KB2/Animation guide

• http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Animation_Guide
• http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Creating_and_uploading_animations_-_Video_Tutorial

Animation guide

An animation is a set of intructions that cause an avatar to engage in a sequence of motions. Custom animations can be created in programs such as Poser, Blender, and others. Several Resident-created animation applications have been released over the years:

• Posemaker - see forum discussion.
• Avimator - see forum discussion
• Slat - see forum discussion.

To import animations into Second Life from these programs:

1. Save the animation in biovision hierarchy (BVH) format
2. Choose the File > Upload Animation command.

There is a L$10 fee for uploading an animation. For more information on uploading an animation, see How to upload an animation.

You can use animations in gestures; but don't confuse the two. To activate an animation in your inventory, double-click the animation name. This opens a dialog box with the animation name, a field in which to see or enter a description of the animation, and two buttons:

• Play Locally allows you to see the animation, but it will not will be visible to other Residents. This is useful to make sure the animation is really something you want others to see your avatar doing.

• Play in World allows the Residents within visual range to see your avatar perform the animation. For more information on animations, and how to create them, see Animation.

Creating and uploading animations

This video tutorial discusses the creation and uploading of animations using QAvimator, a free program for creating animations specifically for the Second Life virtual world. Topics covered include:

• Animation basics in QAvimator
• QAvimator controls
• Props intro
• Optimizing your animation
• Saving your animation
• Customizing before uploading
• Preview controls
• Uploading & playing your animation
• Animation priority demo

<videoflash type="vimeo">4242932|640|480</videoflash>