If I remember (someone else talking about MB), they made a lot of changes for version 7 (or around that version) that are essential. I'd guess you'd need a version near that to be workable.

From what I have read is that later versions, after AutoDesk acquisition, have become AutoDesk centric. Earlier versions, notably version 5, are preferred as being more general use.

Just noticed that Oliver is requesting bvh files to test for 'new release' of JimmyRig

http://www.origamidigital.com/forum/vie ... =263#p1219

It's lives!

Origami Digital had been so quiet for so long about J|R Pro that I think a lot of users had given up on it. That said, (not to slight the very capable Animeeple) there is still very little competition for Motion Builder. I'm curious to see how J|R Pro turns out and what this eventually means for iPi DMC users. Hope they post some interesting demo movies soon. :)

G.

_________________
Greenlaw
Artist/Partner - Little Green Dog | My Demo Reels (2013,) (2015,) (2017,) and (2019)

Watch a one minute excerpt on Vimeo now!

Greenlaw - using JimmyRig to apply bvh is certainly not a major priority for me right now (although, they did develop it to get around problems they found in MotionBuilder, so - maybe I'll come across those problems myself?).

I've pretty much moved to 3ds using CAT to rig, bringing the motion into Lightwave using Point Oven.

But, rigging and weighting is certainly a pain that I'd like to reserve just for the main characters.

I wonder if I could use JimmyRig to rig and weight secondary characters that I could bring into Maya/3ds to animate.

Any thoughts on this - whether a rigged and weighted JImmyRig generated Lightwave character would be of much use to getting a rigged Maya/3ds character working?

I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for JR Pro's release date. I still think that are a good year away for a minimum release date if ever.

JimmyRig Pro is now in beta. This video shows it using ipi bvh files

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wD1keDh3 ... r_embedded

FYI, if you already own J|R Lite you will find the J|R Pro beta features temporarily available to you the next time you launch it. Lots of new features, so if you have Lite, definitely check it out.

I have a good workflow in place right now (with MB,) so I won't be using J|R Pro on my immediate projects but the demo videos they posted yesterday do look very good...it certainly looks like the easiest way to get iPi mocap onto a character and edit it.

My previous experience with J|R was with the Lite version a couple of years ago. It was easy to use and worked as advertised, and did marvelous things for a very low price. The one feature Lite lacked was .bvh import, which made the program somewhat useless for users who wanted to create and apply their own mocap data. The new Pro version adds this feature, so to many iPi users this program could be a godsend.

I haven't used the Pro version yet but here's the 'Lite' workflow as I remember it: import a character mesh (no skeleton needed), J|R automatically scans the volume and generates a mocap skeleton with appropriate weights for the mesh; tweak the skeleton joints if necessary; select a motion from a library of included data or import your own .bvh (Pro-only feature); export your scene or .mdd; you're done.

There are a number of tools for modifying the applied motions like blending multiple motions to create new motions, changing path direction, aiming the head, correcting skating, etc. It's not a full featured program like Motion Builder but for basic biped characters, it does a very good job with a minimum of fuss.

I think the only 'issue' now is that export is limited to Lightwave and .mdd. The Lightwave format gives you a full rig for editing but you will need to convert it if you want to use this in another program. (The obvious way is to export an FBX from Lightwave 10.1.) You can use .mdd in many programs but because this is just displacement data, there are no bones or joints to edit...this means that with .mdd, you can't add hand-finger motions, and edit the limbs. What would be ideal for many users is if J|R Pro could export FBX, which would deliver the full rig in any program that supports this format.

Anyway, I'll try J|R Pro tonight or this weekend and let everybody here know how well it works with my iPi data. I can't use J|R Pro on my current project but I have ideas for future projects that could use it. :)

G.

_________________
Greenlaw
Artist/Partner - Little Green Dog | My Demo Reels (2013,) (2015,) (2017,) and (2019)

Watch a one minute excerpt on Vimeo now!