As a kid I was always fascinated with dancing candlesticks, waltzing silverware and other objects brought to life with animation. This was back in the old cell shading days when studios like Disney would animate just about anything to add motion to their cartoons. It was always a little magical to see those objects move with anthropomorphic ease like they were actually alive.
It is a memory that has stuck with me over the years. There have been many times in the past that I wished there was an easy way to rig non-human or character-based objects using the library of human based, bipedal iClone motions for those newly rigged items.
Character Creator 4 steps up with its ability to easily rig just about anything using bone masking to keep the motions from creating too much distortion. In the case of animating a candle and holder we can utilize our bipedal motion library with masking to produce great results with little skill on our part.
What Can We Rig?
A recent article I wrote brought this question to the forefront about how I animated certain objects like wooden toy soldiers and Christmas trees to dance. You can also throw in Christmas cookies like gingerbread people and watch them dance to seasonal Christmas tunes.
I also wrote an earlier article back in July about rigging any model with AccuRIG but it did not go into detail about skinning non-bipedal objects. That article mainly delt with bipedal objects and then there is the article I wrote on skinning versus rigging for things like statues that may not have fully defined arms and legs.
The truth is we can do so much more than those articles covered. In fact, we are limited only by our imagination as rigged non-bipedal objects have a lot to add to a scene in the right circumstances.
In the Christmas article, I briefly explained how objects were rigged along with a picture showing masked bones which brought more questions about the process so let’s dig into it a bit deeper with the candle example. Keep in mind that just because it doesn’t have arms and legs doesn’t mean you can rig it with a human skeleton for human (iClone) motions.
Our imagination helped us get here so let’s not shut off the creative tap. A big part of animation is realizing what CAN be animated with your current skillset and tools.
Rigging a Simple Candle
Below I give an example of simple rigging with the option to use or not use the arms and legs via masking. This simple, fast process can turn a static object into an animatable object that works particularly well in cartoons and children’s stories. And don’t forget genres like science fiction where we can easily add a little motion to some props.
Classic Example of Arms and Legs on a Prop
We can use the Disney Lumiere model (Beauty and the Beast) and rig it just as we as did the candle above except with arms this time around. As shown in the image below you can see Disney’s Broom character is an obvious choice for AccuRIG too.
Gingerbread Cookies Dance
I realize it’s not Christmas anymore, but these props serve as practical examples. They are another obvious choice for AccuRIG as some have a bipedal body or in the case of the Christmas Sweater cookie enough of the torso to rig it for the motion library. The first batch is no different than rigging any character. Make note of the Black Masked Bones that lock down that part of the mesh to keep it from moving or distorting. This is optional but can make for smoother movements.
Below are bipedal cookies:
Next up are the not-so-obvious characters like the Sweater, Lollipop and Tree. As you can see these characters rely more heavily on masking to either freeze a limb or a section of bones to limit deformation and make for a smoother animation.
In the above examples, I have masked out some bones on each mesh. The sweater has no functioning pelvis or head while the lollipop only uses the torso section of the skeleton. The tree cookie has a mixture of masked out arms, masked out pelvis but active legs and torso.
The bones that require masking will depend on the model in question and sometimes it can be confusing to new users. The skeleton bones are directionally chained from the Waist down and the Waist up.
Masking can seem to be tricky on your first attempt, but it doesn’t take long to see how it works. Repetition will help bring familiarization with the masking process. It won’t take long for you to grasp how to mask out unwanted bone movement.
Another Classic Example
The Sugar Bowl and Creamer characters from Beauty and the Beast are great examples. I made the objects in 3DS Max then went into Character Creator 4 to skin them as characters. From there over to iClone for composite with the original frame from Beauty and the Beast. I used the AI eraser in Photoshop to remove the original sugar bowl and creamer. I then used an NPR special effect and the Toon Shader.
Pink Alien
This Meshy AI community asset is a great example of an unconventional rig. You may have already guessed that AccuRIG bent over backwards… literally… to rig this four-legged alien using the arms as the back legs which meant I had to correct the hands by pivoting them the opposite direction. It’s not a perfect solution by any means but I hope it will jog those creative juices to show you what can be done with a little imagination.
Example of using the skeleton bent over backwards with the arms working as the back legs. This was achieved by placing the initial markers in the proper locations. The back legs can function as arms if needed.
The walking motion. Not a perfect solution but works for a quick shot that doesn’t linger. It also demonstrates the power of AccuRIG to adapt to unconventional situations.
Correct Pivot Solves a Lot of Problems
One obstacle to rigging non-bipedal objects is a badly off-center pivot or root. This can cause the mesh to jump out of place during the final parts of the rigging process. Center your character in the screen as best as you can before rigging and set the pivot to the bottom of the mesh. Edit the pivot if necessary to get it properly placed into the center, bottom of the model.
Extend your Existing Motion Library
The big plus is how this rigging opens up our existing motion library to all these newly rigged “characters”. It’s amazing how just a small amount of animation can go a long way. If the torso is all you are animating, then you can use almost any motion that moves the torso. Within minutes you can have a prop rigged and animated with iClone motions.
Mesh Density
This is also a consideration when using a mesh for something other than its intended purpose. There may not be enough mesh density to move without the mesh collapsing. This is more evident in things like elbows and knees on any character. If you find that instead of bending, your mesh is collapsing then you probably won’t be able to use that mesh unless you have another program like ZBrush, Blender or 3DS Max to add more density with subdivision than iClone is capable of.
TIP: If you put together a group of separate parts to form a character such as rocks or pencils, pens and erasers, you don’t have to group them or attach them together. Just export as one object from your software of choice or build it in the CC4 workspace then rig it. No need for attaching or linking beforehand as the rigging process will take care of that.
Summary
As I wrote earlier, we are only constrained by our imagination as to what we can rig and throw into a scene as a main character or filler characters. Cartoons can be fertile ground for his type of wham-bam animation that takes little time and effort but affords a lot of eye candy and movement. This will probably spur more questions but this series of articles on using AccuRIG to extend our motion library to props will hopefully spur your imagination to see what kind of unique characters you can rig and add to your scenes for more engagement.
This is also a great exercise for newbies to pros to experiment with AccuRIG in Character Creator 4 to gain a better understanding of what can be done and just maybe add a little “wow” factor to your next animation.
FYI from From ChatGPT:
Some inanimate objects that Disney animators commonly animate include:
- Furniture – Chairs, tables, wardrobes (e.g., Beauty and the Beast).
- Kitchenware – Teapots, cups, cutlery (e.g., Beauty and the Beast).
- Clocks and Candles – Cogsworth (clock) and Lumière (candelabra) from Beauty and the Beast.
- Toys – Woody, Buzz Lightyear, and others from Toy Story.
- Vehicles – Lightning McQueen and Mater from Cars.
- Tools – Brooms and mops (e.g., Fantasia).
- Household Items – Umbrellas (The Little Mermaid), carpets (Aladdin), and lamps (Aladdin).
- Musical Instruments – Pianos, violins, and other instruments (e.g., Make Mine Music).
- Food Items – Dancing mushrooms (Fantasia) and tacos (Foodfight!).
- Books and Papers – Animated spellbooks or maps (e.g., The Sword in the Stone).
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MD McCallum – WarLord
Digital Artist MD “Mike” McCallum, aka WarLord, is a longtime iClone user. Having authored free tutorials for iClone in its early years and selected to write the iClone Beginners Guide from Packt Publishing in 2011, he was fortunate enough to meet and exchange tricks and tips with users from all over the world and loves to share this information with other users. He has authored hundreds of articles on iClone and digital art in general while reviewing some of the most popular software and hardware in the world. He has been published in many of the leading 3D online and print magazines while staying true to his biggest passion, 3D animation. For more information click here.
