[Bf-committers] Shapes / Shape Keys - confusing terminology

[Charles Wardlaw]

+1 on "blend shape" or "morph target."

-1 on "shape." If I hear shape, I think you're talking about the  
object data. Hangover of terminology from Maya (transform node vs  
shape node), but most of my professional Blender usage has been in  
conjunction with Maya and I'm sure I'm not alone in that.

Since a number of things have already been renamed for 2.5, wouldn't  
it be a good idea to ask the community outside the list if there are  
other things they'd like clarified / renamed?

~ C


On 2009-11-01, at 8:13 AM, Mike Belanger <mikejamesbelanger at gmail.com>  
wrote:

> Ahaha sorry guys.  I didn't make myself clear.  I'm NOT proposing we
> introduce the word 'Blend Shapes' at all, it was simply an example of
> another term for a similar function, that didn't use the word key.
>
> Sorry, -1 for blend shapes from me too ;)
>
>
> On Sun, Nov 1, 2009 at 6:53 AM, Nathan Vegdahl <cessen at cessen.com>  
> wrote:
>
>> Ah, I skimmed too quickly, and didn't realize Matt had made such a
>> specific terminology proposal.
>>
>> -1 blend shapes
>> +1 shapes
>>
>> --Nathan V
>>
>> On Sun, Nov 1, 2009 at 2:42 PM, Damir Prebeg <damir_prebeg at yahoo.com>
>> wrote:
>>> I think that Mike has just stated that Maya's Shape Keys  
>>> equivalent is
>> called Blend Shapes. He has not proposed Blend Shapes as new name  
>> for Shape
>> Keys.
>>> I agree with Matt and Mike and I also think that word key should be
>> reserved for stuff related to keyframes. I've had a lot of troubles  
>> to
>> understand Shape Keys just because of that weird terminology. I  
>> think that
>> I'm not the only one. That should be changed in 2.5.
>>>
>>> --- On Sun, 11/1/09, Mango Jambo <moraesjunior at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> From: Mango Jambo <moraesjunior at gmail.com>
>>> Subject: Re: [Bf-committers] Shapes / Shape Keys - confusing  
>>> terminology
>>> To: "bf-blender developers" <bf-committers at blender.org>
>>> Date: Sunday, November 1, 2009, 2:09 PM
>>>
>>> +1 for Blend shapes.
>>>
>>> Moraes Junior - aka mangojambo
>>> 3D Artist Animator
>>>
>>>
>>> 2009/11/1 Nathan Vegdahl <cessen at cessen.com>
>>>
>>>> +1
>>>> I'm good for calling them "blend shapes".
>>>>
>>>> --Nathan V
>>>>
>>>> On Sun, Nov 1, 2009 at 1:43 AM, Matt Ebb <matt at mke3.net> wrote:
>>>>> Hi,
>>>>>
>>>>> I've noticed some weird terminology creeping into Blender 2.5,  
>>>>> which
>>>>> we'd better clear up. Thought I'd clarify things here so people  
>>>>> can
>>>>> talk about this with understanding.
>>>>>
>>>>> In pre-blender-2.40, we had the weirdo name 'relative vertex  
>>>>> keys',
>>>>> which in the 'new' animation system in 2.40 during Orange, we  
>>>>> changed
>>>>> to shapes/shape keys. Part of this was improved in 2.4 but there's
>>>>> still some weirdness, in the code naming and in the UI.
>>>>>
>>>>> Right now in 2.5 we are calling 'instances of mesh vertex  
>>>>> locations'
>>>>> as 'Shape Keys'. This is misleading and confusing terminology,  
>>>>> since
>>>>> the word key usually refers to a keyframe, i.e. something that  
>>>>> you set
>>>>> while animating, and makes it makes the process more difficult to
>>>>> understand. A mesh 'shape key', known in other apps as a Blend  
>>>>> Shape
>>>>> or Morph Target really has little to do with the actual  
>>>>> keyframing in
>>>>> time. So I propose this clarified naming convention:
>>>>>
>>>>> * Key (or keyframe)
>>>>> --> A stored state of some data at a single point in time,  
>>>>> represented
>>>>> by the little gold diamond that shows up in the dope sheet.
>>>>> For example: "Add a location key at frame 10" or "Key the  
>>>>> influence of
>>>>> the constraint".
>>>>>
>>>>> * Shape (mesh shape, curve shape, etc)
>>>>> --> A set of vertex locations, as part of a mesh. Known in other  
>>>>> apps
>>>>> as a Blend Shape or Morph Target.
>>>>> For example "Make a new mesh shape for the character's smile" or
>>>>> "Delete that shape from the mesh shapes panel"
>>>>>
>>>>> * Shape Key
>>>>> --> A stored state of the influence of a shape, at a single  
>>>>> point in
>>>>> time. The Shape key is the actual keyframe, when you've  
>>>>> keyframed a
>>>>> mesh shape.
>>>>> For example: "Delete the shape key in the dopesheet at frame 15"  
>>>>> or
>>>>> "Bring up the smile strength a bit more and key it"
>>>>>
>>>>> I'm happy to go and fix this in the UI but unfortunately the code
>>>>> still refers to keys I believe, which might be a bit of a pain to
>>>>> change... :/
>>>>>
>>>>> cheers,
>>>>>
>>>>> Matt
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> Bf-committers mailing list
>>>>> Bf-committers at blender.org
>>>>> http://lists.blender.org/mailman/listinfo/bf-committers
>>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> Bf-committers mailing list
>>>> Bf-committers at blender.org
>>>> http://lists.blender.org/mailman/listinfo/bf-committers
>>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Bf-committers mailing list
>>> Bf-committers at blender.org
>>> http://lists.blender.org/mailman/listinfo/bf-committers
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Bf-committers mailing list
>>> Bf-committers at blender.org
>>> http://lists.blender.org/mailman/listinfo/bf-committers
>>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Bf-committers mailing list
>> Bf-committers at blender.org
>> http://lists.blender.org/mailman/listinfo/bf-committers
>>
>
>
>
> -- 
> www.watchmike.ca
> _______________________________________________
> Bf-committers mailing list
> Bf-committers at blender.org
> http://lists.blender.org/mailman/listinfo/bf-committers