Animation Export

Export animation based on a characters anatomical skeleton.

Anatomy Animation Export Guide

This guide details the setup and usage of the Anatomy Anim Export node. This toolset generates motion clips from your character rigging data, allowing you to load the motion clips into subsequent muscle tools for simulation.

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Initial Setup & Visualization

Before exporting, ensure the network is correctly configured:

• Setting the TOP Network Parameter: In List Mode, the Anatomy Anim Export node requires a specific connection to the output TOP network.

  • Drag and drop the TOP Network node (AUTOMATE) from your network view into the parameter TOP network operator path.

  • This will have been automatically set when using the Anatomy Create Animation (List).

    

    Here we have the anatomy_anim_export1 node selected and the TOP Network Parameter visible on the right hand side.

• Visualization Types:

  • The visualization options (e.g., displaying muscles, multicolor views) are purely for viewport display purposes.

  • They do not affect the exported animation data.

  • For better performance, consider disabling alpha in the viewport settings.

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Output Path Configuration

These parameters define where animation is saved and what it is called. You may want to modify these however you must match the file path to work on the simulation rig if you choose to modify it.

Current Animation & Versioning

• File Name Structure: The output file name is constructed from several elements: the directory path, the character name, the version number, and the animation name.

• Versioning: To ensure all exported animations are tracked by a specific version, enable versioning. Every output file is in a version folder.

• Number Padding: Use number padding to prepend zeros to the start of the version number for consistent naming conventions.

• Modifying Paths/Names: While paths are set for simplicity, you can modify them as needed.

Output

• Visible Path: The visible path specifies the absolute location where the animation data will be written, however it is just a visualization of the path.

  

  Here we demonstrate editing the directory parameter, then the Out Path parameter. The directory parameter is part of the expression in Out Path, which is represented in the Visible Path (purple).

• Directory Parameter: Changing the directory is the easiest way to modify the location of your animation.

• Versioning Parameter: You can control a version number that is output in the animation path.

• Out Path Parameter: This is the path you will export your motion clip to. You can modify this path, but maintaining a procedural structure is recommended because the system is setup to match the path naming for muscle simulation.

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Frame Rate Settings

These controls manage how frame rate of the motion clip is written during export.

• Source FPS vs. Output FPS:

  • Source Frames Per Second (FPS): Defines the frame rate at which the input animation data was created or read.

  • Output Frames Per Second (FPS): Defines the target frame rate for the saved motion clip.

• Forcing Match FPS : Use this option to ensure that the source and output FPS values are identical, preventing discrepancies during export.

  • This is useful when you have the Global Animation Options FPS at a rate other than what the Source FPS is set to. (Global Animation Options Hotkey Alt+Shift+G)

• Set Target FPS: Setting a specific target FPS will set the animation timing by interpolating new frames.

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Export

The process for exporting differs significantly depending on whether you use Input Mode or List Mode. Modes are controlled by the anatomy_anim_import node.

Input Mode (Simple Export)

• To export, simply press the Save button. This mode is typically used for single, defined exports.

List Mode (Batch Processing)

This mode allows batch processing of multiple animations and requires careful setup manually,

1. Network Connection: Inside the Automate TOP network node, the Anatomy Anim Workitems node must be correctly pointed to both the Anatomy Anim Import and Anatomy Anim Export nodes. This connection generates the necessary job list for animation creation.

   

2. Caching Control: Use the parameters on the Anatomy Anim Import to enable or disable caching, which is crucial for managing data integrity during batch runs.

3. Local Scheduler Settings:

   • Single Job Toggle: By default, this is set to a single job. While useful in most scenarios, disabling it allows processing of many animations simultaneously. Warning: Disabling this may cause the computer to become temporarily unresponsive.

   • Total Slots: This parameter controls parallel processing capacity. It has minimal effect when Single Job is enabled. When Single Job is disabled and caching many animations, you can set Total Slots to CPU Count - 1 for optimal performance.

     

4. To export: Once those settings have been checked you may finally export. Press the Save All Animations button.