CGTalk - creating bones with helper objects

View Full Version : creating bones with helper objects

virtualmesh

03-17-2006, 07:33 PM

I was tending a session with an instructor who had a different method to drawing out the bone structures for his characters. He was actually beginning with the rigging task then was going to begin modelling, not modelling then rigging.

Here's what he did:
1. He had a template skeletonal mesh of a human already done within 3dsmax. This was going to be his framework for perspective and kinetic sources. It was a modelled skeleton with no rig set into it.
2. He then drew out splines along the 'mesh-modelled bones' by placing each vertex where the bone would be rotating.
3. He then added the Spline IK Control modifier to his splines, which created point helpers on top of each vertex.
4. He then hid the spline (and the modelled skeleton mesh) and only showed the helper objects. it was neat to see this because there was a visual representation of where the rotations would be occuring.
5. He then went on creating his bone chains in Left/Top/Bottom viewports for the spine, legs and arms using Snap to Pivot. This snaped his bone pivots to each helper object as they were being created.

Question:
I guess the advantage to this would be that all his bones would end up having a 0,0,0 rotational value on the default eulerXYZ controller.

any idea or thoughts?

virtualmesh

03-18-2006, 03:02 PM

now that I think of it. there would still be some sort of non-zero value on the bones' XYZ rotations.

marktsang

03-18-2006, 03:12 PM

I guess the advantage to this would be that all his bones would end up having a 0,0,0 rotational value on the default eulerXYZ controller.

hi,
not sure i fully understand the advantage of what you are saying

with regards to the above quote - i dont see how you guess this - to get a [0,0,0] rotation on the default controller either add a list controller and a new controller on top

->list rotation
-->default euler_xyz (may not be [0,0,0]
-->euler_xyz (will appear as [0,0,0] in curved editor)

or use a helper , add the helper and align it to the bones pos and rot and then link the bone to it.

mark

joconnell

03-18-2006, 03:23 PM

Alt + right click on an object and in your quad menu use the option called freeze transform - it'll automate what mark is saying here and leave all of the transforms on your objects zeroed.

CGTalk Moderation

03-18-2006, 03:23 PM

This thread has been automatically closed as it remained inactive for 12 months. If you wish to continue the discussion, please create a new thread in the appropriate forum.