Forum: Carrara


Subject: Track object

snekkis opened this issue on Mar 30, 2004 ยท 8 posts


snekkis posted Tue, 30 March 2004 at 1:35 PM

Hi,

Is it possible to let a 2d plane track/face a camera, like "Track Object Name" function you have in Bryce?

Snekkis


rendererer posted Tue, 30 March 2004 at 3:50 PM

You can add a modifier to the plane to make it point at the camera. Select the plane, go into the Modifiers tab, and choose Behaviors > Point At. Enter the name of the camera into the field. This will ensure that the plane always points at the camera, but it doesn't ensure that the plane is always in view. If you want you can also set up a modifier for the camera to make it always point at the plane. Or if it makes sense for your scene you can just group the plane and camera and move them together as a unit.


falconperigot posted Wed, 31 March 2004 at 5:33 AM

Adding a Target Helper Object to the scene can be very useful when you want object to point in a particular direction.


snekkis posted Wed, 31 March 2004 at 10:07 AM

Well, I want the plane to always be in the view, no matter where I I put the camera. This Target Helper Object, where do you find it and how do you apply it? Could't find it in the manual index.


falconperigot posted Wed, 31 March 2004 at 10:28 AM

In the Assemby Room (and at the first frame of you animation) choose Insert> Target Helper Object. Select your Camera and choose the Modifiers tab from the Properties tray. Click the + (add sign) and choose Point At. Put 'Target Helper Object' [exactly like that without the ']in the Towards box. Now the Camera will point to wherever the Target Helper Object is throughout your movie. Just place it at the point on your plane that you want in the centre of the Production Frame and group the two together. Then move them about as you wish.


snekkis posted Wed, 31 March 2004 at 3:02 PM

Hey, thanks! That was it. Except I made the plane Point At at the Target Helper Object, and I child the THO to the camera. I want to make a lot of 2d plane trees, but I have problems to constrain it to turn on only the Z axis. In the modifier Point At parameters, you can choose xyz + and -, and I believe these choices is for constraining it to one axis. Either wich choice I make, and when I move the THO up and down, it still turn on the other axis? I know I can lower the THO underneath the camera, but its nice to know if this function is there.


falconperigot posted Wed, 31 March 2004 at 7:10 PM

I don't quite understand what you are trying to achieve but the xyz + and - determines how an object points at the Target Helper Object. If you are using a symmetrical object like a plane then this may not be apparent but if you use an irregular object you'll see choosing x+ or z- etc. changes the side that faces the THO. It may be that you'd be better off moving the hotpoint of your plane to the camera and numerically rotating it using the Properties tray.


falconperigot posted Thu, 01 April 2004 at 1:45 AM

I forgot to say if you want to rotate something around one axis only then use a plane view (like Top view) rather than the Camera or Director's view.