Animating the Spacefighter with Constraints and Controllers

Flying a Spacefighter

Animating a Pen

 

Autodesk 3ds Max Tutorials > Animation Tutorials > Flying a Spacefighter > 

Taking Control of Mars, Its Moons, and the Space Station

So far, you've used dummy objects to help animate the spacefighters. Another handy use of dummy objects is as an alternate pivot point. Any object can be used as a pivot, but dummies are great because they don't render.

Set up the lesson:

• Load the spacestation.max file.

  Files for this lesson are in the tutorials\intro_to_animation folder.

  This scene includes the following:

  • Three heavenly bodies, Mars and its two moons, Deimos and Phobos
  • A space station named SpaceStation
  • A camera (hidden) named SpaceCam

Take a few moments to familiarize yourself with the names of the objects in the scene. This will make it easier for you to select objects during this lesson.

Rotate Mars and its moons:

The first part of this lesson focuses on the three heavenly bodies you see in the scene. You will set up a dummy object to control the rotation of Mars and its moons, Deimos and Phobos.

1. In the Left viewport, create a Dummy object around Mars. Name the dummy object MarsControl.

   Make the dummy a little larger than the planet so it's easier to pick.

   

2. With the dummy object still selected, choose Tools menu > Align, and click Mars.
3. In the Align Selection (Mars) dialog, do the following:
   • Turn on X, Y and Z Position in the Align Position (Screen) group.
   • Turn on X, Y and Z Axis in the Align Orientation (Local) group.
   • Click OK to accept the settings.

   

   MarsControl is now aligned and oriented with the center of Mars.

4. Select MarsControl.
5. Go to the Motion panel, and expand the Assign Controller rollout. Select Rotation: Euler XYZ.

   

6. Click the Assign Controller button and choose TCB Rotation then click OK.

   TCB Rotation will allow you to rotate objects on their Local axes as opposed to the World axes. This is beneficial when you have an object that is rotating on an axis that is tilted, such as the rotational axis of a planet.

7. Select Mars, then click Select and Link. Drag the rubber band to MarsControl. Release the mouse button when the cursor changes.
8. Link each of the moons, Deimos and Phobos, to MarsControl.

   Mars and its two moons are now linked to MarsControl. Any movement or rotation you make to MarsControl will affect all the planetary bodies.

9. Click Select And Rotate, and select MarsControl.
10. Change the Reference Coordinate System from View to Local.
11. Turn on the Auto Key button and move the time slider to frame 100.
12. In the Z axis field, below the time slider, enter 60.

    

    This rotates MarsControl by 60 degrees around its local Z axis. Because the planet and moons are linked to MarsControl, they also rotate.

13. Turn off the Auto Key and save your work as MySpaceStation.
14. Activate the SpaceCam viewport and play the animation.

    You will see Mars rotating on its axis, then at frame 60, Deimos swings into view and passes by and Phobos remains off-camera. If you like, you can zoom out to see both moons during playback.

15. Return the time slider to frame 0 before continuing.

Set the space station into orbit:

Now that Mars is spinning on its own axis and Deimos and Phobos are orbiting Mars, you can set the space station into a geosynchronous orbit around Mars (an orbit that matches the planet's rotation). You'll use the same technique for controlling the space station.

1. Add a new dummy object to the Top viewport, and name it StationControl.

   

   It doesn't matter where you place the dummy object, because you'll align it to Mars in a few steps.

2. Open the Assign Controller rollout on the Motion panel, and select Rotation : Euler XYZ.
3. Click the Assign Controller button, and choose TCB Rotation. Click OK.
4. While StationControl is still selected, choose Tools menu > Align, and click Mars.
5. In the Align Selection (Mars) dialog, do the following:
   • Turn on X, Y and Z Position in the Align Position (Screen) group.
   • Turn on X, Y and Z Axis in the Align Orientation (Local) group.
   • Click OK to accept the settings.

   

   These are the same settings you made when aligning MarsControl to Mars in the previous section.

6. In the Left viewport, link SpaceStation to StationControl.
7. Turn on Select And Rotate and select StationControl. Change the Reference Coordinate System from View to Local, if it's not already changed.
   TipYou must always choose the transform (in this case, Select and Rotate) before choosing the Reference Coordinate System. Different transforms can have different Reference Coordinate Systems. If you choose the coordinate system first, it might change when you choose a different transform.
8. Turn on the Auto Key button and move the time slider to frame 100.
9. In the Z axis field, below the time slider, enter 40.

   

10. Turn off the Auto Key and save your work as MySpaceStation01.

    To create an incrementally saved file, use the Save As command click the button.

11. Play the animation.

    Now the Space Station is orbiting around Mars but it's orbiting at a slower rate.

Add artificial gravity to the space station:

The space station needs to rotate around its own axis in order to generate some level of artificial gravity for its personnel. This last section will solve that problem.

1. In the SpaceCam viewport, select SpaceStation and open the Motion panel.

   

2. Open the Assign Controller rollout and select Rotation : Euler XYZ.
3. Click the Assign Controller button and choose TCB Rotation then click OK.
4. Turn on Select And Rotate if it's not already active. Set the Reference Coordinate System from View to Local.

   

5. Turn on the Auto Key button and move the time slider to frame 100.
6. In the Z axis field, below the time slider, enter 90.

   

7. Turn off Auto Key.
8. Play the animation.

   Now the Space Station rotates about its own axis while it's in geosynchronous orbit around Mars. Maximize the SpaceCam viewport for a better view.

9. Save your work as MySpaceStation02.