Because I could

Crude ragdoll test

So I just finished my first test using the ragdoll tutorial linked in my last post and it seems to work really well. The rig is very rough at the moment but its still seams to work pretty well. Looking forward to seeing it on a character with painted weights.

Week 1 Research

So after deciding I probably needed a way to add some dynamic motion to my stunt doubles I decided to research a few ways I could possibly make a rag doll in Maya. With some Google searching I came across this thread on 3dbuzz http://www.3dbuzz.com/vbforum/showthread.php?136330-Ragdolls-in-maya . After reading some of the posts I got super excited about using a product called Endorphin http://www.naturalmotion.com/endorphin made by natural motion who is the company behind the Euphoria Engine http://www.naturalmotion.com/euphoria which might be the most amazing behavioral simulator available. If you ever wondered why every time you almost run someone over in GTA 4 the stagger away in a completely different way than you have seen previously it's because of Euphoria.

They have a Learning Edition for free download but it lacks the ability to export and buying a commercial license is $13k. I just emailed the company to ask about pricing on an educational License of the product and I am waiting to hear back. Assuming the educational license is still a few thousand dollars I will probably have to default to this tutorial http://www.goldenxp.com/tutorials/ragdoll/index.htm on making a rag doll in Maya capable of being effected by forces. it wouldn't be anywhere near as fancy as Endorphin but it will get the job done.

Intent

This blog exists to serve as a place to post the progress I make in my Production Pipeline class at Rochester Institute of Technology in Spring of 2011.

Over the course of this quarter I plan to create am ambiguous stunt double to be used later in place of real actors in composite scenes in my thesis next year.

By Ambiguous I mean I want it to be a generic enough human form that it can be used for multiple actors after a few changes maybe made through blend shapes.I also want to include some sort of rag doll fuctionality where the skeleton of the double can be affected by forces in maya. I would like to add cloth and hair to the model but that will be time dependent as I have never worked with either of those things before.