Newbie Blender Questions

[rubygloom]

I'm totally and completely new to Blender/animating in general, but I want to give it a try. I've managed to work out most of the basics based on Turbodriver's tutorials and other posts on this forum, but I have a few specific questions:

1. Is there any convenient way to lock certain bones in place while still being able to move others? Like for instance, if I wanted a Sim to be on their hands and knees on the floor, I'd want the hands to stay in one place while hips/back/shoulders move. 
2. Any tips for animating faces? Like, which bones can be moved and which should only be rotated? Or just anything on how to get good facial expressions? I'm an artist and I've looked at reference images, but I can't seem to get Blender to make the face match the reference image.
3. Is there any way to get other meshes besides the default? Like, for example, a pregnant mesh? Or if I created a mesh for that, how would I merge it onto the body (like how on Turbodriver's tumblr you can download an edited male mesh with a penis)?
4. For adding sound, is there any way to find out what the sound effects sound like before adding them? Or just give me a hint for which ones might be good? The page of sound effects has over 6000 entries and I don't know how to find which ones are voice sounds.

 

I'm sure I'll think of like 18 more questions after this but I'm so close to making my first animations and I just need a few little things. Thanks!

[JonyPink]

Hi there....

 

I just started playing with Blender and the animations and I have the same questions as you.

It's a shame that nobody has answered because what you ask are basic things to start making animations.

 

If it helps, I have found myself moving a foot or a hand, move the leg or arm completely .....

 

1.- Select a foot

2.- Click on Add Bone Constraint (it is an icon with a bone and a chain)

3.- Select "Inverse Kinematics"

4.- Change the value of String length to 3

 

Ready, you must do this for the other foot and hands, you can also do it for the knees but this time with value 2.

 

By the way, if you have been able to solve any of your questions, I would like you to write the solutions here.

 

Thank you.

 

[HKo_83]

So there are others with same troubles as I am... Hello every body!

 

I've (so far...) have been making trial animations arround 240-250 frames for sims 3, but only facial expressions I so far have done are rotating jaw on x axis (found next to ear), and so far it looks like rig is opening and closing mouth close to real.  Another I've used are upper eye lids also only on x axis to get closed eyes ( on sims 3 rig these are pain to find from the rig). And finally tongue, moving it out from mouth... and rotating the tip on (again) x axis...

This is not much, but as beginner it makes nice add-on to an animation.

 

Have to try that inverse kinematics, if it would help my characters to stay at one place...

 

[Guest Redabyss]

Good look to the both of you guys!

[JonyPink]

Hi again......

 

Please note that inverse kinematics wouldn't help to stay at place or on the ground the actor, is useful when moving the hand or a foot, because you move the whole arm or the whole leg....

 

Watch this video...(From second 17 in forward) 

 

 

Please don't hesitate to post any news you get about animation.

 

 

Regards anf thanks Redabyss for your encouragement 

[JonyPink]

..... in response to the point 4.....about sounds....you can use S4pe to edit other animations with sound, because in you click on the CLIP you can see what sounds has been used.

 

Regards.