Manually splitting Symmetrical Morphs
(For use with
Morph Mixer)

 

There is a relatively quick and painless way to split a Symmetrical Morph into left and right halves so you can animate asymmetrically with a Slider-based Morph animation system like Morph Mixer.

In preparation for this, you'll want to create Point Selection Sets for all the Points to the left of X=0, and for all the Points that lay directly on X=0. (See LightWave 3D [8] Character Animation, or Essential LightWave 3D [8], or the LightWave help file.)

 

 

 

Play Video
(7.9MB)

 

  • NOTE: It's always wise to make sure you're not working/experimenting on the only copy of a good model. Make back-up copies and/or save revisions of your work - so an errant power-outage while saving would only erase minutes of work, not days!

 

  • Using your pre-defined Point Selection Sets, select all the Points on the left half of your Model.

  • In LightWave[8] Modeler, selecting Windows | Vertex Maps Panel... will open the Vertex Maps window. (In LightWave [7.x], you'll need to choose, Modeler | Windows | Vertex Maps Open/Close...)

  • Clicking on the triangle to the left of the Morph heading will expand a list showing all the Morphs in your current model.

  • Select the Symmetrical Morph you wish to split.

  • Right-click on the Morph's name and choose Copy Vertex Map.

  • In the naming requester that opens, name this new Morph so that its Suffix ends in "L" to assign this Morph to the left side of its Facial Palette.

 

  • NOTE: LightWave applies its tools only to the geometry you have selected. By choosing Copy Vertex Map with only the Points on the left half of the model selected, only those Points' Morph data was Copied!

 

  • Click again on the original Morph name in the Vertex Maps window to select it.

  • With the Points on the left half of your model still selected, click on Map | General | Set Map Value.

  • In the numeric requester that opens, enter "0" (zero) for all three values and click "OK" to remove the Morph information for the selected Points.

 

  • ADVANCED NOTE: LightWave stores its embedded Endomorphs as a Vertex Map of Delta information, or deviations from a Point's base position. By setting the X, Y and Z values for a Morph Map to zero, you effectively erase the Morph information for the selected geometry.

 

  • Drop your selection, and then select only the Points that lay along the X=0, center-line of your model.

  • Return to your newly created left Morph and click on Map | Morph | Apply Morph.

  • Select the original Morph's name in the List Box, and enter a value of 50% for the Strength to apply half of the original Morph's values to the selected Points.

  • With the Points along X=0 still selected, return to your original Morph and again click on Map | Morph | Apply Morph.

  • Again select the original Morph's name in the list box, but this time enter a value of -50% (negative fifty percent) for the Strength to reduce the "intensity" of the Morph for these Points by half.

  • Right-click on the original Morph's name in the Vertex Maps window and choose Rename to end its Suffix in "R".

When both these Morphs are applied 100% to your model, they will result in the original Symmetrical Morph, and they will also "flow" smoothly across the X=0, center-line of your character!

 

  • NOTE: This is, in essence, what TAFA does automatically, every time you load an Object with Symmetrical Morphs.