How do I make a character die in an exploseion?

Support Animation and Rigging
#1

OK ok, forgive the corny subject. But this problem has plagged me through all my dabblings in max, maya, lightwave (there is a cheap way to get around it in Lightwave) BUT let’s just say I was going to render a “battle” one of my characters get’s hit by a well something. and an explosion occurs (By parenting a partical explosion to the character that goes off at the appropriate time) How do I make the character go away. (I know there are the cheap make him go through the floor or send him off far far away so the camera can’t see him, but seriously there has to be a real easy way of doing it and I can’t figure it out.) Lightwave had a way to adjust the alpha levels at whatever frame. although I don’t think this was what it was intended for one could accomplish this effect using this feature. I know this is probably a simple solutions but for the life of me I can’t figure out how to make objects disappear.

BlackManta
Rogue Cartoonist. :Z

#2

Sorry I am NOT trying to delet an object, I merely want it to go “invisible” at a point in time. (So I am assuming that alpha levels will be involved.)

Thanks
BlackManta

#3

The easiest way would be to move the character to another layer that is hidden and keyframe that.

#4

I tried that. But it takes the object off for the entire time line. I am using the OBJECT -> Move to Layer command, I have added markers before nad after but it still takes the object away from the entire timeling.

BlackManta

#5

Step 1: Determine which layer will be your visible layer and which one will be the hidden one. For simplicities sake, we’ll say the visible layer is at 1 and the hidden layer is at ALT+1.

Step 2: Make both 1 and ALT+1 visble (SHIFT+LMB both layers)

Step 3: At the beginning of the animation, make sure your character is on the visible layer (1) and press the IKEY while in the 3D view. Select “Layer” as the thing you want to keyframe.

Step 4: Go to the frame where you want to have the character disappear. In the 3D view, press the MKEY and put the character in the layer you want to be hidden (ALT+1). Now, press the IKEY and select “Layer” as the thing you want to keyframe.

Step 5: Hide the layer you want to be invisible (SHIFT+LMB on the ALT+1 layer). Now when you press ALT+AKEY, your character should disappear at the designated frame.

#6

AWSOME THANKS

One quick question do I want to change the keyfram thing back to loc when I am done? Mycharacter kind of fell apart (BUT IT DID DISSAPPEAR) I just wondered

THanks again
BlackManta

#7

Do you mean set a location keyframe? or are you talking about the IPO window (“keyfram thing” is kind of ambiguous)? That shouldn’t be necessary. What, exactly, do you mean when you say that your character “kind of fell apart”?

#8

You can also keyframe the alpha in Blender. With the object selected move your cursor over the material buttons and press “i”

GreyBeard.

#9

Sorry about the “characters falling apart” apart. I was being kind of dumb. I had the record button pressed, and I was creating key frames and didn’t know it.

Thanks anyways
BlackManta
PS is there a way to post a movie on these forums?