Houdini 22.0 Character KineFX

Eye

Sets up look at controls for one or more eyes.

Since 22.0

This component creates a look at rig for each matching eye segment - a target control the eye aims at, plus optional driver and up controls. A single main target control parents all the per-eye targets, so you can move all the eyes together or each eye independently. The component runs once over all the segments matching Segments.

Eye rig component

Parameters

Name

The name to add to the nodes created by this component. When a segment name is needed in a control name, use the string “{segment}”, which is replaced by the segment name.

Settings

Target Position

The default position of each eye’s look-at target, relative to the eye joint.

Up Position

The direction of the up vector used to orient the look-at. Only used when Use Up is turned on.

Use Driver

When turned on, creates a driver control for each eye that lets you rotate the eye directly, in addition to the look-at target.

Use Up

When turned on, creates an up control for each eye that orients the eye’s twist around its aim axis.

Use World Space

When turned on, the look-at is computed in world space, so the target stays put as parent controls move. When turned off, the look-at is computed in local space.

Driven

Segments

The tags that identify each eye to set up. Defaults to *_eye. Tags can be set up on skeleton joints using an Attribute Adjust Array SOP. See preparing skeletons for rigging for more information.

Driver

Make sure the control names are unique. To create unique names for each eye, use the string “{segment}”, which is replaced by the segment name.

Main Name

The name of the main target control that parents all of the per-eye targets.

Target Name

The name of each eye’s target control. Use “{segment}” to insert the segment name.

Up Name

The name of each eye’s up control. Use “{segment}” to insert the segment name.

Driver Name

The name of each eye’s driver control. Use “{segment}” to insert the segment name.

Parent

Parent

The parent of the main target control. If left empty, the parent of the first eye target’s joint is used. This parameter accepts APEX path patterns, so you can specify tags in this field.

Tags

Tags

The tags to add to the controls created by this component. Defaults to eye.

Shape

The APEX Configure Controls SOP provides more options for changing the look of the controls.

Color

The color of the control shapes.

Scale

The scale of the control shapes.

See also

KineFX

Overview

Preparing character elements

Rigging with APEX graphs

  • APEX graph basics

    Introduction of the APEX graph evaluation framework.

  • APEX graph debugger

    Inspect the values of an APEX graph’s ports within the APEX network view.

  • APEX Script basics for graph building

    An overview of APEX Script, a code interface for building APEX graphs.

  • Graphs for numerical operations

    Example graphs of numerical operations like adding two values, fetching multiple results, and retrieving information from geometry.

  • Graphs for viewport animation

    Example graphs of animate state functionality like creating controls and constraints, and defining joint hierarchies.

  • Graphs for deforming geometry

    Example of a SOP network and APEX graph for deforming a 3-joint tube geometry.

  • Graph metadata

    Information added to graph nodes and ports.

  • APEX path pattern

    A set of rules that allow you to filter and select elements within graphs, skeletons, geometry, and the character folder structure.

  • APEX graph nodes

    APEX nodes provide operations for building up the functionality of APEX graphs, which are used in KineFX to create character rigs and perform other geometry manipulation.

  • APEX updates for H22

    New and updated APEX graph nodes for Houdini 22.

Building rig graphs with APEX Script

Rigging with rig components

Animating in the viewport

  • Animation workflow

    Example networks of adding characters, props, characters, and animation to a scene.

  • Animating in LOPs

    Rig and animate characters and props in the context of a USD stage.

  • Working in the animate state

    Select and manipulate controls, define transform limits for controls, and add skin controls to a character.

  • Animate state menus and HUDs

    Menus, HUDs, toolbars, and options in the animate state.

  • Animate state hotkeys

    Hotkeys available in the animate state.

  • Posing

    Pose characters in the animation scene by using locators, copying and pasting controls, and mirroring poses.

  • Motion paths

    Visualize the motion of controls as curves in 3D space.

  • Constraints

    Create relationships between controls in the animate state.

  • Dynamic motion

    Add physically-accurate projectile motion to your animation in the animate state.

  • Ragdoll

    Add a ragdoll simulation to your animation in the animate state.

  • Full body IK

    Apply full body inverse kinematics to pose the character using high-level targets rather than manipulating individual joints.

  • Secondary motion

    Add physically-accurate effects like lag/overshoot, jiggle, and spring to your animation in the animate state.

  • Control selection sets

    A tree view of controls, selections, and selection sets for the animate state. Allows management of control selection and visibility.

  • Motion mixer

    Combine and edit the animation clips of multiple characters in a timeline-based view.

  • Character picker

    Create a 2D layout with simple buttons for selecting character controls in an animation scene.

  • Animation catalog

    Save, manage, and apply animations and single-frame poses to an animation scene.

  • Animation layers

    Create multiple layers of animation without affecting the original animation.

  • Animation toolbar

    A customizable toolbar consisting of simple slider tools that quickly apply modifications to animation controls and curves.

  • Animation bookmarks

    Frame markers that help organize and identify the different parts of your animation.

Customizing the animate state

SOP-based animation

  • Physics-based motion

    Add physically-accurate motion to your animation using the Projectile Motion and Pendulum Motion SOPs.

  • Ragdoll simulations

    Add a ragdoll simulation to your animation using the Ragdoll Solver SOP.

Deformation

  • Blend shapes

    Create blend shapes using blend shape SOP nodes.

Animation retargeting

Pre-H20

Panes

  • Motion mixer

    A timeline-based view of the animation clips and motion effects of multiple characters.

  • Character picker

    Create a 2D layout with simple buttons to select character controls in an animation scene.

  • Rig tree view

    A hierarchical view of character components, including packed character folders, KineFX rigs, and Object node rigs.

  • Animation editor

    View and edit animated parameters and their transitions between keyframes.

  • Geometry spreadsheet

    Displays details about the geometry selected in the network editor.

Appendix