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free methods to get into animating

Started by VGames, September 09, 2014, 01:47:20 PM

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VGames

Since it doesn't look like I'll be getting any help to make some animations for some of the weapons in Doom 3 what is the easiest way to get into animating for this game? Does a free version of Blender work for Doom 3? Everybody I know personally that has made animations for it uses Max 9. I don't have the cash for that and I don't want to be a pirate so how can I make animations for free?
Get the latest on Perfected Doom 3 here - http://www.moddb.com/mods/perfected-doom-3-version-500

BloodRayne

Animating is a hard, hard, job. Especially hand animation. I've spent 5 years searching for an animator while working on Hexen:Edge of Chaos, planting newsitems all over the web, making trailers and banners but I only found 2 in all those years.

So I had to switch to plan B as well and found this: http://alastaira.wordpress.com/2013/07/24/using-free-mocap-data-for-game-character-animation-in-unity/

What you want is the Carnegy Mellon free animation library. These are mocap files that you can convert to Blender, 3dsMax etc..etc.. It's a bit of a step to export them so you'll need an exporter for Doom3. I don't know where those are these days, but I'm sure another poster will post the links here.


VGames

Actually I just need to make simple melee animations for 3 of the guns. Nothing fancy or complex. I'm sure what I need to do wouldn't be that hard. Can I use Blender to animate the weapon view models?
Get the latest on Perfected Doom 3 here - http://www.moddb.com/mods/perfected-doom-3-version-500

The Happy Friar

#3
You can use blender, yes.  I use Blender 2.49, it has the best md5 exporter imho (I use the Q3A XReal exporter/  If you can't find it I can e-mail it to you).  I took several months to learn how to use the Blender UI (found a really good tutorial on the internet) years ago and never looked back.

From what I can tell getting an animator isn't hard (there seems to be a ton out there), it's getting someone to animate for doom 3 tech.  Don't know why but everyone is scared off by it.  Seems animations/modelers think that they can model for Half Life 2 but not Doom 3.  In my experience, modeling/animating is the same, it's the exporters that make the difference.  I've helped out a couple D3 modders/teams over the years with some oddball stuff and never found it to hard (I've never modeled,  rigged & animated a complex biped though.  Personally I find rigging the hardest part).

I agree with Bloodrayne on using the mocap stuff if you can/it fits.  :)  I actually used Poser to make some animations for Quake 2 and it worked out pretty decent (Q2 animates a little bit different then D3). 

As for your specific need of some melee attacks, if you know how to use Blender they might be pretty simple (a quick whip up of the butt of the shotgun & the like).

EDIT: most exporters still @ katsbits: http://www.katsbits.com/

VGames

Thanks for the input. What you described is exactly what I'm trying to make. Nothing complex. I did have an animator. Doomtrinity has been helping me for quite some time now. He helped implement dual pistols and double barrel shotguns into my mod and aiming down the sights and he also added a melee system as well. But he didn't make melee animations for all of the guns. And now he's out of time and can no longer help me. So I'll have to finish it myself. But all I need are melee animations for like 3 weapons. So I think he did more then enough and I can see myself getting this done.
Get the latest on Perfected Doom 3 here - http://www.moddb.com/mods/perfected-doom-3-version-500

oneofthe8devilz

#5
Yeah hand animating can be a true pain... I had my fair share of experiences with it...



Not too long ago I had to completely redo all the machinegun animations adding melee and gui watch weapon animations to the set...

(click the image to watch the youtube video)
I got six little friends and they all run faster than you ;)


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Zombie

Especially since objects need to have bones in idtech, otherwise animating props would be super easy!