How do I create Flux Studio Avatar Animations?

     Flux Studio  is a vrml97 authoring and animation application. Here is an attempt at explaining how to create an animation. Keep it simple at first until you've gotten all the steps to work at least once.

    Essentially, you add a body part, add some time steps, define the position or orientation of that body part at those points in time, add a trigger to set off the animations, and publish the thing with the Complex Avatar Wizard. OK, here is is one step at a time...

1. Download and install Flux Studio ( http://www.mediamachines.com ). It was a free beta test package and is now commercially available for $60.00 (US).

2. Create an avatar or import one from some other source.

3. OK, let's make Gesture 1, HELLO WORLD.

4. In Flux Studio click on the Animation Icon (looks like a clock), then click on your avatar model.

5. You will see this animation node added to the "scene tree" hierarchy, double click on it to see the animation property sheet.

   

    

6. First you need to add a "part" to animate. Click ADD NODE and then in the scene tree or in the viewer click the part to add; like Add Node r_arm (if r_hand is grouped with r_lower_arm, it will move when r_lower_arm moves).

7. Next we need to add different time slices, so hit the Insert After button. You should understand that we now have 3 times or frames. One at time zero, one at one-half the time (0.5) and one at the end-of-time (1.0). If I said fractional time would that help? It goes from zero to 100%. The beginning and the end is where you start and where you end up (alpha and omega?), so the thing we will modify is that middle point.

8. If you notice the two arrow widgets, you will see that you can scroll up and down through time. Also you may guess that you can add additional time fractions before or after the present time. Don't add any more time steps right now, keep it simple.

9. Put the Key Fraction at 0.5 and check the Edit Animations Keys checkbox.

10. Select the rotate tab and move the arm to an upright position by hitting the -X button twice (rotate 180 degrees around the X axis, please).



11. Then click on the Animation tab to return to the animation properties page.

12. Use the arrow keys to scroll through time and watch the motion.

13. Ooops, I guess that should have been hit the  +X button twice. The arm rotates in the wrong direction. Sheesh. Take the negative sign out of the Rotation Angle box.

14. OK, now you have a very simple animation, select the Triggers Tab, find and check the Cybertown check box and select Gesture1 to associate that trigger with your animation. Do not worry about the other options at this time.

     

15. OK, last step.... Click the Wizards pull down menu and select "Generate Complex Avatar". This option scales the avatar, wraps it into the Blaxxun Proto, gzips the file, and even FTP's it to your web site.