Cineversity

Hello,
I am having an issue with the Advanced Biped Rig (I have also tried the regular biped rig).
I have followed numerous tutorials on how to build the thing and when I try and animate it
I can only get the feet, legs and hands to move, the Arm controllers seem to be locked.
Yes I have animate on. I’m not sure what I have missed here.
The arm controllers for both left and right arms will not rotate, or move at all.
I have tried building this rig at least 5 times and I am frustrated beyond belief.
It’s probably something I am doing wrong.
It can’t be this hard.
Animation is difficult as it is, I don’t need controller issues to boot.
I deleted the rig to start once more, so I don’t have the file.
I am in R14.014.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

Hi WraithLight,

Please tell us which tutorial do you use.
Would you mind to attach a file here, otherwise it is difficult to give you a precise answer.
Please share the name of the “controller” that you use for the arm/hand control, so it is easier to check what is going on.

As an alternative, you might also get in contact with the support. I suggest that, as you get anything else to work.

All the best

Sassi

Hi Dr Sassi,
Thank you for your help.
Yes, I was following the Bret Bay Tutorial: Character Object, Part 1,2 and 3.
The Controllers are just called Left and Rt Arm Controllers.
Following that tutorial is how I made my rig.
I will put the rig together again and send you a file.
Can I PM you directly with the file? Because I can not share the Character openly.
Joseph Wraith

Hey Joseph Wraith,

I will send you an PM. But with such an approach this thread becomes useless for other members with a similar problem.
It would be rather an support file then, as the support is best for such cases.
I hope to find a solution and will communicate here in the forum, without violating the privacy need for the model.

Check you PM.

All the best

Sassi

Dr. Sassi,
I can post the rig without the model if that helps.

That would be great Joseph Wraith!

I have stopped answering private requests as I was buried with these question (counting the files I have send out, around 1,200 times).

The forum is my only place and the only place were it makes sense to me: As every discussed problem will help others. I like to help and I like to focus with that here in the forum only.

Thanks for doing that. This will allow as well to get perhaps input from others. Always a good idea.

All the best

Sassi

Ok then I will just upload the rig file here then.

Ok, I think after building the rig once more I figured out the issue.
I was trying to move around the small sphere on the end of the arm rig, although it is listed as a arm controller, it is not.
I should have been moving the small box controller over the wrist.
Now one thing I did notice is that the arm rig when moved pulls a bit of the characters head with it.
Distorting the character.
I think this is something I need to fix with the weighting.
Thank you for your time, I know it is valuable.
I’m very new at animating characters normally I just build them.
I have wanted to kick character animation’s butt for awhile now, I’m
hoping to do it with this piece.

Thanks for the detailed feedback, Joseph Wraith, and thanks for understanding my focus on forums work. I feel always bad to draw a border.

Yes, character animation is simpler than ever before in C4D, but it is of course a simulation of body movements with all the challenges of being an body language. ..and we are all experts in reading those expressions, one or the other way.
The Controller is to my understanding more to activate parametrically fields in the Attribute Manager.

My time is not more valuable than anyone else’s time, but I try to direct my energy (while answering) to the forum, since this year, exclusively. Thanks for understanding. :o)

Let me know if there is anything else.

All the best

Sassi

So what is that little controller out beyond the hand that you can’t move or scale there for?  I’ve been watching Andy Runyon’s series on rigging a biped for games, and it makes sense, but it doesn’t really address what the controllers are supposed to do.  I can use the cube around the wrist for IK control of the arm and the control behind the elbow to help the pose.

It’s called an L_Arm (L Hand Controller).  Is it an FK-IK thing?

Here’s an image showing the controller I’m talking about.

http://marshall-arts.net/Support/Controller.jpg

Thanks.

Shawn Marshall
Marshall Arts Motion Graphics

Hi Shawn,

Yes, this is (so far I can tell) not specified in any tutorial nor in the manual itself. Which indicates to me, that it works like an average Controller, but in this case it has only a few functions.

There are two types of these, one the has the abbreviation “nb” in it and one that has not. (I would say it stands for “not bendy”, as in bendy or not bendy character set up). While you click on the controller, the Component (as shown in the Information/editor view) is activated, even the Object manager isn’t displaying the Component. This activates as well the Key Frame selection, to filter for example Auto Keyframe information. It also shows, while in Attribute Manager, Controllers view, the specific parameters.

I haven’t found any other function so far that would add any user interaction options here, perhaps one of the Character Instructors can add some information. I could find in the character hierarchy any link to IK/FK tags.

All the best