If you are familiar with SOFTIMAGE|3D, note that the concept of a model as generally being any object or group of objects is not the same in XSI. A model in XSI is a hierarchy that acts like a mini scene.
Models provide a way of organizing the objects in a scene. They contain not just the geometry of hierarchies, but also the function curves, shaders, and other properties that have been applied to it, including mixer information.
|
|
If you are familiar with SOFTIMAGE|3D, note that the concept of a model as generally being any object or group of objects is not the same in XSI. A model in XSI is a hierarchy that acts like a mini scene. |
There are separate mixers for each model (such as the Club_bot model shown here) including the scene root (which is technically a model). Every mixer contains its own set of tracks, sources, clips, transitions, and compounds.
Models are the only type of elements in which you can store actions, shape animation, or audio. If you select an object that is not a model and store an action, it is either stored in the parent model (if it already exists) or in the Scene_Root (if it does not).
You should always put your objects within a model so that you have a model-level (as opposed to scene-level) mixer for your character, because a model can have only one mixer.
Notes for Using Models
• If you split a model by creating submodels after you have created action sources, the existing actions are not updated.
• When you duplicate a model that has mixer animation (sources, tracks, clips, templates, compounds, etc.), you have the option of either copying or sharing the sources, depending on what you set on the Animation page in the Duplication Options property editor (see Transforming While Duplicating in the Scene Elements guide for more information).
• If you duplicate a model in branch mode (middle-click it and press Ctrl+d) or if you export and import a model, all clips it contains are connected as appropriate.
However, if you duplicate something that is driven by an action in the mixer without duplicating the entire model, the duplicated object is not driven by the mixer.
When working with characters and the mixer, it’s best to create models at the character level (or higher); that is, don’t create models for each hand, foot, leg, etc. This makes it difficult to animate the character as a whole in the mixer because you won’t have a high-level view of all of your character’s animation. If you want to segregate the different parts within a model, use a compound clip for each different part.
If your characters are in models, it makes it easy to share mixer information between them. To copy the whole Mixer node from one model to another, you can export it as an .xsimixer preset and then import it (see Importing and Exporting the Animation Mixer).
You can also simply copy sources and clips between models. And when you duplicate a model, all sources and clips and mixer information can also be duplicated.
See these sections for more information on the different ways in which you can share the animation:
• See How Do You Share the Animation?.
• See Sharing Shape Animation between Objects, Models, and Scenes.
SOFTIMAGE|XSI v.6.01