Rigging joined eyes?

[AerosolSP]

Yea I posted this in the wrong board before. I got it right this time though! Copy and Pasted.

"I have this model see, and the character has joined eyes. Think that disney movie Cars or even Sonic the Hedgehog characters. The pupils are not a part of the head nor eye white mesh. i didnt connect them for fear of skewering my chances of correctly rigged eyes! So I'm just wondering how I can have these pupils move around the surface of the eye white mesh in an effort to animate them.

If my request is too confusing i'll rephrase..i can't right now though cause im so excited, haha."

I'm using 3dsmax 8.0 by the way. Thanks for any help you guys can dish out!

[Bob Marley]

Well man, i cant see the picture of you character so i m not sure of what you exactly need but, if you want the pupil to move like in the movie Cars well you could i think animate the UV, but if it dont work well try maybe a surface constraint.

[AerosolSP]

you know what, i think that's it. How do i do that?

edit: wait nevermind, I think that only applies to the cloth modifier. Also, animating the uvw won't work because the pupils have actual geometry. But that constrain to surface thing sounds like a real keyword there, cause that's what i want to do. I want to constrain the pupils to the surface of the eye whites geometry as I move them around.

[MaggieQue]

I used different method, Look At Constraint, tutorial post later.

Video:
http://s82.photobucket.com/albums/j2...urrent=046.flv

Or you prefer animated gif:
http://two.xthost.info/maggieque/threedy/046f.gif

[AerosolSP]

that seems like a good way. No useful tutorials came with max on the subject. can you tell me how you did that?

[MaggieQue]

1. create 2 white eyeballs by using sphere. Create 2 pupils, align pupils pivot point to the center of sphere.
http://two.xthost.info/maggieque/threedy/046a.gif

2. create 2 helpers (using Point/Dummy), align helpers position in front of pupils.
http://two.xthost.info/maggieque/threedy/046b.gif

3. select pupil > Motion panel > select Rotation: Euler.. > Assign Controller > Select LookAt Constraint > ok.
http://two.xthost.info/maggieque/threedy/046c.gif

4. under LookAt Constraint, add PointR (helper created at step 2), check "Keep Initial Offset".
http://two.xthost.info/maggieque/threedy/046d.gif

5. you could link the helpers/pupils to head bone/eyeball.

Below is a more complete rigged pupils:
http://two.xthost.info/maggieque/threedy/046.gif

Consists of
- eyeBallGroup(2 white eyeballs grouped together),
- moneyR, moneyL (pupils),
- PointL, PointR, move2eyes (blue box helpers, for animate)
- zeroHelpR, zeroHelpL, zeroHelp2Eyes (pink cross helpers, used as "zero" reference, will not be animated)

Their hierarchy:
* moneyR, moneyL parent = eyeBallGroup
* zeroHelpR, zeroHelpL parent = move2eyes
* move2eyes parent = zeroHelp2Eyes
* zeroHelp2Eyes parent = eyeBallGroup
* PointR parent = zeroHelpR
* PointL parent = zeroHelpL


So after linking, hide all the pink zerohelp. Under Parent Reference Coordinate System, you could animate PoinL/PointR/move2eyes, and reset their position to zero easily.

[MaggieQue]

Originally Posted by AerosolSP

that seems like a good way. No useful tutorials came with max on the subject. can you tell me how you did that?

They do have, I learnt my eye rig from max software tutorial: Creating Complex Character Rigs- Rigging the Eyes.

Originally Posted by Bob Marley

if it dont work well try maybe a surface constraint.

There's a weakness of surface constraint, we can't lock the pupils looking at a target.

[AerosolSP]

i didnt see that in there. Also, do i have to use two balls? cause the eye white is one mesh, and is not spherical. Though it is curved.

[MaggieQue]

I don't know how's your character eyeball mesh looks like. You could move the pupils pivot point to the back of white eye mesh, if the eye balls are too flat.
http://two.xthost.info/maggieque/threedy/046e.gif

But their concept are still the same.