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Bridged morph controller not working with character solver

GordigGordig Posts: 10,056
in Cinema 4D Discussion

I'm working on an animation project in C4D with two 8.1 characters I bridged over, using the character solver tag to retarget animations I created in Cascadeur. I just discovered that they seem to be mutually exclusive: I can EITHER have the character follow the character solver and play through the animation, OR have the character follow the Daz morph controller. Is there any way to get these to play nice?

Comments

  • GordigGordig Posts: 10,056

    Turns out the answer was super obvious: just don't include the joints I need in the character definition.

  • kevinkemproductionkevinkemproduction Posts: 7

    Hey Gordig, could you please elaborate on what you did to make it work?  I'm kind of in the same boat.  My current workflow is to create the characters in DAZ, then bridge them over to C4D where the created scene is and link it to my own captured mocap data.  I can connect them via the character solver, but I need the AUTO-OK rig to clean up motion, direct eye movements, etc.  If you could let me know exactly how you got both tools to play nice, that would be a huge help. Thanks!

  • GordigGordig Posts: 10,056

    I don't think I ever got it to work with Auto-IK as well. My workflow at the time was to bridge a character over, use a Cascadeur animation to drive the character via the Solver tag, but exclude all the head joints from the Character Definition so that they didn't conflict with the Morph Controller. I don't remember if I even figured out how to use the Character Definition and Solver to drive an Auto-IKed figure, but it wasn't a priority for me.

  • kevinkemproductionkevinkemproduction Posts: 7

    Copy that.  Thanks for getting back to me!

  • GordigGordig Posts: 10,056

    Just tried again with a freshly-bridged character, and I still couldn't get Auto-IK to work with the Character Solver, no matter how I defined the skeleton (with joints or controllers), no matter where I put the Definition and Solver. I don't know if it's possible to use the Character Solver with an Auto-IKed figure, but I'm sure there are other ways to retarget animation. 

  • kevinkemproductionkevinkemproduction Posts: 7

    Same. I thought I could maybe fool the Character Definition tag into reading the new skeleton, but no joy.  My current mocap workflow utilizes the mixamo rig, and I can brute force a model from Daz with facial morphs, but it's a bit of a process. Hopefully, they'll integrate that ability in future updates. Thanks again!

  • GordigGordig Posts: 10,056

    Maybe you could try importing the animation into DS, bridging the animated character and then adding Auto-IK to clean it up?

  • kevinkemproductionkevinkemproduction Posts: 7

    Thanks for that! My mocap software's current output is based on the Mixamo rig, and it gave a list of errors when I tried to import a test fbx, so I'll have to do some research into a conversion method or tool. I use C4D to create storyboards and animatics for film production, and it would be great to incorporate Daz to replace my current character creation tool. The daz to C4D bridge is great for sending models over ready to be posed for storyboarding, but the dream would be to find a method to make models from Daz play nice with C4D's tools, which I'm currently depending on.  I can "brute force" it, by exporting everything created in Daz to C4D and re-rigging it there, but if I can make the two apps be friends, it would be a great time-saver. Thanks again for the help!

  • GordigGordig Posts: 10,056

    Houdini has powerful retargeting tools, and it's pretty easy to convert Mixamo animation to Daz skeletons. If you send me one of your mocap files, I could show you how it's done.

  • kevinkemproductionkevinkemproduction Posts: 7

    I don't currently have Houdini in the toolbox, but I'd love to learn, just in case that changes in the future.  I'll shoot you something we've captured.  And thanks!

  • GordigGordig Posts: 10,056

    I just remembered that @TheMysteryIsThePoint commissioned a Houdini tool that would easily convert Mixamo animation to a JSON file for importing the animations into DS. I don't seem to still have it on my computer, and I'm not sure which versions of Houdini it worked in, but if we could get that working, that's by far the simplest solution.

    I also tried AGAIN to get Auto-IK working with the character tools in C4D, based on my memory that Auto-IK created a bunch of layers, some of which were locked. Sadly, the bridge no longer does that, so that idea is down the tubes, too.

  • TheMysteryIsThePointTheMysteryIsThePoint Posts: 2,946
    edited March 12

    Houdini Retargeter

    If I remember correctly, it worked pretty well, but had a few issues.

    Post edited by TheMysteryIsThePoint on
  • GordigGordig Posts: 10,056

    Just got it working after some frustrating troubleshooting. It turns out that when you add the BVH and motion files into the HDA, it is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT that you click cancel on the dialogue that pops up.

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