Set Reach Targets By color selection -Raycast Detection -Colors could be painted on a surface and align with the mesh normals on or alternate prop or character
The paint toolset from Character Creator for painting physics textures on Characters or objects in iClone can again become a big asset for fast animation reach technique. I do not come from an animating back ground but when I started to work with it I find the process of creating reach targets for foot placement extremely time consuming and realized a likely quicker approach.
1. The user should be able to use a existing terrain or model to and switch it to paint mode with the iClone Painter. The terrain, character or object becomes white to be a fresh canvas to work on.
2. The user can paint many colors which could be assigned to different objects or characters. For example, the user paints footsteps or imports a transparent png with footsteps of a particular color. Ideally a spline path tool could be drawn out to create footsteps which could be procedural ie; foot distance width and length between points on the spline.
3.Once created, the person, object or terrain shows the white texture with the colors. When a character's bones are selected and reach target tool is activated, select the color using the eye dropper tool to select a color on the texture assigned to the terrain, object or character.
4. Each foot can be assigned a different color, or like the foot reach spline tool, the foot print colors are unique for each foot.
Animated objects with reach color maps assigned could assist animators. For example a spinning sphere with a red swerve painted all around it assigned on the hand bone would likely instruct the character to raise their arms up and down and if it had a green dot on one side and the head bone assigned to the green dot, the head me look at the green dot as if its visible (mesh normals are facing the correct way) or ignore the normals and set the reach attract strength (via distance) so the head smoothly looks towards it and has less influence.
The character Could be watching TV and the eyes are set to color reach target, the eyes focus on certain colors on a TV screen. Maybe the reach color can be set as a global option with distance/strength so walking through the park, maybe the character loves green in the trees.
The selected reach color could be animated/set at different keyframes but if this is done then when the color becomes gradient, strength/distance value is applied so the head/bones or other object doesn't go crazy, unless that's exactly what you want then you could toggle off strength/distance.
Ascensi
Another couple examples what could be done: If a swerve is painted on a wall for example a character's arms walking by could simply follow the curve. Or writing a name in the sand, the sand could have a linear gradient Roughness map animated to fade in. Animated color textures might make interesting animated movements.
