I think these are one of the things that I need to understand well, and that has given me a little headache for not knowing exactly how it works.
Simply put: if you have a simple rotation (for instance something only rotates around one axis), then you'd use Euler.
When you have complicated rotations , use quaternions.
Suppose you use XYZ Euler and rotate an Object +/- 90°, then you have what is called Gimbal lock; rotating around the X-axis:
is the 'same' (direction may be opposite) as rotating around the Z-axis:
When you have a rotation R1 followed by a rotation R2, then the total rotation is quite hard to figure out with Euler, with quaternions its a piece of cake ;) (You just multiply the quaternion representation of R1 by the one of R2...again: simply put)
Thank you very much! I "googleled" Gimble Lock and I found a video on YouTube, from Level Pixel Level, with examples about the this issue: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCZItVfEtRY
I got it! I think understood your explanation now. But how can I use the 'W'? How can I avoid the Gimble rotation with the WXYZ? Again, thank you very much!
You will need to learn about quaternions. May I humbly suggest: https://cgcookie.com/articles/what-are-quaternion-rotations-in-blender
Feel free to ask if something is still unclear after that. (It probably will be...)
Hi JP,
Yeah if you have any Quaternion questions throw them Spikey's way.
But here is a general run down on when to use what....(but this is personal preference)
-If a control only needs to move on 1 axis -it is much easier to use Euler.
-If a control rotates on all 3 axes, Quaterion is a better option. *however* sometimes it is easier to use Euler and deal with any gimbal lock on the spots where you encounter it (if at all)
And sometimes I am told to supply a rig in Euler XYZ by default. (in Blender you can change the rotation mode and even keyframe this, so it's not that big of a deal). Although with this it best to use the same rotation mode for the entire shot.
I hope this helped and didn't make more questions for you haha
I got it !! Thanks @waylow ! 🤣🤣🤣 This is a good - and easy - to remember:
-If a control only needs to move on 1 axis -it is much easier to use Euler.
-If a control rotates on all 3 axes, Quaterion is a better option. * however * sometimes it is easier to use Euler and deal with any gimbal lock on the spots where you encounter it (if at all)
Makes all the sense to me! I am beggining with 3D animation, so this is a good starting point for me in this subject. I know I will have issues on the way, but now I know where I can found the answers. I won´t be stucked. Thanks again!