In this lesson, you'll use the Motion Mixer with the two motion files you've just created. The Motion Mixer lets you create a smooth transition between Dr. X doing his deep knee bends and walking.

Set up for this lesson:

• Once again, open dr_x_03.max in the folder \character_animation\quick_start\.

  This scene contains Dr. X ready for animation.

  

Open the Motion Mixer:

The Motion Mixer is like a sound mixer, except here you work with animation files instead of audio files. You'll add motion clips, which are .bip files, to the Motion Mixer, and create transitions between the clips to blend them smoothly together.

1. Select any part of the biped.
2. Go to the Motion panel.
3. On the Biped rollout, turn off (Figure Mode) if it is on.
4. On the Biped Apps rollout, click (Mixer).

   3ds Max opens the Motion Mixer window.

   

   The biped is automatically displayed in the Mixer. It has a default trackgroup labelled All, where you will start laying out your tracks, motion clips, and transitions. The label All indicates that motions placed on tracks will apply to the entire biped, rather than specific body parts.

   TipThe Motion Mixer window can be resized. For better viewing of what's added to the Mixer, you can drag the edge of the window vertically and horizontally.

   Opening the Motion Mixer also automatically turns on the Mixer Mode button on the Biped rollout.

   

   When Mixer Mode is on, the biped performs the motions in the Motion Mixer.

Add the clips to the Mixer:

Trackgroups are populated by tracks, in the form of Layer tracks or Transition tracks. On each track, you add clips and transitions. The final product of your efforts is called a mix.

Here, you'll add two clips to the trackgroup with a transition between them.

1. Click the topmost track on the All trackgroup to select it. The track turns a lighter gray color when selected.

   

   By default, the topmost track is a layer track, which is designed for consecutive clips with no transitions between them. You want to create a transition between two clips, so you'll need a transition track.

2. On the Mixer menu bar, open the Tracks menu and choose Convert To Transition Track.

   

   The track is changed to a transition track that is taller than the original, with room for two tracks and a transition.

   TipYou can right-click the track to access the same menu options.
3. From the Tracks menu, choose New Clips From Files.

   

   3ds Max displays the Open dialog.

4. If you've done the two previous lessons and want to use the motions you created, browse to the folder where you saved your motions, and choose my_kneebends.bip. Otherwise, browse to the folder \sceneassets\animations\ folder and choose kneebends.bip.

   The clip holding the knee-bend motion is added to the track.

5. Right-click a blank area of the transition track, and choose New Clips From Files from the pop-up menu. Choose the file my_drxwalk.bip or dr_x_walk.bip.

   The second clip is added to the track, and a transition is automatically added between the two clips. The transition is colored with a darker version of the clip color, and spans the transition time between the two clips.

   

6. On the Motion Mixer toolbar, click (Zoom Extents) so you can see the entire mix in the display.

   

7. On the Motion Mixer toolbar, click (Set Range).

   This feature automatically sets the length of the animation to the number of frames needed for the mix. In this case, it sets the animation length to 225 frames.

   

Play the mix:

You've just created a basic mix comprised of two clips and a transition. Now you'll play the animation.

1. On the Biped rollout, turn on (Mixer Mode) if it’s not already on.
2. Click (Play Animation). Watch the animation in the viewport and its progress in the Mixer window.

   Dr. X does his knee bends in the first clip.

   

   He smoothly transitions to walking in the second clip.

   

   The feet slide a little during the transition. To correct this, you can right-click the parent, DrX Biped track, and from the pop-up menu choose Compute Mixdown. Mixing down the tracks preserves planted keys for the feet, so they no longer slide.

3. Save the scene as my_drx03_mixer.max.
   TipIf you want to render this animation, hide the biped, select the mesh, and turn on the MeshSmooth modifier on the Modify panel before rendering.