Day 307: Animation Override (AO) Tutorial
I had a *VERY* brief modeling career in Second Life during the Miss Second Life and L'Oreal beauty pageants. I learned a lot about Animation Override (AO) gadgets and modeling in SL. That was before they realized there was something fishy about me ;P
Previously, Ive written about AO's in general, putting AO into objects, and into a prim shoe. I get questions about AO's on a regular basis, so I thought it might be helpful to put a full AO tutorial together.
This tutorial will talk about what Animation Override does, the various popular AO gadgets in SL, and how to configure one with poses and walks.
Note: Im a blonde mermaid, so I cant script :P Im just trying to share what Ive learned about AO's to help residents get started. So dont ask me how these scipts actually work :)
Animation Override Overview
So why bother with AO's anyway?
In Second Life, your avatar has a set of standard animations for walking, standing, running, jumping, sitting, falling, etc. These animations are pretty nice and realistic. But they are the same for guys and girls. And hardly appropriate for mermaids! :P
And if you do modeling (or want to look like you do :D) then you probably want to have a more Sexy walk and set of stand poses.
Animation Override basically replaces the standard SL animations. You can generally choose which animation you wish to override. You can override one animation, or all of them.
For example, you can have an AO that gives you Sexy walk in your shoe, and does not override anything else. You will still stand, run, jump, sit, and fall using the standard animations; but your walk will be Sexy.
You can also have an AO that replaces just about everthing you do. In particular, mermaid AO's do that, because mermaids always have to keep their legs together :)
BTW, AO's cause a LOT of lag, particularly for the sim servers. Its far worse than any amount of bling or flexi you wear (because bling and flexi are drawn by the SL clients, not the servers). So keep this in mind in a busy sim, and be sure you know how to turn your AO's off!
Animation Files
You need an appropriate animation file for each type of animation you wish to replace. For example, you need a Walking animation if you want to replace your walk. You need a Pose or Standing animation to replace your stand. A Sit animation to replace you sit.
BTW, SL makes no distinction between different types of animation files. You can use a Sit animation to replace your walk. But you will look funny when you walk :P
SL also makes no distinction between moving and static animation files. So you can use a moving animation file as a stand. Or you can use a static pose as a stand.
So where can you get animation files?
There are 3 free folders in Sirena Hair & Fashion that have animations files: "Poseball", "Walk Animations", and "Stand Animations". Just grab all 3, and you should have a nice supply to load up an AO gadget! Dont forget to grab the "Franimation Overrider FLIP MOD" folder for this tutorial. They are at Sirena Hair (Search/Places for "sirena") in the Tutorial Supplies area under the giant mermaid sign. Hmm...I wonder if they figured out there was something fishy about me from that mermaid sign... :P
Theres also a large collection of (sometimes interesting) animations and poses at Yadni's Junkyard.
Lastly, theres a large number of animation vendors in SL. Just Search/Places or Search/Classifieds for "animation". In particular, Abranimations and Animation Warehouse are large animation vendors with a collection of moving animations and animation gadgets. Body Talk and comPOSEure specialize in static poses, particular good for modeling.
Note that AO gadgets are not for "striking a pose" on demand, like at the end of a runway. If you are doing runway modeling, you should play the animation file when you hit your marker (Right-click on the animation file in your Inventory and select "Play in World"). Alternatively, you can use a HUDDLES Quick Pose (which costs about L$150). Unfortunately, since the HUDDLES Quick Pose is based on a HUD, it doesnt work very well under extremely high lag. You should practice in a laggy area before you actually get on the runway :)
Animation Override Gadgets
There are a number of free and commercial AO gadgets in SL. Most of them are based on Francis Chung's Franimation Overrider script (originally written back in 2004!). So you will find that most of them work in the same way.
In general, you Wear an attachment on your avatar that contains a version of the Franimation Overrider script. The attachment could be a shoe with Sexy walk, a dance bracelet, an invisible box on the hip, or a HUD.
You may very well have multiple attachments, with each one overriding a different type of animation! For example, you could have a pair of Sexy walk shoes, and an AO gadget for standing and sitting. This isnt a very good idea, because it could be buggy...not to mention very laggy! But sometimes you just have no choice (esp Sexy walk shoes with "No Mod").
For most of these AO gadgets, you edit a notecard, pick the animations you want to override, and put in the names of the animation file. Then you tell the gadget to reset itself, and voila! You are walking sexy :)
There are 3 major free AO gadgets: WetIkon, ZHAO, and the Franimation Overrider - FLIP MOD.
WetIkon
WetIkon is a free AO gadget created by Francis Chung, the author of the Franimation Overrider script. Its very popular in SL, and is used by many animation vendors to sell "AO packages". For example, the mermaid AO I use from EmeraldEver's has the WetIkon gadget.
BTW, pls dont bug Francis Chung for support! She generously made these gadgets available for free, but made it quite clear that she does not provide support! Check inside the script for a list of volunteers who can help with questions or ask for help on the SL Forums.
WetIkon comes as a little blue and white box that attaches to your hip. You basically put your animation files into the WetIkon device, edit the "*Default Anims" Notecard in the device, then say "/ao reset" to have WetIkon read the Notecard. Thats it! (We will actually do these steps below)
You can also say "/ao show" and "/ao hide" to show or hide the little blue and white box. "/ao on" and "/ao off" enables or disables the WetIkon (good for when you are at a busy club!)
You can get the latest version of the WetIkon gadget directly from WetIkon. Click on Search, select Places, and enter "wetikon" as the keyword. The SLURL is Bisque (86,35,21).
ZHAO and ZHAO 2
The ZHAO, or Ziggy's HUD Animation Overrider, is a free HUD-based AO gadget. That means that the ZHAO attaches to the bottom right of your screen, not to your avatar!
BTW, pls dont bug Ziggy for support! If you have questions, read Ziggy Puff's Profile (see the Picks tab).
There are some advantages and disadvantages in using a HUD-based AO. Because its a HUD, its easier to use. You can enable and disable features by clicking on your screen instead of using Chat commands (like "/ao off"). But because its a HUD, it doesnt respond well in a laggy environment. But try it out and see for yourself!
To configure the ZHAO, you put your animation files into the ZHAO device and edit the "Empty" Notecard in the device. Then Wear the ZHAO, click the "Load" button and select the "Empty" Notecard. ZHAO comes with a Notecard with complete "Step-by-step Setup Instructions". Theres also an excellent ZHAO tutorial.
According to Ziggy's Profile, you can find the latest version of ZHAO at Material Squirrel Wings. This SLURL will put you directly in front of the ZHAO vendor: Winged Isle (35,83,47).
***Update: The new ZHAO 2 is out!
The ZHAO 2 adds a lot of cool features, like support for "Next Stand" to go to the next stand animation, "Stand Time" which lets you set the duration of each stand. You can also configure multiple Walks (and choose between them from a menu).
And best of all, you can have up to 12 of each animations (walks, stands, etc.). But keep it reasonable, or it might crash :P
To setup the ZHAO 2, you put animation files into the ZHAO 2 like any other gadget. But the ZHAO 2 uses a slightly different Notecard than the rest of the free AO's here.
You list the animation file names to the right of each heading, separated by a vertical bar "|". You can also blend 2 animations together by using a comma (havent tried that yet!)
I dont know how well the ZHAO 2 works under lag, but its definitely worth a try! Im *seriously* thinking about putting my mermaid animations in here! :)
You can pick up the free ZHAO 2 at Material Squirrel Wings: Winged Isle (35,83,47).
Franimation Overrider - FLIP MOD
OK, the "Franimation Overrider - FLIP MOD" is not actually a gadget. Its just an old version of Francis Chung's Franimation Overrider script modified by FlipperPA Peregrine (yes, the one from SL Boutique!).
BTW, pls dont bug FlipperPA for support! This script is not supported by anyone...so you are on your own if you choose to use it!
What caught my attention are the first few lines in the script: "modded by FliperPA to cut down on lag by 1000% without cutting much performance...also set to listen on alternate channel to stop server parsing everything wearer says in chat" Less lag is a good thing :)
Ive used this script reliably in high-lag situations (like the L'Oreal beauty pageant with 20 contestants and 65+ people in the sim!). I only used it for the Sexy walk, but it came on every time I went on stage. So I tend to like it :)
The downside is that this is not a packaged gadget. Theres no support for it. And there will probably not be any future improvements. You are on your own...
The good thing is that you setup the "Franimation Overrider - FLIP MOD" script just like the WetIkon. The big difference is that you have to create an attachment to put it in (it can be a simple Single Prim Bracelet). You put the "Franimation Overrider - FLIP MOD" script inside the attachment, edit the "*Default Anims" Notecard in the device, then say "/63 ao reset" (this script uses Channel 63, which cuts down on lag).
Commercial Animation Override Gadgets
If you have L$ to spend, there are commercial AO's out there for you :) Most of the large animation stores have packaged AO's. They are pre-loaded with animations. Just wear them and go!
There are many "special purpose" AO's, for particular avatars (like mermaids or dragons), or um...relationship situations...
A noteworthy one is HUDDLES (Search/Places for "huddles"). They have a number of commercial AO gadgets from simple posing to AO's that support dancing and can be scripted.
They are easier to setup than the free AO gadgets (just drop the animation files on the gadget, you dont have to configure notecards). However, they are not cheap. They are def the ultimate in AO gadgets. Note that these are HUD-based devices, so they may have issues under heavy lag...
Create an Animation Override Bracelet
OK enough talking...lets make something :)
We are going to create an AO bracelet using the "Franimation Overrider - FLIP MOD" script. We will configure the AO bracelet to override our Walk and a rotation of 3 Stand poses.
These steps can also be used to setup the WetIkon AO (except you wont need to create the bracelet).
You will need the free "Franimation Overrider - FLIP MOD" folder from Sirena Hair to complete this part of the tutorial. Also, dont forget the animation files in the "Poseball" and "Walk Animations" folders.
Click on the Build button at the bottom of your screen and click on the ground to rez a Box.
If you see the "More >>" button in the Edit window, click on it to see the rest of the Edit window. Go to the Object tab.
Change the Building Block Type to "Torus".
Change the following settings:
Size X: 0.020
Size Y: 0.080
Size Z: 0.080
Rotation Y: 90.00
Hole Size Y: 0.10
Go to the Texture tab.
Click on the square above "Texture". At the "Pick:Texture" window, click "Blank" and "Select".
Click on the square above "Color". At the "Color Picker" window, pick a color for the bracelet, then click "Select".
Go to the "Content" tab.
Look for the "Franimation Overrider FLIP MOD" folder you picked up from Sirena. Drag and drop the contents from the "Franimation Overrider FLIP MOD" folder into the Contents tab of the bracelet.
If you are using WetIkon, this is where you should start. Just rez the WetIkon on the ground, Edit it, go to the Contents tab, and follow these instructions.
Look for the "Walk Animations" folder you picked up from Sirena. Drag and drop the walk animation you want to use into the Contents tab of the bracelet. If you dont know which one to use, try "Female Walk" if you want a Sexy walk, or "Power Walk" if you are a guy.
Look for the "Stand Animations" folder you picked up from Sirena. Drag and drop 3 stand animations you want to use into the Contents tab of the bracelet. If you are unsure, try these poses if you are a woman:
*MM* Model pose 2
*MM* Model pose 3
*MM* Model pose 5
Try these if you are a man:
Model Pose 4
standing_01
waiting
Double-click on the "*Default Anims" Notecard in the Contents tab of the bracelet. This will open the Notecard editing window.
Put the *EXACT* name of the walk animation (either "Female Walk" or "Power Walk") under the "-=Walking=-" heading. The Notecard is case-sensitive, so the spelling and case has to be exactly the same as the animation file.
Also, be sure that you dont add any blank lines in the Notecard.
Add the exact names of the 3 stand animations under the "-=Stand1=-", "-=Stand2=-", and "-=Stand3=-" headings. Now, pick 2 of the stand animations and put them under the "-=Stand4=-" and "-=Stand5=-" headings. You should not leave any of the "Stand" headings blank because SL will substitute the normal stands animations in those spots. You can choose and loaded 5 different stand animations later if you like :D
Again be sure the spelling and case are the same, and dont add any blank lines!
Once you are done, press the "Save" button and close the Notecard.
One last thing: go to the "General" tab and change the name to "Animation Bracelet".
Thats it! The bracelet is ready to go. We just have to fit it now...
Right-click on the bracelet and select "Take" to take the bracelet into your Inventory.
Look for the "Animation Bracelet" in your Inventory. It should be in the Objects folder.
Right-click on the "Animation Bracelet", select "Attach To >", and select "L Forearm".
Like most attachments, they end up in the weirdest places when you first attach them :P In this case, its probably embedded somewhere in your arm.
Right-click on the "Animation Bracelet" on your arm and select "Edit". 
Go to the "Object" tab.
Change Rotation Z to 90.00.
Next, grab the Green color arrow and move the bracelet down. If you use the numbers in the top of the screen as a guide, the bracelet fits me at about "X: 0.000 Y: 0.085 Z: 0.000".
If you are using the "Franimation Overrider FLIP MOD" script, say these 2 commands in the Chat window: "/63 ao on" and "/63 ao reset" (without the quotes). It will take up to a minute to read the Notecard.
If you are using WetIkon, say these 2 commands in the Chat window: "/ao on" and "/ao reset" (without the quotes). It will take up to a minute to read the Notecard.
Note: When you first wear the Animation Bracelet, be sure you are in a place where you can run scripts (like a Sandbox).
Thats it! You should start walking and standing like a model :)
Have fun with your modeling career :)
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32 comments:
Natalia, again your tutorial has proven to be a very good destillation of facts you'd otherwise need to research from multiple sources.
I personally took the easy way and bought a commercially packed AO (as well as talked a friend into getting another one). While my AO is a variant of ZHAO and could be fitted with new animations, the one my friend bought is totally closed, and she's not happy with it anymore (which is quite annoying at 850 L$). So my advice to your readers is to always get an AO where you can modifiy the content, and where you can take animations OUT again.
Second advice is - and I can't repeat this often enough - to DO YOUR INVENTORY ON A REGULAR BASIS! Inventories tend to clutter, and you often get duplicates of existing items but differing names. ALWAYS use sub-folders in the main categories, so you immediately see when something new comes in. And for animations, my recipe is to use theme-based sub folders: dancing, sitting, sports, combat... Whenever new anims come in, test them - and delte them when you already have them or when they are trash. This will make it so much easier to create your AO.
If you haven't ever done your inventory before, NOW is the time to do it. Stop reading now! Clean up your inventory!
A very useful post Natalia. Ive only recently learnt to use ZHAO (thanks Bailey!) and am hugely enjoying the experience.
I can't thank you enough for this! I have wasted more SL time trying to figure these darned things out, without a lot of luck, I might add! I'm still struggling with my mermaid animations. I spend way more time out of the water than in it! :/ About the only AO that has worked consistantly is sexy walk and it doesn't work in your store. Ah well, one small step at a time. I definately appreciate this help! Thanks so much for your thoughtful posts!
LadyAyn
I have to say a very well written tutorial again. I wish I'd had this back when I started trying to get my own AO to work! I have three or four different AO's now that way Im not relying on one to do everything I want to do. IE I have one for everyday use, one for the not so pg side of life and one for being a mermaid ^-^ Yes I dabble in that area as well. He He you know Im addicted to avatars.
I have to disagree with you on the one thing I saw mentioned the most. In my opinion I have the same amount of lag from both HUD and basic AO's. In high lag areas I tend to find less lag from my HUD than from one I have to verbally command. (I have an AO in a necklace I wear that is commanded on a set channel other than 0.)
And as Peter said, always look for an AO thats still mod since sometimes you don't love every animation in your set or you may want more!
Peter, wow you are organized! :) Lol my inventory is a bit of a mess :P
And I absolutely agree about getting a commercial AO: unless you *like* to tinker with an AO, its prob a lot easier to get a commercial one. It does take some time to check out all the freebie animations/poses and get everything set.
Caterin, heehee I know when I started using ZHAO, I couldnt stop! I kept loading animations! Its a lot of fun :) Enjoy all those cool walks and poses!
LadyAyn, thank you so much! That reminds me...I wanted to write a tutorial on staying in the water! :) Its not right for mermaids to fly out of the water! :P
BTW, I disabled outside scripts at the Sirena store. That may be why AO's are not working there (particularly if you first attach the item in the store). But a standard AO should work if it was attached some place else. Thanks for letting me know...I need to do some checking :)
Ekio, oh my, you certainly have a lot of AO's! :) You probably use them a lot more than I do!
Regarding the HUD versus voice AO's, it may be a bit different for everyone. None of my HUDs ever work under high lag (this includes HUDDLES EZ, Babbler translator, and the mermaid swim HUD). It may just be my computer...its something my brother pieced together with spare parts :P
Hopefully, this tutorial helps people with choosing an AO gadget...
A very nicely compiled tutorial. While have purchased an AO for myself, a *friend* of mine has a customised AO that was compiled from various freebies.
I believe the only drawbacks with the walk animations is that my female friends tell me they have yet to find a walk that doesn't make your crinolines into a flying hazard :-)
Excellent post, Natalia! <3
The ZHAO II is awesome!
I buy my poses at Reel Movement, Torrid Wear, Vicious, Tuli, Last Stand...
In these places you will find the very best poses/animtions in SL.
Anyways, I am still wondering if it is possible to place an walking replacement inside the avatar...?
I'd love to create a HUD based AO or better a multi tool, but I can't seem to figure out how to build it... & for some reason my crazy prim bead AO asks me permission to animate me all the time... >_>
Great tutorial! I've been using the ZHAO HUD, and have been pretty happy with it, but I decided to make an overrider using your tutorial as a guide. I made mine a nose ring instead of a bracelet, and I linked it with a face light you mentioned in an earlier blog, which seems to work pretty well actually.
Actually if you check JIRA someone has graciously slowed down the default duck walk. Having seen it it looks 183938329 percent better. Granted it's not as great as some AO walks, but considering I rarely use an AO- the adjustment to the default walk is going to be great!
This is brilliant! Earl Primbroke [points up-comments] has been trying to get me to read in-world documentation on AOs for days now, so your timing for posting this is also perfect for me. It's exactly what I needed to know.
Edward, lol the Sexy walks do tend to exaggerate the hip movements :) Maybe someone needs to tone it down a bit for bustle gowns :P
Ana, yes...the ZHAO 2 is totally awesome! I still havent had a chance to try in under lag, but its great everywhere else!
Unfortuantely, theres no way to override animations (or run a script) without some kind of attachment. So theres no way to do an AO "inside" the avatar. But you can always make the AO invisible or a HUD like the ZHAO 2... :)
Theshadow, you have Mod permission to both the ZHAO/ZHAO 2. So you can see how they work :) Just dont ask me how...I tried and got dizzy after a couple lines ;P
Dani, a nose ring AO! Thats so cool :) And yes, the Face Light is absolutely essential. So you are getting 2 attachments in 1...great job!
Dear Anonymous, I didnt know they slowed down the normal walk! Thats great (cause I normally dont wear an AO). This makes crowded places much easier to move about too...like all those clubs and Goth sims :P
Corgi, I hope this is useful! If you havent done so, give the new ZHAO 2 a try...its def awesome :)
It's official.. I'm in love.. with Zhao II.. :) .. standing pretty animated, running smoothly.. i feel like a new woman.
You are my heroine, Natalia. ty sooo much.
Maya, you are very welcome! I love my ZHAO 2 as well (I love the controls :D). Have fun with all your cool poses :)
Regarding an AO inside an avatar. As you say, the AO itself must be inside a prim or object attached to the avatar or HUD slot. You can, however, edit the attachment of a prim so that it is inside your avatar. I haven't the slightest idea of the relative merits of putting a prim inside your body or making it invisible!
Otenth, isnt it bad for your health to have too many prims inside your avatar? ;P
Awesome... as always. It all seems so difficult until you explain it... Looking forward to loads more fantastic tutorials!!
Vicous, thank you :) Heehee I hope there are still things left to write about ;P
Oh thx thx thx! I was searching for that a realy long time! Finally I can stop hiting the play Button after a TP :D
Hip hip hurray to you :D You are great!!!
Lilith, heehee you are very welcome! Have fun with all your cool new poses ;P
This was EXACTLY the tutorial I was looking for. A+ Thank you. One item only that needs an comment and update: The ZHAO II is not available everywhere, and not at the landmark in your post. Many places have only an early ZHAO 1.x version. My advice is to search for ZHAO and work your way down the list -- it is usually a freebie at places that specialize in animations.
- D
Danger, the ZHAO 2 is relatively new, so it is only available at 1 place that I know of. But it sounds like it has been moved! Thanks for letting me know...let me see if I can find it again... :)
Thanks Natalia,
Excellent tutorial. You are one smart mermaid!
Tau Aeon
Tau, thank you so much! I hope it was useful ;)
These tutorials are excellent Natalia. I'm wondering if you can help me combat the nodding head after you click the Say button. Is there anyway of turning that off please?
Floydette, lol here is a thread from the SL Forums (if you have access): http://forums.secondlife.com/showthread.php?t=248315&highlight=nodding
Basically, Bree suggested that you use a Priority 4 animation for Stand, Sit, and Fly that moves the Head and Neck. I havent tried it, but it sounds like it would work :)
I followed the instructions for the Flip Mod one to the letter and it didn't work at all. Blah. I tried the Zhao one and while I got a bit flustered, I did get it to work finally. There is a store called Animations Rising, which is meant to have animations for men. I took a box of free poses they had and they turned out to be the *MM* poses, heh. That's ok, I used three of those and while they may be a little effete, they're not bad looking with me, imho. :)
GeorgieBoy, Im sorry the scripts didn't work. But check out the ZHAO 2 (it's much easier to use).
Also, unfortnately, there are very few good poses for guys (esp freebies). Lol but guys don't pose, do they? ;P
I am getting a weird error when trying to get the supplies.. money transfer denied because the request was stale.
I have the latest sl browser (1.22.11 (113941)). I would love to give this tutorial a try though... any suggestions?
Dear Anonymous, just try again. Sometimes it could be lag or an SL issue. Usually fixes itself :)
*sigh* I know this post is old but I have a problem :/, I'm using the ZHAO II AO and I filled it with animations... I recently bought one so I could add it, but oh snap, it's not mod and I can't add it to the contents tab of the AO...
So my question is... do the animations HAVE to be copy/mod to add them to an AO?
MeliBusla, you don't need Mod permission to add an anim to the AO. However, you need to rez the AO on the ground before you can add the anim (you cannot add the anim while you are wearing the AO, since it changes the perms of the AO). Have fun ;)
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