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Chapter 34: Using Animation Layers, Modifiers, and Complex Controllers
Using the Animation Modifiers
Animation is more than just moving an object from here to there. All objects move not only with major
transformations but with lots of secondary motions also. When a human character walks, the motions of his
arms and legs are major, but the secondary motions of his swinging hips and bobbing shoulders make the
walk realistic. Many of the animation modifiers enable these key secondary motions.
All the animation modifiers presented in this chapter are located in the Modifiers ➪ Animation submenu.
Cross-Ref
Also included among the Animation modifiers are several Skin modifiers, which are used to make an object move
by attaching it to an underlying skeleton. The Skin modifiers are covered in Chapter 40, “Skinning Characters.” n
Morpher modifier
The Morpher modifier lets you change a shape from one form into another. You can apply this modifier
only to objects with the same number of vertices.
Cross-Ref
In many ways, the Morpher modifier is similar to the Morph compound object, which is covered in Chapter 27,
“Working with Compound Objects.” n
The Morpher modifier can be very useful for creating facial expressions and character lip-synching. You can
also use it to morph materials. Max makes 100 separate channels available for morph targets, and channels
can be mixed. You can use the Morpher modifier in conjunction with the Morph material. For example,
you could use the Morph material to blush a character for an embarrassed expression.

Tip
When it comes to making facial expressions, a mirror and your own face can be the biggest help. Coworkers may
look at you funny, but your facial expressions will benefit from the exercise. n

The first task before using this modifier is to create all the different morph targets. Because the morph tar-
gets need to contain the same number of vertices as the base object, make a copy of the base object for each
morph target that you are going to create. As you create these targets, be careful not to add or delete any
vertices from the object.
Note
Because morph targets deal with each vertex independently, you cannot mirror morph targets, so if you want a
morph target for raising the left eyebrow and a morph target for raising the right eyebrow, you need to create
each morph target by hand. n
After all your morph targets are created, select a channel in the Channel Parameters rollout, shown in
Figure 34.10, and use the Pick Object from Scene button to select the morph target for that channel.
Another option for picking is to use Capture Current State. After a morph target has been added to a chan-
nel, you can view it in the Channel List rollout.
As you animate, you can specify the amount of each morph target to include in the frame using the value to
the right of the channel name in the Channel List rollout. The slim color bar to the left of the channel name

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