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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