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Unity Character Animation with Mecanim
Unity Character Animation with Mecanim

Unity Character Animation with Mecanim: A detailed guide to the complex new animation tools in Unity, packed with clear instructions and illustrated with original content in the context of a next generation zombie apocalypse adventure game

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Unity Character Animation with Mecanim

Chapter 2. Rigging Characters for Unity in 3ds Max and Maya

We have already got into some of the major character animation tools that Unity has to offer, but if you have experience modeling and a character that you would like to bring into Unity, this chapter will explain how to get your model rigged and ready.

We will cover typical rigging workflows for 3ds Max and Maya, and illuminate a couple of the pitfalls that you may run into along the way.

We will cover:

  • Basic rigging objectives
  • Rigging with Biped in 3ds Max
  • Rigging with joints in Maya
  • Exporting in Unity compatible formats

Understanding the need for rigging

The rigging portion of the character animation process is essential to ready the character to be animated. When rigged, a character will have defined joints, which will allow it to articulate in a realistic way.

A key difference between rigging for a game engine like Unity and rigging for a non real-time animation is that we do not need to set up full character controls in our 3D software.

On export, controls and other helpers will typically be deleted leaving just the mesh, bones, and animation (if there is any). This makes rigging a model for Unity a little easier.

Minimum requirements

As we mentioned briefly in Chapter 1, The Zombie Attacks!, there are certain requirements that we need to consider if we want to create a rigged character that is fully compatible with Mecanim's tools. In order to make use of the Humanoid Avatar preset in Mecanim, we need a minimum of 15 bones, typically:

  • Hips or root joint
  • Spine1
  • Spine2
  • Neck
  • Head
  • Thigh_R
  • Calf_R
  • Foot_R
  • Thigh_L
  • Calf_L
  • Foot_L
  • UpperArm_R
  • ForeArm_R
  • UpperArm_L
  • ForeArm_L

The skeletons that we will create in 3ds Max and Maya will have quite a few more bones than these—supporting full hand articulation, but this is not strictly necessary to make use of the animation and retargeting tools that Mecanim offers.

Your bones do not have to be named this way, though it is a good idea to adopt consistent naming conventions between your characters. The Avatar in Mecanim acts as an intermediary between the animation and the skeleton, which helps when retargeting animations between different characters.

Mecanim has support...

Sourcing models

If you are not a modeler, suitable characters are easy to find in the Unity Asset Store and other commercial sites. It is possible to find rigged models without having to pay a lot of money, but if you are planning on using them in a commercial project, always check the licensing—typically a small word or text file is included in the zipped folder when you download a model.

The models used in this book are provided by Atelier Sphynx, more are available in the Unity Asset Store at https://www.assetstore.unity3d.com.

Modeling for animation

Though an explanation of the full modeling process is beyond the scope of this book, there are a few considerations that you need to be aware of if you have a model that you want to rig for use in Unity:

  • Polycount: Think about how many times the model is likely to be shown on screen and how big it will be. Typically, characters that are only present in the background or those that are repeated multiple times, would contain less polygons to free up system resources, and maintain a consistent frame rate. The polycount is the amount of triangles, which the character is made up of. This can often be kept to a minimum by deleting unseen parts of a model and reducing the complexity of less important areas.
  • Mesh density: In order to maintain the semblance of a smooth, continuous surface, modelers often organize their character's topology by the direction and flow of edges. A ring of edges is called an Edge Loop. Typically, more edge loops will be necessary on the parts...

Rigging in 3ds Max

In this section, we will demonstrate the rigging process in 3ds Max using Biped.

Biped is a set of tools developed as part of the character studio in 3ds Max and is basically a prefabricated skeleton that can be fully adjusted to fit most bipedal (and also some quadrupedal characters). The main advantage of using this is speed. It will enable you to create a usable character skeleton in a very short span of time. Biped also has inverse kinematics (IK) by default. IK can be set up from scratch using the max bones system, but it takes quite a bit more time.

Setting up the scene

Before we get to work, there are a few things we need to do to prepare for rigging:

  1. Download the project files from the Packt website if you have not already done so.
  2. Start 3ds Max.
  3. Set the units to meters by navigating to Customize | Units Setup.
  4. When the Units Setup window appears in the max interface, click on the Metric radio button near the top of the Display Unit Scale group.
  5. Choose Meters from the...

Rigging in Maya

Like 3ds Max, Maya is a major software application used in game asset creation. One of its major advantages is that unlike 3ds Max, it is compatible with Mac operating systems. Its dependence on key combinations rather than point and click icons arguably makes the modeling and rigging process faster.

Though Maya has fewer options for rigging than 3ds Max, its rigging and animation toolset is known for being easy to access and use.

Setting up Maya to rig our character model

Before we import the model and start adding the joints, we will spend a little time setting up Maya to ensure our rigged model is compatible with Unity.

These next steps are optional, but will make for a smoother workflow and more predictable result, particularly if you are working with a sourced model that you did not create yourself.

Setting system units to meters

Unity uses meters as its default unit, so it makes sense to adopt this unit for our rigging work:

  1. Start Maya.
  2. Open the Preferences tab by navigating...

Summary

In this chapter, we explored character rigging techniques in 3ds Max and Maya.

Starting with the creation of skeletons and the arrangement of bones (or joints) to fit a modeled character mesh, we explored the crucial relationship between the character and its skeleton.

In 3ds Max, we adapted a Biped rig to fit our female zombie character by scaling and rotating the default joints to fit the character's initial pose. We then used the skin modifier to connect the rig to the character model, fine tuning the envelope settings to correct the range of influence from each bone until the character deformed smoothly in the test pose that we created.

Working in Maya, we created a full hierarchy of joints from scratch, by assembling individual chains of joints for the spine, leg, and arm. We implemented workable naming conventions, before mirroring our joint chains to complete the main skeleton. After adding additional joints for the ponytail and jaw, we used smooth bind to define the relationship...

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Description

Game animation for independent developers has taken a giant leap forward with Unity 5's Mecanim toolset, which streamlines the import/export, retargeting, and many other aspects of the character animation workflow. Unity Character Animation with Mecanim is a great primer for getting to know the nuts and bolts of Mecanim and other character animation related tools in Unity 5. It offers you step-by-step instructions for preparing and exporting rigged models and animation sequences from commonly used 3D packages, such as Maya, 3ds Max and Blender. This book explores the new set of animation tools introduced with Mecanim in Unity 5. Approaching its subject matter through a typical genre–a zombie action game, character animation techniques are explored using real examples of player input and interaction, enemy behavior, and other aspects of game dynamics. As the book progresses, the reader will understand how these elements fit together in a small game development workflow. We will begin with a demonstration of the process of getting a rigged character into Unity 5 and setting it up to use provided animation sequences. We will also consider a few industry standard 3D packages and how these can be used to rig a humanoid character for use in Unity 5. We will demonstrate the retargeting capabilities of Mecanim’s Humanoid Animation type by adjusting motion sequences to fit disparate character types in our game. After this, we will look at Ragdoll physics and the implementation of this commonly used technique in a Mecanim workflow. The book culminates with a thorough dissection of the enemy character AI script incorporating the Mecanim elements detailed in the previous chapters. Unity Character Animation with Mecanim will provide you with a detailed exploration of the interaction between game development and character animation, and will broaden your understanding of the rich animation toolset within Unity 5

Who is this book for?

If you are a Unity developer looking to get to grips with the character animation specific tools, a 3D software user who is new to Unity, or a beginner game developer who is interested in character animation and interaction, this book is ideal for you. Some experience with either the Unity interface or basic 3D coordinates is recommended, but not required.

What you will learn

  • Learn how to prepare a rigged character model to receive animation within Unity
  • Acquire efficient techniques to refine and optimize motion capture data
  • Retarget animation sequences between different character rigs
  • Discover how to rig a humanoid character and export for use in Unity
  • Script character interaction for a First Person character model
  • Create dynamic animation sequences from scratch using keyframe techniques, in a variety of 3D software packages
  • Learn Project Management in Unity
  • Understand how to set up a complex facial rig for speech
  • Set up Animation Controllers with masked states and blend trees to create seamless and additive animation transitions
  • Construct a ragdoll game object and instantiate it in a game
  • Devise Mecanim animation integration for the player and AI driven animation for enemy characters

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Publication date : Sep 29, 2015
Length: 290 pages
Edition : 1st
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781849696371
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Unity Technologies
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Product Details

Publication date : Sep 29, 2015
Length: 290 pages
Edition : 1st
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781849696371
Vendor :
Unity Technologies
Concepts :
Tools :

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Table of Contents

10 Chapters
1. The Zombie Attacks! Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
2. Rigging Characters for Unity in 3ds Max and Maya Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
3. Interacting with the Environment Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
4. Working with Motion Capture Data Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
5. Retargeting Animation Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
6. Talking Heads Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
7. Controlling Player Animation with Blend Trees Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
8. Implementing Ragdoll Physics Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
9. Controlling Enemy Animation with AI and Triggers Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Index Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Customer reviews

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Amazon Customer Nov 24, 2015
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
Unity Character Animation with Mecanim covers how to use the Mecanim tools to animate characters in a game. The book covers a massive amount of information quickly, yet manages to do so in a clear and easy to understand manner. Each lesson builds on what was covered previously so that by the end of the book, you have learned how to accomplish quite a bit of fun and interesting tasks to make your games more enjoyable and interesting.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Raja Biswas Nov 17, 2015
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
All You need to know about character animation in Unity. This book does a great job explaining different animation techniques. It also shows how to use blend trees to control various animations, how to use ragdoll physics. Moreover in the last chapter it teaches about enemy ai and animation. Overall a good book to learn about animation techniques with mecanim.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Amazon Customer Dec 18, 2016
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
A thorough step by step guide to character animation book. Great for learning Unity.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Francis Oct 28, 2015
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
I read this book from a developer’s point of view. When developing a game project I tend to use developer art, which usually lacks the polish of assets created by game artists. This book provides the additional guidance I need to add the professional polish to the games I am working on, especially for 3D animated games using Unity.The book uses a game "Zombie Attacks" to demonstrate many 3D animation techniques that as a developer I was not familiar with. The author demonstrates rigging characters for Unity in 3dsMax and Maya which I have never done before but going through the examples provided a good bases for future development.From start to finish the book demonstrates using Unity to build a complete first person shooter game using sophisticated animation techniques and putting it all together into a Unity scene with scripts to control the AI of the gameThe chapter on using motion sequences was interesting since these bring your characters to life with realistic movements. I also enjoyed the chapter on Ragdoll Physics, that demonstrate how to apply physics to the zombie characters.The sample project the comes with this book (downloaded from the Publisher) provides a good basis for starting a first person shooter and the book provides the information on who it is all put together making it easy to make modifications.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Cristian Gradisteanu Oct 19, 2015
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
The book does a great job of explaining the character creating and animation with Unity engine. Starting with rigging in 3ds Max and Maya, re-targeting and controlling player animation, offering some insights of AI, this is a solid book on creating games with Unity.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
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