Setting a project will allow me to open the scene files with ease by opening scenes from the "file" drop down menu.
I should make new saves every so often of different versions of my animations with my name/id/versionnumber with no spaces in the file name only using dashes and underscores to separate characters.
Start with something like FMM_1101192_moom_001
Creating a reference will easily allow me to import a rig and animate it so if I ever need to change anything I can do so with ease and the change will be consistent through the animation, it's exactly the same kind of functionality as placing images and objects in Indesign.
At the bottom right of the screen at the end of the animation frame counter there is a key symbol and a red running man. The key toggles auto key framing, this efficiently makes new key frames for each of the parameters you've changed and only those keeping file sizes down and cpu load low. The running man symbol is the animation settings where you can change the framerate and other settings.
The Y axis is up unlike normal graph paper where you would normally look at it from above onto a desk we are looking at a screen so the second axis is up and Z the undisplayable axis is depth which can only be shown by tricks in perspective.
For our animations we are to use the NTSC 30 fps setting.
Translate = moving through space
alt + middle click drag is panning alt + left click rotates the camera around the mouse alt + right click moves the camera toward and away from the viewpoint.
small red vertical lines on the frame counter at the bottom signify keyframes.
tapping space shows all 4 of the views
holding space clicking maya then any of the views can change each one of the panels
while holding space there are 5 sections of menus to select from, the centre and each of the 4 outer sections
Pressing the F key focuses the camera onto the selection
When animating the flat tangent tool can be used to make something suddenly jump to a different value at the next keyframe.
The red and white lined icon breaks tangents so that a curve can change value suddenly at the key frame.
Pressing S while selecting the controls you want will make a key frame for those controllers.
A good tutorial for splines is: http://www.navone.org/HTML/Tutorial_Splines1.htm
Pressing the Up arrow key will select the entire rig when you select the rig movement tool.
Shift + alt + LeftClick + RightClick will let you resize the curves in the curves graph.
Forward Kinetics is best suited for walk cycles where the arms move from the body as opposed to the body swinging from the hand and arms.
A mixture of Forward and Inverse kinetics is best for a walk cycle as the leg swings in mid stride and is fixed in place when on the floor when the body then moves and rotates around the foot. This is problematic though because switching between the two can be a very tricky process where the model must be completely repositioned to match that of the other kinetic when switching, there is no feature that allows for both modes of the model to follow the other.
A good way to cut down on file size is to delete all of the curves that never deviate from the value 0 as they are taking up hard drive space and offering no real change to the animation.
Selecting curves then pressing > post infinity > cycle. will make the animation loop
http://vimeo.com/user904568 - The gorilla CG project offers a very good introduction to the fundamentals of animation.
The proper name for slip walking is footslide. This is where when characters walk their feet don't properly connect with the floor and instead oddly move around unfixed making the walk cycle look incredibly unrealistic and weird.
Maya works using Euclidian space which defines spaces by 3 dimensions, the term Euclidian separates it from curved space which is a non-Euclidian geometry system as well as Einsteins theory of relativity.
