Cineversity

Is there a way to change the rotation order to xyz (from the standard default of hpb) for all objects? I can set a new default for a particular object, say a cube, but other objects are created with hpb. I would like to set a preference so that all objects when created have a rotation order of xyz.

(xyz is just more straightforward for me to internalize)

Thanks,
Greg

Hi Greg,

Not to my knowledge, and I wouldn’t suggest that.

Those rotation options should be seen for special cases where the HPB creates problems.

The order in which the values are provided affects the outcome. This is not interchangeable. Set up an object, and copy it. Set the Copy to XYZ for the rotation. Now provide for any angle of 45º. It doesn’t match… The sequence matters.

Besides, read about the Gimbal Lock (Euler problem)

https://help.maxon.net/c4d/2023/en-us/Default.htm#html/ONULL-ID_BASEOBJECT_GROUP1.html

If I miss a point, perhaps suggest to Maxon: “Share Your Ideas.”
https://www.maxon.net/en/support-center

All the best

Dr. Sassi,

I tried one of the simple experiments for gimbal in the C4D docs, specifically, the cone rotated 80 degrees on around the x-axis. I was able to see the effect of gimbal lock by animating rotation around the cone’s local y-axis changing the angle manually with the rotation ring. Two interesting further observations.
* I tried different rotation orders and found that yxz gave the proper rotation during the animation. So, yes, I agree that rotation order is important for animations. It’s good to get this more solidified in my understanding!
* Freezing the coordinates of the cone before animation did eliminate gimbal lock for the three rotations I tried. HPB, xyz, xzy, and I assume for all the others. 

During the rigging I have done I came to realize that orienting the joint axes properly (for the DCC and environment) and then freezing them is important . But, I have never experienced gimbal lock in either the rigs I have made from scratch or the rigs I built automatically using the Character object in C4D or Mixamo. I think the proper orientation and freezing are the two important points. Am I correct?

Thanks,
Greg

Hi Greg,

Freezing is good for getting the original setup back quickly while allowing most of the time to use just one axis to complete most rotations.

A gimbal lock occurs when two axes occupy the same space (direction). It is roughly like the three-leg chair, it never wiggles, but if all three legs are in a straight line, it loses its stability.

Happy New Year.