First, only use your character in the T position. Download the file as Collada (DAE) with the Skin. Do NOT include any animations with this file. No further changes to this file are required.
So, for any animation effect you want to implement like walking, running, dancing or whatever – do it like this:
Test/apply your desired animation in Mixamo on the figure, adjust the settings as you like and download it. Here it is very important to download as Collada (DAE) and select WITHOUT Skin!!! Leave Framerate and keyframe reduction as default.
This will give you a single DAE file for each animation you want to implement. This DAE contains no mesh data and no rig. It only contains the deformations of the model it belongs to (that’s why you choose to download it without Skin).
After that, you need to perform two additional actions on all DAE files that contain animations.
First, print the XML structure for each DAE that contains an animation. You can do this i.Ex. using the XML tools in Notepad++, or you open a terminal on your Mac and use this command:
xmllint —-format my_anim_orig.dae > my_anim.dae
Then install this tool here on your Mac. (https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1_uvI21ZYGUaGdJckdwaTRZUEk/edit?usp=sharing)
Convert all your DAE animations with this converter: (But DO NOT convert your T-Pose model using this tool!!!)
No, we are ready to configure the animation:
you should organize the DAEs within art.scnassets folder
Let’s configure this:
I usually organize this within a struct called characters. But any other implementation will do
add this:
struct Characters {
// MARK: Characters
var bodyWarrior : SCNNode!
private let objectMaterialWarrior : SCNMaterial = {
let material = SCNMaterial()
material.name = "warrior"
material.diffuse.contents = UIImage.init(named: "art.scnassets/warrior/textures/warrior_diffuse.png")
material.normal.contents = UIImage.init(named: "art.scnassets/warrior/textures/warrior_normal.png")
material.metalness.contents = UIImage.init(named: "art.scnassets/warrior/textures/warrior_metalness.png")
material.roughness.contents = UIImage.init(named: "art.scnassets/warrior/textures/warrior_roughness.png")
material.ambientOcclusion.contents = UIImage.init(named: "art.scnassets/warrior/textures/warrior_AO.png")
material.lightingModel = .physicallyBased
material.isDoubleSided = false
return material
}()
// MARK: MAIN Init Function
init() {
// Init Warrior
bodyWarrior = SCNNode(named: "art.scnassets/warrior/warrior.dae")
bodyWarrior.childNodes[1].geometry?.firstMaterial = objectMaterialWarrior // character body material
print("Characters Init Completed.")
}
}
Then you can init struct i.Ex. in viewDidLoad var character = Character()
Be careful to use the correct childNodes!
in this case childNodes[1] is the visible mesh and childNodes[0] then becomes the animation node.
you can also implement this SceneKit extension to your code, it is very useful to import models. (note, this will organize the model nodes as Childs from a new node!)
extension SCNNode {
convenience init(named name: String) {
self.init()
guard let scene = SCNScene(named: name) else {return}
for childNode in scene.rootNode.childNodes {addChildNode(childNode)}
}
}
also add this extension below. You will need it for the animation player later.
extension SCNAnimationPlayer {
class func loadAnimation(fromSceneNamed sceneName: String) -> SCNAnimationPlayer {
let scene = SCNScene( named: sceneName )!
// find top level animation
var animationPlayer: SCNAnimationPlayer! = nil
scene.rootNode.enumerateChildNodes { (child, stop) in
if !child.animationKeys.isEmpty {
animationPlayer = child.animationPlayer(forKey: child.animationKeys[0])
stop.pointee = true
}
}
return animationPlayer
}
}
Handle character setup and animation like this: (here is a simplified version of my class)
class Warrior {
// Main Nodes
var node = SCNNode()
private var animNode : SCNNode!
// Control Variables
var isIdle : Bool = true
// For Initial Warrior Position and Scale
private var position = SCNMatrix4Mult(SCNMatrix4MakeRotation(0,0,0,0), SCNMatrix4MakeTranslation(0,0,0))
private var scale = SCNMatrix4MakeScale(0.03, 0.03, 0.03) // default size ca 6m height
// MARK: ANIMATIONS
private let aniKEY_NeutralIdle : String = "NeutralIdle-1" ; private let aniMAT_NeutralIdle : String = "art.scnassets/warrior/NeutralIdle.dae"
private let aniKEY_DwarfIdle : String = "DwarfIdle-1" ; private let aniMAT_DwarfIdle : String = "art.scnassets/warrior/DwarfIdle.dae"
private let aniKEY_LookAroundIdle : String = "LookAroundIdle-1" ; private let aniMAT_LookAroundIdle : String = "art.scnassets/warrior/LookAround.dae"
private let aniKEY_Stomp : String = "Stomp-1" ; private let aniMAT_Stomp : String = "art.scnassets/warrior/Stomp.dae"
private let aniKEY_ThrowObject : String = "ThrowObject-1" ; private let aniMAT_ThrowObject : String = "art.scnassets/warrior/ThrowObject.dae"
private let aniKEY_FlyingBackDeath : String = "FlyingBackDeath-1" ; private let aniMAT_FlyingBackDeath : String = "art.scnassets/warrior/FlyingBackDeath.dae"
// MARK: MAIN CLASS INIT
init(index: Int, scaleFactor: Float = 0.03) {
scale = SCNMatrix4MakeScale(scaleFactor, scaleFactor, scaleFactor)
// Config Node
node.index = index
node.name = "warrior"
node.addChildNode(GameViewController.characters.bodyWarrior.clone()) // childNodes[0] of node. this holds all subnodes for the character including animation skeletton
node.childNodes[0].transform = SCNMatrix4Mult(position, scale)
// Set permanent animation Node
animNode = node.childNodes[0].childNodes[0]
// Add to Scene
gameScene.rootNode.addChildNode(node) // add the warrior to scene
print("Warrior initialized with index: \(String(describing: node.index))")
}
// Cleanup & Deinit
func remove() {
print("Warrior deinitializing")
self.animNode.removeAllAnimations()
self.node.removeAllActions()
self.node.removeFromParentNode()
}
deinit { remove() }
// Set Warrior Position
func setPosition(position: SCNVector3) { self.node.position = position }
// Normal Idle
enum IdleType: Int {
case NeutralIdle
case DwarfIdle // observe Fingers
case LookAroundIdle
}
// Normal Idles
func idle(type: IdleType) {
isIdle = true // also sets all walking and running variabled to false
var animationName : String = ""
var key : String = ""
switch type {
case .NeutralIdle: animationName = aniMAT_NeutralIdle ; key = aniKEY_NeutralIdle // ; print("NeutralIdle ")
case .DwarfIdle: animationName = aniMAT_DwarfIdle ; key = aniKEY_DwarfIdle // ; print("DwarfIdle ")
case .LookAroundIdle: animationName = aniMAT_LookAroundIdle ; key = aniKEY_LookAroundIdle // ; print("LookAroundIdle")
}
makeAnimation(animationName, key, self.animNode, backwards: false, once: false, speed: 1.0, blendIn: 0.5, blendOut: 0.5)
}
func idleRandom() {
switch Int.random(in: 1...3) {
case 1: self.idle(type: .NeutralIdle)
case 2: self.idle(type: .DwarfIdle)
case 3: self.idle(type: .LookAroundIdle)
default: break
}
}
// MARK: Private Functions
// Common Animation Function
private func makeAnimation(_ fileName : String,
_ key : String,
_ node : SCNNode,
backwards : Bool = false,
once : Bool = true,
speed : CGFloat = 1.0,
blendIn : TimeInterval = 0.2,
blendOut : TimeInterval = 0.2,
removedWhenComplete : Bool = true,
fillForward : Bool = false
)
{
let anim = SCNAnimationPlayer.loadAnimation(fromSceneNamed: fileName)
if once { anim.animation.repeatCount = 0 }
anim.animation.autoreverses = false
anim.animation.blendInDuration = blendIn
anim.animation.blendOutDuration = blendOut
anim.speed = speed; if backwards {anim.speed = -anim.speed}
anim.stop()
print("duration: \(anim.animation.duration)")
anim.animation.isRemovedOnCompletion = removedWhenComplete
anim.animation.fillsForward = fillForward
anim.animation.fillsBackward = false
// Attach Animation
node.addAnimationPlayer(anim, forKey: key)
node.animationPlayer(forKey: key)?.play()
}
}
you can then initialize the class object after you initialize the character structure.
the rest you’ll figure out, get back to me if you have any questions or need a full sample app 🙂
