I have made an animation that I would like to copy as well as be able to array.
I tried simple copy and paste but that seems to throw the relationships all over the place.
I read an earlier post where it was suggested to use CopyBongoChain but that only allows me to copy one part of the animation.
I would like to copy the whole animation and propagate it in my model.
Is there an effective way to copy/past and array or do I need to copy/past and array non-animated objects and then manually animate each of them?
Thank you,
Nathan
Hi Marika;
I had read that post and tried it but the BongoCopyChain command only lets me copy a small part of the model and move it. Since it does not allow me to grab the whole IK chain, the copy and moved component does not animate.
Per the model you helped me with last week, can you copy the whole animated model, for example, and paste or array it?
I am re-posting it to use as a reference. I am also posting a version where I tried to use BongoCopyChain to link a copy of the IK chain that I did a polar array on. It did not seem to make the link.
If this is not possible, or do I need to manually build a model and animate each component to replicate the animation? I was hoping there was a copy function to help me not have to re-create each IK chain link.
Thank you for your help and happy holidays!
NathanBongo Test_Moving Leaf 001.3dm (268.5 KB)CR Array Test_Bongo Test_Moving Leaf 001.3dm (328.9 KB)
Hi CadRhino,
Indeed, all Rhino’s copy command will relink children to their initial parent and not to the copy-parent, hence corrupting your IK chain logic. Indeed this is why the BongoCopyChain command was created.
Try this on your Moving Leaf model: select Object 24 (the leaf) which is the top of the IK-chain. Have the Animation Manager open so that you can see what happens. Now, in the command line type the BongoCopyChain command.
You’ll see that the entire chain, up until point object 34, is selected automatically - Bongo recognizes the chain. While the commandline says ‘Point to move from ( Vertical=No ):’ just press Enter, hence making a copy “In Place”. In the Animation manager you see the copied chain appear (Object 30 till 34), which is now selected (hard to see in the model while one is on top of the other).
Now you can easily rotate this copied chain 180° around the center of the pole (in Top view).
This should lead to Bongo Test_Moving Leaf 002 (1).3dm (309.7 KB)
Alas, the copied chain is still hanging from point Object 26 which is of course not correct. Indeed you now have to manually make a copy of Object 26 (I assume you are make an umbrella-like structure, so polar array will come in handy) and redirect the constraint of the end of the copied chain to the correct suspension point. The computer can do a lot for you but there are limits to automation.
PS. Point Object 28 isn’t playing any part in the action - so why not simply delete it?
Hi Luc,
Thank you for the detailed explanation.
You are a very good teacher.
This makes more sense now and I will try it.
Thank you, again, for the insight.
Happy Holidays!
Best,
Nathan
Hi Luc,
I have week using your process to work out the issues in my model.
The good news is that it has been working well when I use BongoCopyChain and rotate the copy 180 degrees. The bad news is that if I try to use BongoCopyChain to rotate a copy at any other degree, it does a weird rotation thing with the new object. I have tried tweaking it different ways but have not found out what is causing the weird rotation. Maybe there is some kind of relationship to the original model I do not see. See model attached. The leaf that is rotated 72 degrees from the original.
FYI I tried to do an array with the selected BongoCopyChain group and it would not do it so I don’t think that function works with BongoCopyChain.
Best,
Nathan
Bongo Test_Luc_Moving Leaf 001.3dm (350.4 KB)
The issue here is the peculiarity of Bongo’s Rotate in World space versus in Object space. It’s a asset to be found in every object’s Properties.
It is ‘set’ by default ( apparently for the sake of compatibility with Bongo 1.0). For the first two leafs this meant no problem, but the third trying to rotate according to the World axis while the object itself is no longer aligned with them, is indeed unwanted. The cure is simple: unmark the ‘Rotate in world space’ property for the 2 hinging objects in the IK chain (Object 63 and 65) and the hinges will nicely rotate around their own axis.
Bongo Test_Luc_Moving Leaf 002.3dm (302.2 KB)
Maybe it is wise to do the same for Object 23 and 24 in the primary IK-chain before copying again.
It is a mystery to me why the Bongo people ever thought it was useful to have an object rotating other than according to his own pivot axis, but… it is the way it is.
The model WorldObjectSpace.3dm (1.0 MB) tries to illustrate the concept of both Spaces: WorldSpace and ObjectSpace.
I can understand your urge to use the polar array command, but as I wrote before: every of Rhino’s copying commands (polar and linear array included) will relink children to their initial parent, not to the copy-parent, hence corrupting parent/child (so-called hierarchical) chains. So – forget it: you’ll have to do the leaves one by one.
I say it again: the computer can do a lot for you but there are limits to automation.
Hi Luc,
Wow, you nailed it. That resolved my issue.
Kudos, again, for the elegant way of communicating/teaching the nuances of Bongo. The world space diagram was helpful too.
The funny thing about Bongo is that when I unchecked world space, it gave me a ‘constraint’ error and the part did not animate properly. After doing this after several attempts, I just saved it and re-opened it and everything was working perfectly.
I have noticed this before in Bongo. I will have an error or an animation is not working and I cannot for the life of me figure out what is wrong. I then just save and close then re-open the file and everything is working perfectly.
In the future when it seems that everything should be working and it is not, I will always just close and re-open the file to see if things are ‘magically’ resolved.
Thanks again and Happy New Year.
-Nathan
Hi Nathan,
You flatter me. It is my pleasure – really. I enjoy sharing my experience.
You are right about the save and re-open trick. It is often applicable when you I have bend the rules of some scheme (create a situation the programmers didn’t foresee). The need for it wears out the more you get the hang of things. Maybe Marika can give an explanation why saving and re-opening clears up.
Best Wishes
Luc