AnimBot

Here is animBot's Axis Orientation Toggle tool in action. animbot.ca/download #maya3d #animation3d #characteranimation #characteranimator #animationtips

WOW! That's animBot's Hide Static Anim Curves tool in action. animbot.ca/download #maya3d #animation3d #characteranimation #characteranimator #animationtips

Check out animBot's Frame Next Second tool working. animbot.ca/download #maya3d #animation3d #characteranimation #characteranimator #animationtips

This is one of the most problematic workflows for 3D animators. Take a look at which method are worth using. Which one do you use? 1. Duplicate the apple... Although very simple and easy to use, not all pipelines support this method. Best to have other options in the arsenal. 2. Eyeball it Just... don't do this, it's not 1990 anymore. 3. No constraints It's simple and reliable, but takes constant work realigning the apple when changing poses. It can be used with no problem, especially if hand is grabbing the apple for just a few frames. 4. Blend parent Things can easily get out of hands with this one, it's almost impossible to change the animation after the initial setup without losing work. Among other disadvantages is the fact that the orientation axis almost always end up in a diagonal at release points, making the anim curves very hard to work with. Plus we can't animate the apple while it's being grabbed and not all pipelines support parent blends, so overall it's not recommended. 5. Xform relationship Similar to "No constraints" method, only much faster and cleaner to interact with. 6. Locator tree This method is good only in very specific situations, it's not very easy to change the animation after the initial setup without losing work and the pivot gets offset from objects, making it only reliable for translations. There's also the same problem with diagonal axis. 7. animBot's Grab Release It was designed to tackle especially this workflow, it does all the technical work under the hood with a very simple and intuitive interface for the animator to focus on the creative part of it. It's extremely compatible with any decent pipeline, and different than other similar tools out there, no special rig setup is necessary. Which one do you use? Is your method described here?

Check out animBot's Play on Ones tool working. http://animbot.ca/download #maya3d #animation3d #characteranimation #characteranimator #animationtips

Look how awesome is the Play Color Keys tool in animBot. http://animbot.ca/download #maya3d #animation3d #characteranimation #characteranimator #animationtips

Here is animBot's Play Keys tool in action. http://animbot.ca/download #maya3d #animation3d #characteranimation #characteranimator #animationtips

Check out animBot's Time Bookmarks Panel tool working. animbot.ca/download #maya3d #animation3d #characteranimation #characteranimator #animationtips