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          <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">- <a href="../index.html">Contents</a><br>
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              <p><font color="#0000FF"><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#0000CC">volume 
                1, issue 30</font></b></font></p>
              <p><font color="#0000FF"><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#0000CC"> 
                </font></b></font></p>
              <p>  <p><font face="Courier New, Courier, mono"><b><font color="#339900" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Today 
                in loonygames:</font></b></font></p>

<P><font color="#000000" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">New!!</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2"> The Archives have been cleaned up, fead links fixed, and printable versions restored! Also, don't miss the new comments <a href="../../../index.html">on the front page</a>!</font></p>
              
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        <p align="LEFT"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" color="#0022A8"><b><a target="" href="../../corner/index.html"><font size="-1">Thinking 
          Outside the Box</font></a><font size="-1">:</font></b></font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="+3" color="#0022A8"><br>
          Character Studio <font size="+2">(part 2)</font></font></p>
        <p align="right"><font color="#804000"><b><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">By 
          Paul &quot;<a target="_self" href="mailto:paul@loonygames.com">Villam</a>&quot; 
          Steed</font></b></font></p>
        <p align="right">&nbsp; </p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Note that even though we 
          hit the pelvis, a link structure featuring the upper body is there as 
          well <i>with the bent elbow</i>. Very interesting. We’re going to start 
          with the top of the leg structure, making sure there aren’t any verts 
          assigned to the upper body. First, though I’m curious as to what the 
          legs look like given their default vertex assignment.</font></p>
        <p align="center"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><img src="images/doom238.jpg" width="414" height="394"></font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Not bad, not bad at all. 
          We still need to make sure all the little vertices are claiming the 
          right link as home, though. But, like I said, let’s start with the upper 
          part of the legs first. Select the following vertices of the legs…</font></p>
        <p align="center"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><img src="images/doom240.jpg" width="164" height="400"></font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">The reasoning behind this 
          is again from past experience and a little thought. The very top needs 
          to maintain its rigidity to keep the integrity and illusion of the body 
          being one piece. The top outline of the butt is necessary since it shouldn’t 
          change shape too much even during animation. Now assign the vertices 

          to the pelvis link as rigid verts and lock them down.</font></p>
        <p align="center"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><img src="images/doom241.jpg" width="155" height="400"></font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Next, assign the line of 
          three vertices lower down on the butt to the pelvis but as deformable 
          verts (red).</font></p>
        <p align="center"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><img src="images/doom242.jpg" width="138" height="400"></font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Works. Now let’s look at 
          the other verts around the top of the leg again. The burgundy vertices 
          at the top of the thigh are fine since I like the way they animate. 
          However, as we move further down the thigh, those verts need to be assigned 
          to the thigh link. As a matter of fact, since I built the legs with 
          the thought in mind that the upper thigh ends in a stump to simulate 
          a knee as the lower leg rotates, we can assign all the vertices of the 
          lower thigh part to the upper leg link. Am I a genius or WHAT!</font></p>
        <p align="center"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><img src="images/doom243.jpg" width="263" height="400"></font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Testing the leg I find out 
          that didn’t quite work out like I wanted so I re-assign the very bottom 
          vertices as rigid vertices and came up with…</font></p>
        <p align="center"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><img src="images/doom244.jpg" width="249" height="400"></font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Now since the boots should 
          be pretty stiff I select all the vertices above the foot and assign 
          them to the lower leg as rigid verts.</font></p>
        <p align="center"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><img src="images/doom245.jpg" width="236" height="400"></font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">On to the foot. As a rule 
          of thumb ALWAYS make the very bottom vertices of the foot rigid unless 
          you have some weird reason not to. Don’t ask, just DO. So starting at 
          the back of the foot select these vertices…</font></p>
        <p align="center"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><img src="images/doom246.jpg" width="310" height="360"></font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">And assign them rigid to 
          the foot link. Then grab the four toe verts and assign them to the toe 
          link. So all the bottom verts are now rigid.</font></p>
        <p align="center"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><img src="images/doom247.jpg" width="304" height="364"></font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Usually the foot is pretty 
          easy to set up aside from the rigid bottom. Checking it out by rotating 
          it in all the different axes, we see that it’s fine ‘as is’. Now do 
          the other leg and guess what? WE&quot;RE DONE! FINITO! ALLES CLAR, HERR 
          KOMISAR! DASVADANA! SAYONORA!</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Really. That’s it. Hope you 
          enjoyed it. It took me 10 hours to make. But YOU’RE worth it! And come 
          to think of it I think I really am talking to myself! Answering me, 
          too!</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">WHOOOHOOOOO!</font></p>
        <p><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Thanks for caring!</font></p>
        <p>&nbsp; </p>
        <p align="right"><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><i>- 
          Paul Steed is a 3D artist for id Software. He's currently hard at work 
          on <b>Quake 3: Arena</b>.</i></font></p>
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      <p><i><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-2"> </font></i><i><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-2"><b>Credits:</b> 
        Thinking Outside the Box logo illustrated and is &copy; 1999 Dan Zalkus. 
        Thinking Outside the Box is &copy; 1999 Paul Steed. All other content 
        is &copy; 1999 <a target="_self" href="http://www.loonyboi.com">loonyboi 
        productions</a>. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited, so 
        don't even try it. We've got really big guns, and we're ripped, baby.</font></i></p>
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