Adobe Director Basics

ADOBE DIRECTOR BASICS
3D basics
Exporting multiple motions
W3D files can contain multiple motions for a given animated character. However, you may find that the W3D exporter
accepts only a single motion per character. One solution is to export a separate W3D file for each motion. You can then
use cloneMotionFromCastMember() to copy the separate motions to the 3D cast member that will be playing back the
scene. See also “Cloning from other 3D cast members” on page 67.
An alternative is to add each motion in sequence to the character's timeline, and then use the millisecond timing of the
start and end of each motion when you want to playback a particular motion sequence.
Exporting hidden objects
If you hide objects in your 3D modeling application before you export the scene, everything is exported anyway.
Hidden objects will be exported as Director groups. Such a group defines a position, rotation, and a scale, but it
includes no geometrical information.
Basic Model Preparation in 3ds Max
1 Create a model, or purchase a model from suppliers, such as, TurboSquid.
2 Convert to polygons if necessary.
3 Create a biped at the same origin point as the mesh, the same height as the mesh (Create > Systems > Biped)
4 Put the biped in figure mode so that you can edit the biped.
5 Get the overall height of the biped right, and then position his hips. Starting from there work outwards using nonuniform
scale to fit the bones to the mesh. Widen the bones so that they nearly cover the mesh, so that they will
influence the mesh when we add the skin modifier.
6 Put the viewport in wireframe and zoom in on the hips. Add a skin modifier to the mesh, click the Attach to Node
button on the rollout, and select the biped’s hips. This will open the skin initializer dialog, so click initialize.
7 Open the skin modifier and select vertex. Marquee select the whole mesh and look for blue vertices. These are not
linked to a bone, so select them and click Assign to Link.
8 Create the dummy, which is a simple transparent cube that you use to translate and rotate the model. The dummy
should be bigger that the mesh, but centered on the mesh center.
9 Go into the hierarchy browser, select both the mesh and biped, and select Group > Group to create a new group
with them as the members. Give the group a good name. (If you do not do so, the mesh does not animate with the
biped in Shockwave, even though it does in Max)
10 After you group, link the group to the dummy. To do so, select the group, and then select the link, and drag into an
area where you only hit the dummy.
Applying motion capture data
Applying motion capture data is really no different for Shockwave3D than for any 3ds Max character. Motion capture
data is a substitute for handmade animation motions, and is usually more fluid and natural than handmade animated
motions, but may sometimes be less efficient at runtime. Motion capture files are available for purchase from many
suppliers.
1 Select the mesh and click Display > Hide > Unhide All to show the biped.
2 Select the biped, Motion > Biped Apps > Figure Mode to take it out of Figure Mode.
3 Motion > Motion Capture > Load File to load the file. Initialize dialog box appears.
Last updated 8/26/2011
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