I digress because I'm just trying to grasp the basics here so I separated a leg and attempted rigging it however the rigged leg is only following the first bone (called upper leg).

Richard Haseltine

If your OBJ is grouped then you can try switching to the Weight Map brush Tool, right-clicking in the viewport and selecting Fille Weight by Selection Set(s). The problem is that at the moment the weight maps for your bones are all empty, so the bones have no effect - you need to assign maps to the rotation you want, then adjust the maps as needed; the command above is a quick way of getting that done approximately, as a basis for further refinement.

jestmart

For a mechanical device wouldn't Poser legacy rigging be a better option?

Richard Haseltine

Possibly, and I nearly suggested it. However you then get the geometry saved in the AutoConverted folder in Data, and the cene files are larger, so in that respect TriAx is better. It may be worth trying to create a legacy rig and then convert to TriAx as the set up would be a little easier - just select all nodes and in the Parametrs pane turn off the Bend button (not the bend slider, if there is one of that name) then set the joint centres.

leroysquab

Thank you Richard and Jestsmart for the very helpful suggestions. I tried using parametric (legacy) rigging rather than weighted and while there are bones that are bulging incorrectly, at least all of the bones are moving correctly. It looks as though you are correct, Richard about the lack of bone weight being the issue too. Although when using a tri-ax weighted rigging, I had selected various weight map options for different bones in the figure setup tools, once created, I tried using the weight brush on it and nothing. My figure doesn't even change over to the basic blue but rather remains grey with the brush having no effect.

leroysquab

I apologize if I'm not entirely following you on the 2nd post, Richard. Actually, turning off the bend button on all but one node is actually getting me the sort of rigging for the leg I wanted with parametric however while I could turn that off as well, I'm not following on how I would then convert it back to tri-ax

Richard Haseltine

Assuming it's a legacy figure, go to Edit>Figure>Rigging>Convert Figure to Weight Mapping... and select TriAx in the dialogue. I haven't tried this, so it might not work, but if it does you could then save the figure as an asset (File>Save as>Support Asset>Figure/Prop Asset) which would have advantages over the legacy rig when it comes to saving a scene.

As for the Weight map Brush, you need to assign and/or select the map you want to alter in the Tool Settings pane.

leroysquab

Thanks for those clarifications. Converting to tri-ax worked like a charm. Weight brush working correctly as well. Saving as a prop asset appears to remove the rigging however exporting as a collada file keeps it intact. File me under another happy satisfied customer. Problem solved. Thank you, again. Deepest appreciation for the help with this matter, Richard and Jestsmart. :)

Richard Haseltine

Figure/Prop Asset should save rigging on a TriAx figure - if it isn't please make a bug report (open a Zendesk ticket using the Help>Contact Us link at the top of this page and select Technical Support as the department).

leroysquab

Again, my apologies... as previously stated, I don't yet know what I'm doing with these new suggestions you're sending my way. I tried checking the metadata "set content as:" box using the actor/character setting and it preserved the rigging just fine.

Richard Haseltine

That's a relief :)

jestmart

If you still have the legacy Poser rigging version make sure joints Bend command is set to 0 to prevent the parts from distorting. This is why I feel legacy rigging is better for mechanical figures, no fiddling with weight mapping, just make the fall off area large enough to encapsulate the body part and switch off bending (which is poorly named, it implies the joint won't bend when it is about allowing the mesh to flex or bend).

leroysquab

Richard Haseltine said:

That's a relief :)
No worries, Richard. :)

If you still have the legacy Poser rigging version make sure joints Bend command is set to 0 to prevent the parts from distorting. This is why I feel legacy rigging is better for mechanical figures, no fiddling with weight mapping, just make the fall off area large enough to encapsulate the body part and switch off bending (which is poorly named, it implies the joint won't bend when it is about allowing the mesh to flex or bend).

Thanks, jestsmart. Yes, I definitely see advantages in legacy Poser rigging sans bend for mechanical objects although in this particular instance, the lower legs overlap the upper legs and need to be flexible enough to require a bend although the legs are the only instance within this model. It was very good advice you gave which really got me started down the right path. :)