KNOCK HIS BLOCK OFF

By Jim Armstrong
Contributing Writer

Cartoon-style character animation involves more than just toon shading. Characters often have
exaggerated features and motions. Many exaggerations do not seem to fit the structure imposed by
Character Studio Bipeds. Biped structure and dynamics, although flexible, are based upon realistic
humanoid motion. This tutorial illustrates how to combine Physique with other MAX modifiers to bend
(and in some cases break) that reality.

3DS MAX 4.2™ and Character Studio 3™ are used for this tutorial. An intermediate-level understanding
of MAX is required. You should understand the basics of working with Character Studio, including how to
create/modify Bipeds and use facilities in the Motion panel to set keys. You should understand the basics
of the Physique modifier.

Important terms and MAX interface elements are highlighted in bold type.

Introduction

One of the hottest animations in the Flash industry (at the time of writing) is
the Stickman fighting movies by XiaoXiao. The fast motion and slapstick
action is both entertaining and comical. The original movies were drawn by
hand, frame-by-frame, with light tweening applied in Flash. The latest
versions (installment #8 is the most current at time of writing) employ a
mixture of rendered 3D objects and hand-drawn stick-figure characters.

As a martial arts action fan, I decided to take this concept to the next logical
level -- 3D sets AND 3D characters. Although a 3D stick-figure character
presents no modeling challenge, the style of animation involves some
exaggerations outside the normal application of Character Studio.

Cartoons often exaggerate reality to extreme levels in an attempt to generate

maximum humor from the animation. Characters flex muscles that are ten
times larger than normal proportions or have limbs stretch to highly
unrealistic limits. Eyes will bulge to twice the size of the head. Of course,
we all get a good laugh out of these situations -- that is the purpose of the
effect.
3D Stickman
The 3D Stickman character is introduced in the context of a short fight
sequence. In the middle of the screen, 3D Stickman is rushed by two other
fighters, one from each side. The fighter to his right has a lead pipe in hand
and is met with a solid right side kick. As soon as 3D Stickman pulls out of
the side kick, he rapidly turns to execute a right spin kick to the head of the
fighter approaching from the other side. In the process, he knocks the
fighter's head off into the air. The head goes one direction while the body
click to enlarge spins down to the ground. 3D Stickman bobbles the head in the air, then
catches and balances it in his right hand.

This tutorial deconstructs the latter part of the animation. The application of
Physique to the simple stick character is discussed. The character is rigged
with animation in mind. Two approaches are discussed to rigging the
character's arms, one of which produces natural squash at the joints, to
enhance the cartoon effect.

The 3D Stickman character is extremely basic, comprised of a collection of

boxes. For animation purposes, each limb is a separate object. The box
representing the torso has a large number of height segments. This was done
to allow for some modest bending and twisting during animation.

The head is a box instead of a sphere for technical reasons related to file size
in Flash. These are discussed in the popup associated with the adjacent
thumbnail image.

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© 2002 Platinum Pictures Multimedia, Inc.

Introducing 3D Stickman close

Well, this guy won't be winning any character modeling awards :) The head is modeled as a box since that object renders to .SWF format with fewer edges. A
perspective view of a sphere renders as a circle that requires more 'curves' in Flash to represent than a box. The difference in file size is small, but at 18fps
over the course of a several-minute animation, it really adds up. Since the animation is destined to be web-based, anything that can be reasonably done to
reduce file size is helpful.

The torso box has a higher poly count so that the Biped Spine links can be used to bend and twist this bodypart.
 KNOCK HIS BLOCK OFF
By Jim Armstrong
Contributing Writer

Physique Part I

At first, it seems that the discussion of the Physique modifier for such a simple character is a waste of
time. For beginners, going through this exercise provides a fully articulated character that can be used to
test the application of mocap and .BIP motion files, motion flow editing, and other advanced Character
Studio features without the tedium of rigging more complex characters.

We will also see how to exploit limb disparity in the character vs. the rig to enhance the comic appearance
of the character.

To begin, a Biped was created that matched the height of the character. The following Structure settings
were used:

Neck Links: 1
Spine Links: 4
Leg Links: 3
Ponytail 1 Links: 0
Ponytail 2 Links: 0
Fingers: 1
Finger Links: 1
Toes: 1
Toe Links: 1

Four Spine Links were used to apply bending and twisting to the torso geometry. While part of the
character appears very rigid, the torso section can exhibit some element of flexibility. This apparent
contradiction can be used to enhance the cartoonish behavior of the character.

Finger and Toe links were added to allow for minor motion at the hand/foot extremities. If you do not
wish to add such capability, the Biped could be created with no fingers/toes and no finger/toe links.

This character is comprised of fourteen independent bodyparts -- a head, two segments per arm, two
hands, a torso, two segments per leg, and two feet.

It is tempting to select all the boxes, then apply Physique in one step. This can cause problems in
envelope settings at a later point. It's similar to applying Physique to a group. We don't want to group the
objects into a 'single' character. Instead, each object is to be independently controlled with no linking or
influence from any of the other body objects.

The collection of boxes is held together in a form representing a character by applying Physique to each
box and initializing the modifier with the same Biped.

Physique Part II

Each box representing a bodypart was individually selected. The Physique

modifier was applied, using the same Biped for initialization. Normally, N
Links blending is applied during Physique initialization. For this character,
3D Stickman most often only one link is relevant. For certain effects, it may be useful to
employ two links. You may wish to change the number of links to two at
most.

Rigid envelopes were used for every bodypart. For each box, the link most
directly in line with the bodypart was activated. All other links whose
default envelopes have any influence over that bodypart were turned off. For
example, the only link active for the box representing the right forearm is the
Biped R ForeArm link. Its envelop setting is Rigid.

Many of these settings can be handled during initialization, as illustrated in

click to enlarge the upper thumbnail image to the left.

Link/Envelope Settings
The lower thumbnail image illustrates the envelope settings for the right
forearm. Notice in the split display that the hand and upper arm links are
turned off. All other links are not relevant as their default envelopes have
zero overlap with the right forearm vertices. You may wish to turn them off
for the sake of completeness.

click to enlarge This general approach was followed for all the individual character
bodyparts. Two notable exceptions were the torso segment and the upper
arms. These are discussed in the next section.

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© 2002 Platinum Pictures Multimedia, Inc.

Initializing Physique close

It's easy to fall in the habit of always using default

parameters when initializing Physique. We can preset the
use of Rigid envelopes and set Blending to two links in
advance. 1 Link would be appropriate for the most basic
animation of this character. Two links are used for reasons
to be discussed in a subsequent section.
Right Forearm Link and Envelope Settings close

The default forearm envelopes provide complete influence over the box vertices representing the character's right forearm. The Biped R
UpperArm link is turned off, having no influence on that geometry. The same is true for the Hand link.
 KNOCK HIS BLOCK OFF
By Jim Armstrong
Contributing Writer

Torso

Although most of the character's motion is completely rigid, a few

modifications were made to the geometry and rig to provide for some slight
exaggeration. The box representing the torso was given a much larger poly
Pelvis Envelopes count. Instead of one link influencing the torso, it is influenced by the Biped
Pelvis and each Spine link.

As the COM rotates while feet remain planted, the box twists at the lower
extremity, providing the appearance of wider 'hips' at the bottom. As the
Spine links bend, the torso appears to bend as well. This is particularly
noticeable with Bend Links mode activated. The mixture of fluid and rigid
motion enhances the comical appearance of the character.

The Pelvis envelopes are illustrated in the adjacent thumbnail image. The
boxes indicate the range of influence of each Spine link. In this particular
screen shot, the character has been moved into an intial pose that is used to
illustrate a point in the next section.
click to enlarge
The Neck and Clavicle links have no influence over the torso. Those links
are turned off. The same is true for the Upper Leg links.

Upper Arms

In this character, there is not a 1-1 match between Biped links and
bodyparts. For example, the Stickman character has no clavicles, only an
upper arm segment that is disjoint from the torso.

One of the features I wanted to add to the character was some natural squash
at one or more joints. For example, as the arm moves up and down, it would
appear to be thinner at the shoulder joint than at the elbow. The same
appearance could be applied to the upper legs. This would appear to
Clavicle Influence on Upper exaggerate the forearm during arm motion without bulging the forearm box
Arm (that did not have the poly detail to support bulges in the first place).

The squash is accomplished by allowing the Clavicle link and the

UpperArm link to both influence the upper arm vertices nearest the
shoulder. Blending is set to 2 Links during Physique initialization.

When the arms are moved, the Clavicle links are left in place most of the
time. The Biped UpperArm link exerts some influence over the vertices
nearest the shoulder. At the same time, the Clavicle link tries to keep those
vertices stationary. The result is that over the course of extreme arm
motions, the box representing the upper arm appears to squash near the
click to enlarge shoulder.

The Clavicle link influence is illustrated in the upper thumbnail image to the
left. Notice that even with the arms slightly dropped, you can see that the
No Clavicle Influence
vertices nearest the shoulder do not move in a manner consistent with those
nearest the elbow.

The amount of squash can be controlled by varying the amount of Clavicle

rotation during arm movement. As the Clavicle links move in tandem with
the UpperArm links, the squash is minimized. It is maximized when these
two links move in opposite directions.

click to enlarge Compare vs. the lower thumbnail image to see the result of simply turning
the Clavicle link off. You could also change the nature of upper arm
movement by NU scaling the length of the Clavicle downward, then
increasing the length of the UpperArm link. This would allow the latter link
almost complete control over the upper arm motion.

This illustrates how to use Physique to create cartoon-like deformations

even with extremely simple geometry.

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© 2002 Platinum Pictures Multimedia, Inc.

Torso - Spine and Pelvis Link Influence close

The Pelvis envelopes are illustrated, above. The red boxes indicate the area of
influence of each Spine link. Notice the blending between the Pelvis and lowest
Spine link (indicated by the light brownish vertex color).

This setup allows for some fluidity in bending motions, and some twist at the
bottom of the torso, enhancing the cartoonish behavior of the character. The
amount of bend/twist can be controlled by reducing blending and/or turning
links on/off.
Clavicle Influence on Upper Arm close

Both the Clavicle and UpperArm links influence the Box vertices closest to the shoulder. As these two links move in
tandem, the edge of the Box at that joint area remains relatively constant. If the UpperArm link moves while the
Clavicle remains fixed, the box tends to squash at that joint. This makes the forearms look relatively large during
extreme arm movements without applying a bulge to the forearm.

The same technique can be used to play the Forearm/Hand links and Pelvis/UpperLeg links against one another to add
a variety of comical appearances to character motion.
No Clavicle Influence on Upper Arm close

This illustrates the effect of no Clavicle influence on the upper arm. Compare the two box edges. In this rig, the upper arm over-rotates. This can be
compensated for by shortening the Clavicle length and increasing the UpperArm length.
 KNOCK HIS BLOCK OFF
By Jim Armstrong
Contributing Writer

Side Kick

Keyframing the side kick - spin kick tandem was discussed in detail in the
Martial Arts Action tutorial. This section illustrates the scene setup and a
couple key points during the action. This leads up to the point where one
fighter's head must be literally separated from the body.

Apex of Side Kick After rigging, the Biped and character bodyparts were cloned twice to create
the other two characters in the intro. shot. The central character was given a
dark-colored texture (remember the Chuck Norris movie, 'Good Guys Wear
Black?') . The other two fighters were given light-colored textures for
contrast. In order to quickly isolate the heads of each character, the colors (in
the viewports) for the geometry were changed.

One of the fighters has what appears to be a lead pipe in hand. The pipe is a
simple cylinder controlled by a Link Constraint. Up until the point where
this character is kicked, the pipe is linked to the Biped R Hand. At the apex
of the kick, the character bends forward from the impact and starts to drop
the pipe. The pipe object is then controlled by a Dummy helper and falls
towards the ground.

The apex of the side kick is illustrated in the adjacent thumbnail image. All
click to enlarge three characters in this scene use the same bodypart geometry and the same
type of rig. Notice how the torso geometry bends forward, responding to the
impact of the kick. If the torso had been rigged to be entirely rigid, the
character could have bent forward at the pelvis, but the effect would not
have been as impressive.

Spin Kick

Immediately after the side kick, the first fighter's crumpled body drops to the
ground. The second fighter moves into camera view and is met with a spin
kick. This is illustrated in the adjacent thumbnail image.

The movement from side kick to spin kick is rapid. As 3D Stickman

Apex of Spin Kick
recovers from the side kick, his head spins around to see the other fighter.
The arms and torso whip around, ahead of the lower body. The body bends
downward as the lower body and right leg whip around to the complete the
kick.

The screen shot illustrates the point just before the foot impacts the fighter's
head. The script calls for the head to pop up in the air while the body flips
over, then falls down. This would appear difficult at first as the Physique
click to enlarge
modifier will continue to move the head in tandem with the Biped.

Notice that the lead pipe has already fallen down, yet there is still a
stationary helper object in view. That is the subject of the next section :)

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© 2002 Platinum Pictures Multimedia, Inc.

Apex of Side Kick close

That looks like it hurts. As the purple character leaps through the air with a
lead pipe, he is met in midstream by a vicious side kick. The torso geometry
and rig allow for some flexibility in the upper body. The combination of fluid
and rigid motion is rather entertaining.

Meanwhile, off-camera, the other fighter is sort of running into position for an
attack. The running motion picks up expression as the character moves into
camera view.
Apex of Spin Kick close

Mr. Purple is already out of commission. Mr. Blue is about to lose his head --
literally!
 KNOCK HIS BLOCK OFF
By Jim Armstrong
Contributing Writer

Linked XForm

One of the reasons the characters were created from separate bodyparts is to
allow for independent animation of each section of the body. The Biped is
used to maintain a structured relationship between each independent
segment. That structure happens to fit the form of a bipedal character.

As the Biped moves, Physique constantly influences the head geometry. At

first, it seems difficult to move the head independently of the remainder of
Linked XForm the body. Animating the head or linking it to a dummy often results in
undesired effects. The head may appear to move as desired when setting
keys, but snap back in place during playback.

A Linked XForm modifier was added to the stack to pass the results of the
Physique modifier to another object, known as the control object. In this
scene, the control object is a Dummy helper named headControl. After
applying Physique to the head vertices, PRS animation of the control object
is added to the motion.

Applying Linked XForm is very simple. It is important to assign the control

object at frame 0 for an animation. This was done for the current scene.
click to enlarge After applying the modifier, there is a single control in the Parameters
rollout. This control allows you to pick the control object. The adjacent
thumbnail image illustrates the stack for the head geometry of the fighter
who is about to lose that head :)

Now, we can animate the character's head by offsetting Physique motion

with translation and rotation of the control object.

Animating the Control Object

In order to achieve the desired motion, the headControl object should

remain stationary from frame 0 until the impact frame (frame 38 in this
scene). From there, it moves in short increments (few frames between
keyframes) to offset motion in the Biped Head link.

A Linear Position controller was assigned to the Position track of the

headControl object in track view. Since it is not necessary to control the
motion along individual axes, a Position XYZ controller was not used. A
Linear Rotation controller was assigned to the Rotation track.

After Impact The adjacent thumbnail image illustrates the orientation of the headControl
object at the next frame in sequence. 3D Stickman's foot has swept past the
head, literally knocking it off the body. The body spins in place, reacting to
the impact in a cartoonish manner.
click to enlarge
The control object moves upward as that is the primary motion called for in
the script. Some of that upward motion compensates for the downward
motion of the Biped (which is hidden in these screen shots). Notice how the
lateral motion in the control object offsets opposing motion from the Biped
as it spins.

From the screen shot, you can also view the keyframes for the control object.
These were set to offset Biped motion and make it appear as if 3D Stickman
was bobbling the head in the air.

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© 2002 Platinum Pictures Multimedia, Inc.

Linked XForm close

Add the Linked XForm modifier in the stack after Physique. Scrub the time slider to frame 0, then assign
the control object. In this scene, the headControl Dummy helper serves as the control object.
Control Object Motion Just After 'Impact' close

Notice how motion in the control object offsets movement in the Biped Head link. If the motion was an exact offset, the box representing the fighter's head would appear to remain
stationary. Additional motion in the control object allows it to appear as if the head has been literally kicked off. 3D Stickman bobbles the head, then balances it on his hand in the final
animation.

Very unrealistic animation, yet easily accomplished even within the confines of Character Studio, a tool designed for 'realistic' animation :)
 KNOCK HIS BLOCK OFF
By Jim Armstrong
Contributing Writer

Final Animation

Flash Animation If you have the Flash 5 player, you may view the entire intro. animation
(minus some of the production visuals and sound). Although the
presentation contains a preloader, there is no 'replay button.' Right-click and
use the 'Rewind' and 'Play' options to replay the animation.

Notice at the end of the intro, when 3D Stickman is turned slightly to one
side, the bottom of the torso is slightly flared.
click to enlarge

Summary

Beginning character animators are often lead to believe that character geometry is continuous. This
animation illustrates how fourteen boxes are arranged to provide a 3D representation of a simple stick
figure. The CS Biped provides structural control and organization. The independent nature of each
bodypart allows any section of the character to be separately animated with Linked XForm (and possibly
other modifiers).

Some types of cartoon-style animation can be achieved by using two or more Biped links to control
sections of a bodypart. Squash at joints can be achieved even with Rigid envelopes.

While the Stickman geometry is incredibly simple, some of the animations that can be performed with this
character are far from simple. We will return to this character and more martial arts action in future
tutorials. In the mean time, do not be deceived by the simple nature of the character. As Bruce Lee said in
'Enter the Dragon,'

"It is like a finger pointing towards the moon. Don't concentrate on that finger or you will miss all that
heavenly glory."

I hope you find some of these techniques useful in future projects.

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© 2002 Platinum Pictures Multimedia, Inc.

Flash Animation close

This movie requires the Flash 5 player. Although a preloader is employed, there is no
'replay' button. Right-click and use the control options to first rewind the playhead, then
play.