Houdini 20.5 Nodes Geometry nodes

MotionClip Sequence 2.0 geometry node

Concatenates two MotionClips.

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Since 19.0

This SOP appends the second MotionClip input to the first with blending to create a smooth transition.

State

This viewport state allows you to visualize a MotionClip or its evaluated poses over time using a color ramp, and is available for every MotionClip SOP node that outputs a MotionClip.

MotionClip viewport state interaction

You can select individual joints from the current pose in the MotionClip viewport state. For the selected joints, you can then use the Evaluate Pose mode to view just the current pose, its selected joints, and the motion trails for those joints.

rFoot and lFoot joints selected, Mode = Evaluate Pose, Color = White to Red
MotionClip viewport state toolbar

Mode

Determines the MotionClip information that is displayed in the viewport.

MotionClip

Displays all the MotionClip’s poses.

Mode = MotionClip

Evaluate Pose

Displays a single MotionClip pose at the current time.

Mode = Evaluate Pose

Transparent MotionClip

When turned on, the MotionClip’s poses are displayed as fainter lines, making it easier to see the scene behind the MotionClip, as well as the evaluated pose.

Color

Applies the selected color ramp preset to the MotionClip’s visualization in the viewport. This color ramp helps to visualize changes to the MotionClip or individual poses over time.

Mode = Evaluate Pose, Color = White to Red

Extend Color

Determines how the poses outside of the MotionClip’s defined animation start and end range are visualized in the viewport.

Hold

Holds the color values at the ends of the range.

Mode = MotionClip, Color = Plasma, Extended Color = Hold

Gray

Poses outside the animation start and end range are colored gray.

Mode = MotionClip, Color = Plasma, Extended Color = Gray

Hide

Hides the poses outside the animation start and end range.

Mode = MotionClip, Color = Plasma, Extended Color = Hide

Parameters

Group

Only the joints in this group of the second MotionClip are sequenced. The rest of the joints remain in their final positions from the end of the first MotionClip.

Locomotion

These parameters manage how the locomotion of the MotionClips are computed and sequenced.

Sequence Locomotion

The method used to sequence the locomotion.

By Shifting the Second Clip

The second MotionClip is shifted so that it begins where the first MotionClip ended.

By Blending Velocity

The velocity of each frame of the input MotionClips is blended and used to sequence each frame of the output MotionClip.

Locomotion

The method used to determine the locomotion of the MotionClips and sequence them.

None

The locomotion of the MotionClips is not computed, and the MotionClips are not sequenced without translating or rotating the second clip.

Existing Locomotion

The locomotion is obtained from the __locomotion__ point of the MotionClips. This point should be created by the Extract Locomotion SOP and be present in both MotionClips.

Compute Locomotion

The locomotion of the MotionClips is computed by this node.

Shift Second Clip

The number of frames to shift the second clip.

If the value is 0, the second MotionClip starts at the end position and orientation of the first MotionClip.

If the value is negative n, the second MotionClip is shifted so that it starts at the position and orientation of the skeleton n frames before the last frame of the first MotionClip.

If the value is positive n, the second MotionClip is shifted so that it starts at the position and orientation of the skeleton n frames after the beginning of the second MotionClip, had it not been shifted.

This parameter is available when Sequence Locomotion is set to By Shifting the Second Clip, and Locomotion is set to Use Existing Locomotion or Compute Locomotion.

Tip

If you want the MotionClip to continue moving forward between the first and second clips, try setting this to 1.

Tip

When using the blend Method of Overlap Sequences, try setting the value of this to '1 - ch("region")' so that the first frames involved in the blend overlap.

Apply Locomotion

When Locomotion is set to Existing Locomotion, turning this on shifts the output animation by its locomotion.

Locomotion Source

When Locomotion is set to Compute Locomotion, this is the source of the locomotion of the MotionClip.

Joint

A joint in the skeletons of the MotionClips is used as a reference for extracting the locomotion.

Center of Mass

The center of mass of the skeletons of the MotionClips is computed and used as a reference for extracting the locomotion.

Locomotion Joint

When Locomotion Source is set to Joint, this is the name of the joint in the input MotionClips that is used for translating and rotating the second clip to the end of the first clip.

COM Joint

When Locomotion Source is set to Center of Mass, this is the name of the center of mass joint in the input skeleton to use as a reference for extracting the translation and orientation.

Configuration Attribute

When Locomotion Source is set to Center of Mass, this is the name of the configuration point attribute from which to read the mass and local_com attributes. See the Configure Joints SOP.

Translation

These parameters manage how the position of the locomotion of the MotionClips are computed and sequenced.

These parameters are available when Locomotion is set to Compute Locomotion.

Match Translation

When Sequence Locomotion is set to By Shifting the Second Clip, this is the method of choosing the joint that begins at the translation where the previous clip left off.

None

Do not match translations.

Locomotion Joint

The joint provided in the Locomotion Joint parameter is chosen.

Custom Joint

The joint provided in the Translation Joint parameter is chosen.

Translation Joint

When Sequence Locomotion is set to By Shifting the Second Clip, and Match Translation is set to Custom Joint, this is the joint that begins at the translation where the previous clip left off.

Shift Axes

When Match Translation is set to Locomotion Joint or Custom Joint, these specify the axes to translate the second clip.

Orientation

These parameter manage how the orientation of the locomotion of the MotionClips are computed and sequenced.

These parameters are available when Locomotion is set to Compute Locomotion.

Method

Specifies around which axes to match the orientation.

None

Do not match orientations.

Around Up Axis

Match the orientation around the Up axis of the character. The Up axis is deduced from the viewport orientation option.

Around All Axes

Match the orientation around all axes of the character.

Custom

Customize the axis and method you want to use for extracting the orientation of the character.

Ground Plane

When Method is set to Around Up Axis, this plane is treated as the ground for the purpose of determining the Up axis.

Up Axis

When Method is set to Around Up Axis, this specifies the method to use when extracting the orientation around the Up axis.

Use Joint Orientation

Extracts the orientation by pulling out the Euler angles from the locomotion joint, and uses those to extract orientation data around the chosen axis.

Direction Between Joints

Extracts the orientation by specifying an extra joint and drawing a direction vector between the locomotion joint and the joint specified in Look At Joint. This direction vector is projected on the relevant plane and is used to determine the orientation around the chosen axis.

Look At Joint

When Up Axis is set to Direction Between Joints, this specifies an extra joint that acts as the tip of the direction vector.

Rotation Order

When Method is set to Custom, this specifies the rotation order to use when extracting the orientation from the character animation.

X Axis

When Method is set to Custom, this specifies the method to use when extracting the orientation around the X axis.

Y Axis

When Method is set to Custom, this specifies the method to use when extracting the orientation around the Y axis.

Z Axis

When Method is set to Custom, this specifies the method to use when extracting the orientation around the Z axis.

Attributes

These parameters are used to determine the attributes from the input MotionClips that become animated on the output MotionClip.

For more details on what distinguishes an animated attribute from a rest attribute, see the Attributes folder on the MotionClip Evaluate SOP.

Tip

To maintain the attributes that were previously animated without adding any additional attributes to the poses, turn on Repack Attributes, clear Rest Attributes, and set Animated Attributes to *. These are the default parameter values.

Repack Attributes

When turned on, the attributes defined by the Rest Attributes and Animated Attributes patterns are evaluated from the input MotionClips and packed into the output MotionClip’s poses. This results in all of these attributes becoming animated attributes on the output MotionClip.

Rest Attributes

The attributes that are unpacked from the rest pose of each input MotionClip. All attributes that match this pattern become animated attributes on the output MotionClip.

Animated Attributes

The attributes that are evaluated from the animated poses of the input MotionClips. All attributes that match this pattern remain animated on the output MotionClip.

Blend

Method

The method of blending.

Preserve Length

Keeps the total lengths of the input MotionClips the same. Blends the end of the first MotionClip to the first frame of the second MotionClip.

Overlap Sequences

Overlaps the end of the first MotionClip with the beginning of the second MotionClip.

Insert Blend Region

Inserts a region between the MotionClips where blending is done.

Blend Frames

The number of frames over which the blending is applied.

Sample Increment

When turned on, defines the distance between each sample in the blended region.

Locomotion

These parameters manage how the locomotion of the MotionClip is blended. The parameters that affect the blend of the locomotion is obtained from the parameters that affect the blend of a joint in the MotionClip.

Match Blend

The method of choosing the joint from which the parameters and attributes that affect the blend of the locomotion is obtained.

None

No joint is chosen, and the locomotion is not blended.

Locomotion Joint

If Locomotion is set to Compute Locomotion, and Locomotion Source is set to Joint, the joint provided by Locomotion Joint is chosen. Otherwise, the __locomotion__ joint is chosen.

Custom Joint

The joint provided by Blend Joint is chosen.

Blend Joint

When Match Blend is set to Custom Joint, the parameters and attributes that affect the blend of the locomotion of this joint are used to blend the locomotion of the animation.

Attributes

These parameters affect the attributes that are blended in the blend region, and the shape of the blend for each joint.

Point Attributes

The point attributes of the joints that are blended, in addition to the P, transform, and localtransform attributes.

Blend Mode

The mode used to determine how each joint is blended.

All Joints

All joints are blended using the same parameters.

By Joint Group

A set of blending parameters can be defined for any number of joint groups.

By Attribute

The blend shape and bias are determined from point attributes in the rest frame of one of the two clips.

All Joints

These parameters are available when Blend Mode is set to All Joints.

Blend Type

The type of the blending function.

Linear

Linear shape.

Ease in Ease out

Smooth on entry and exit.

Ease In

Smooth on entry.

Ease Out

Smooth on exit.

Bias

The bias of the blend. 0 biases toward the base, and 1 biases toward the layer.

By Joint Group

These parameters are available when Blend Mode is set to By Joint Group.

Number of Joint Groups

The number of joint groups that are blended between the clips. If a joint belongs to multiple groups, it is blended based on the parameters of the first group to which it belongs.

Joint Group

A group of the topology skeleton’s joints that are blended between the two clips.

Blend Type

The type of the blending function for this joint group.

Linear

Linear shape.

Ease in Ease out

Smooth on entry and exit.

Ease In

Smooth on entry.

Ease Out

Smooth on exit.

Bias

The bias of the blend for this joint group. 0 biases toward the beginning and 1 biases toward the end.

By Attribute

These parameters are available when Blend Mode is set to By Attribute.

Attribute Source

The MotionClip from which the attributes are taken.

First Clip

The attributes are taken from the rest frame of the first clip.

Second Clip

The attributes are taken from the rest frame of the second clip.

Blend Type Attribute

The name of the attribute that determines the blend type.

Bias Attribute

The name of the attribute that determines the bias.

Inputs

First MotionClip

The first MotionClip.

Second MotionClip

The second MotionClip.

Outputs

MotionClip

A MotionClip that is made up of the MotionClip on the first input followed by the MotionClip on the second input.

Examples

SimpleMotionClipSequence Example for MotionClip Sequence geometry node

This example demonstrates how to use the MotionClip Sequence node to sequence two motion clips and create a smooth transition between the two clips.

See also

Geometry nodes