Bret's Blogging Bonanza

Setting Up The Root Component Before we begin, one thing I noticed in the file, is that under the Root Component Group, there is another null called "Root". This is a mistake. It is meant to house our bind joints. So go ahead and rename it to "Bind".     Alright, time to make our first component. This is gonna be a long one so strap in. So, the first step to making any character template is you must first define the character. So to do this, we need to make a null and we can call it anything you want, it really doesn't matter. I have called mine "Character_grp" for absolutely no good reason, it seems fitting. 

Now, Eventually, I will get to writing some more of this. Not like last time where I withered away and never finished it. No, I plan on it this time. To show how serious I am(hopefully), here's the file I intend on using for this series. https://www.dropbox.com/s/6jwk0u14q4m1u0d/spine_component_tutorial_start.c4d?dl=0 When you open this file, you will see a semi functioning rig. I say semi, because it's purposely broken up a bit into component chunks. There's a Root_component, and a Spine_component. I've taken to grouping my components in this way. It kind of seems to just make it clear that everything pertaining to this component exists here. Seems like it'd be a bit easier for debugging purposes.  Nice and tidy! The next part of this we will go through the root component setup. It will be pretty easy as there is not much to it. But it's more useful to see setting up components that will insert into other components. So adding the root compone...

Key Template Concepts     Alrighty, so you want to build a template, but you're not too sure where to begin. Let's start with some key, very confusing concepts: -Template: A template is a file, stored in the library>characters folder of your user prefs that houses objects with Component Tags and more. -Character Object: This is the thing that will consume your template. This is where you do all the building of components, adjusting, and eventually animating -Component Tag: This is the tag primarily used for creating templates.  -Component: This is a piece of a template. Components are what the buttons you'd see when you are building your character. They represent a complete portion of the template(ie an arm or leg etc) -Component Type: This one's a bit confusing. Component Tags can be set to various types, and one of them is 'Component'. This is like an element of a...Component listed above. 

    So, many moons ago(years ago) I had begun documenting via a blog, the process of making a custom character template. I never finished it. I think, with this COVID induced break, I will try to go through the process again. I've had conversations with people regarding making their own templates, and there have been some hesitations. Most, invalid in my arrogant ass opinion, but there has been on fair person(Gene Magtoto) who I will let slide for not using it. The rest of you, no excuses. :)     So what I want to do with this first post is cover some of the reasons why you should take a rig you use regularly, and convert it into a template. So let's dive in!    

We are entering week 6 of social distancing/staying at home. It's been pretty wild. I am able to work from home as of week 3. It is not as easy to work from home when you are a family of 5. It is funny, this has been kind of hard for my wife and I, but not really at the same time. The only part that is hard is the inability to go anywhere and hang with friends. My wife has been a stay at home mom for 6 years, finding things to do and taking care of her kids has been her jam. But what has made so much of that easier is friends and family to be able to visit and hang out with. School to break things up etc.