Easiest anymation

[jimmyy]

Hi,

Which software would you recommend for the easiest animation.
I would prefer to do it in 3D, but if it's too complicated I could do it in 2D as well.

I've checked the section with animation tools, and I realised that there is only one software for free. So, I'm ready to pay around 50$ to start with.

I would like to start with two people shaking hands and introducing to each other, nothing complicated, as simple as possible.

Unfortunatelly I do not have that much time to learn everything, this is why I would like to find a software that would be as easy as possible. I understand that I would have to invest some time though.

Thank you,
Jimmyy

[aedipuss]

blender. there are plenty of tutorials on their site.

[jimmyy]

Hi,

I did my homework and installed blender, but I must admit that I do not think that I have the qualities for creating from scratch a human body that is movable. I did one tutorial with the basi shapes, and I tried to find already made models but couldn't find anything relevant.

This is why I turned to iClone5 (I installed now the trial version). They have already made models, and it looks a bit easier, but I have a feeling that I loose some details, and some controls.

What I'm interested in now, is to ahve a scene where two persons, one man and a woman walk towards each other, they shake hand and say a few words to each other.

What do you think? is it worth buyinf iClone5? around 200$ ? or invest more time in blender. I do not mind investing more time in blender, even though I do not have that much free time, but I'm just afraid, that I do not have the right skills forshapping a figure. I'm not good at drawing, and shaping a model is much more than drawing. I'm more a programmer's type with analytical skills...

Spending 200$ won't break my budget too much, but of course that I could do without if possible.

Thank you

[Bjs]

You might find it a bit easier to use anim8or , blender is not new user friendly and accidental clicks can cause confusion.

Anim8or is free and both the app and manual are less than 3mbs ... dose not require to be installed, once unpacked just run the app.

Supports model's such as .3ds ... and human figures can be found here

[Cornucopia]

You want easy? Then grab up a copy of "The Movies"! It has premade model figures that you can animate in a very high level way. It's designed as if it were a game like "The Sims", but it's not really.

Of course, there are only a modest selection of things you can make them do, but you could probably previz a whole feature movie if you are clever enough. I have good some clips that my daughter did back when she was 13.

Scott

[jimmyy]

You might find it a bit easier to use anim8or , blender is not new user friendly and accidental clicks can cause confusion.

Anim8or is free and both the app and manual are less than 3mbs ... dose not require to be installed, once unpacked just run the app.

Supports model's such as .3ds ... and human figures can be found here

Thank you Bjs,

I tried both anim8tor and the link you provided, for the moment I managed t import the objects but I cannot see them... (I'm searching through the manuals)
The link is great it has many models...

[jimmyy]

You want easy? Then grab up a copy of "The Movies"! It has premade model figures that you can animate in a very high level way. It's designed as if it were a game like "The Sims", but it's not really.

Of course, there are only a modest selection of things you can make them do, but you could probably previz a whole feature movie if you are clever enough. I have good some clips that my daughter did back when she was 13.

Scott

thank you scott.
I assume that The movies game can be downloaded here. Can you please confirm, just to make sure that I got the right site.

[Cornucopia]

No. Those are models for use in Blender (though they may also be usable within "The Movies" - don't know yet). Here is the Wikipedia article on it to get you started: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Movies. Looks like there was also a supplemental mod/update created for it as well. Don't really know why it didn't take off better than it did because it worked really well...

Scott

[poisondeathray]

Another one you might want to look at is daz studio for character animation . There is a free version , and there are plenty of free models, clothing , props ,poses on sharecg.com , google warehouse, and various websites, and their 3rd generation base male & female (michael3 and victoria3) models are free from cnet

http://www.daz3d.com/products/daz-studio/daz-studio-what-is-daz-studio/
http://download.cnet.com/Poser-DAZStudio-3D-Models-Pack/3000-6677_4-10579249.html

For your walking and handshake, there are a series of BVH files (these are motion captured generated data from real humans or "mocap" data) released a while back for free from Carnegie-Mellon, and walking /handshake is actually contained in a few of the scenes . There are daz versions of the BVH files in the this website . You can use these as a template to start with , then fine tune the animation
https://sites.google.com/a/cgspeed.com/cgspeed/motion-capture/daz-friendly-release



But I think it's better in the long run to eventually learn something like blender or similar program so you have full control over model generation, texturing, character rigging, animation etc... But in terms of "easiest", most of it's already done for you

[jimmyy]

Another one you might want to look at is daz studio for character animation . There is a free version , and there are plenty of free models, clothing , props ,poses on sharecg.com , google warehouse, and various websites, and their 3rd generation base male & female (michael3 and victoria3) models are free from cnet

http://www.daz3d.com/products/daz-studio/daz-studio-what-is-daz-studio/
http://download.cnet.com/Poser-DAZStudio-3D-Models-Pack/3000-6677_4-10579249.html

For your walking and handshake, there are a series of BVH files (these are motion captured generated data from real humans or "mocap" data) released a while back for free from Carnegie-Mellon, and walking /handshake is actually contained in a few of the scenes . There are daz versions of the BVH files in the this website . You can use these as a template to start with , then fine tune the animation
https://sites.google.com/a/cgspeed.com/cgspeed/motion-capture/daz-friendly-release



But I think it's better in the long run to eventually learn something like blender or similar program so you have full control over model generation, texturing, character rigging, animation etc... But in terms of "easiest", most of it's already done for you

Thank you poisondeathray,

I spent many hous trying to apply what you mentioned, and eventualy I managed to apply the bvh files to the Daz free models, however it was not straightforward.
After installing the human models it took me too much time to have them working in the software, because I couldn't really find them...

The movements though look much more realistic than iClone, but he characters of Daz (I'm using Aiko 3) look a bit like cartoons...

Is there a book that you could recommend fo Daz? I googled Daz tutorial and found too many tutorials, but is there something like a complete beginner's guide?



On the other hand, I'm thinking now, which way to go, iClone, blender, Daz...

I find iClone easy to use, and I have a book for it, just to get me started.
Daz it'sless intuitive.

blender is highly recommended , but I couldn't get any human model , I tried with Makehuman some time ago, but couldn't make it work.

I understand that to make the best animation with accurate control of all the posible objects I need to invest some time and learn how to use softwares that allow this detailed elvel of control, but on the other hand, only buildinga realistic human model(and by this I mean some basic shape of human) will take me weeks if not months.

Thanks

[poisondeathray]

The movements though look much more realistic than iClone, but he characters of Daz (I'm using Aiko 3) look a bit like cartoons...

The reason is you're not using any "characters" or "clothing" or "props", you're using the base model . (it's a "naked" model if you will) . So it's supposed to look like a cartoon because it doesn't have any advanced textures .

You need to apply textures and morphs for realism . Some can be found for free but it will be rare to find FREE "Realistic" models , because those are usually ones that are sold. Some of them are very expensive (e.g. turbosquid models which can be $500-1000). Many people make their living either full or part time making and texturing models , others rig and animate. The higher the amount of polygons and textures, usually the more realistic . The more work involved, the higher the price of course


Here are some (based on 4th generation models) that aren't completely "photorealistic", but certainly more realistic than the base model, and reasonably priced (<$25)

e.g. this one looks like Johnny Depp
http://www.renderosity.com/mod/bcs/yannis/86622
e.g black widow
http://www.renderosity.com/mod/bcs/index.php?ViewProduct=92687
e.g hmm who does this resemble?
http://www.daz3d.com/shop/angel-for-v4/

I'm not sure what kind of "characters" you had in mind

You can find bunch of free ones on sharecg.com

e.g. if you are using aiko3 base model, then search for "sharecg aiko3 characters" on google
http://sharecg.com/v/15858/
http://www.sharecg.com/v/48023/related/11/Poser/Chou-for-A3---Poser-Files

Is there a book that you could recommend fo Daz? I googled Daz tutorial and found too many tutorials, but is there something like a complete beginner's guide?

Not sure, I actually don't use Daz, I just have it around for experimenting . (I use other 3d programs
)

It's quite easy to animate, because you have "poses" which are essentially keyframes and the program interpolates between . You don't have to use bvh files, you can do everything from poses

blender is highly recommended , but I couldn't get any human model , I tried with Makehuman some time ago, but couldn't make it work.

Finding free rigged human models with any quality (high poly count) is difficult. And the ones that are rigged are usually poorly rigged (not enough control), or low poly/mesh count , thus low quality .

Daz and Poser use a base model system - so they are all essentially prerigged already . e.g. models based on Micheal4 base will have all the same control points, but might look completely different due to textures & morphs. So all you have to do is the animation part

But if you used a free blender model (most of them are unrigged), so you likely have would have to rig it before animating

Here are a couple free rigged human blender models
http://blenderartists.org/forum/showthread.php?157533-Free-Human-Model-%28Rigged-animated!-UV-d%29
http://blenderartists.org/forum/showthread.php?139136-Free-Animated-Human-for-Tests

Realistic movements are very hard to do (I wouldn't call Daz characters or animations "realistic" - they are more like CGI "video games" ) . To do better animations you need finer control rigs and more control points (in daz you need higher models than the free 3rd generation ones; eg. 4th & 5th generation have more control ) and more control over vertex weighting .

I understand that to make the best animation with accurate control of all the posible objects I need to invest some time and learn how to use softwares that allow this detailed elvel of control, but on the other hand, only buildinga realistic human model(and by this I mean some basic shape of human) will take me weeks if not months.

You're right - building the model itself , texturing it (e.g. zbrush) , and the control rig can take months . That's why many people buy models and/or prerigged models from sites such as turbosquid.com for various types of 3d models. Or if you are using Poser or Daz check out renderosity.com, and daz's website itself. Note note all 3d model types are supported in each software . For example you won't be able to open a .blend file in daz. Or a .max file in anything other than 3ds max etc. etc...

To be clear there are several steps, and non of them are "easy" IMO, at least if you want decent quality

1) Creating the model (the actual mesh)
2) Texturing the model (painting, uv maps e.g. zbrush)
3) Rigging the model (creating control devices so you can animate easier) . Think of "Pinnochio"
4) Animating the model
5) Lighting the scene
6) Creating the scene (other elements, backgrounds, other models etc...)
7) Compositing (fixing up for the final look, finishing touches, color correction etc...)


You can skip a few of the steps by using premade, prerigged models (such as Daz's or Poser's systems) . So you have some decisions regarding ease of use / time involved vs. quality

Basically what I'm trying to say is you're not going to find both "easy to animate" and high quality or realistic in the same product. There will be tradeoffs. You decide if you want to invest the time and money in software, models, learning . Certainly Daz ranks high up there for free and ease of use