gimbal co-ordinate system

[AWAKE]

gimbal is the way I work when I animate.

As long as you have the rotation orders correct, it works out quite nicely.

[srv]

What are the benefits of using this system would you say?

[AWAKE]

no more weird rotations. and less keyframes.

[LFShade]

They just added the gimbal CS to Max in version 5, and I've found it most useful for determining the proper evaluation order for rotations as I build my character rigs. It used to be sort of a guessing game, but now I can actually see the situations where the axes might lock up :)

[srv]

Thanks Awake and LFshade
LFshade - I'm not sure if I understand rotation axis order. Could you explain its importance and use please? or do you know of where I might be able to read about it?

[LFShade]

It's part of how Euler rotations are calculated. Each axis is evaluated independently and in order. The first axis to be evaluated has no effect on the other two, the second will affect the first, and the third will affect the first two. You can think of it as a heirarchical relationship -- in XYZ order, Z would be the root, Y would be the child of Z, and X would be the child of Y.

The problem with this is that whatever axis is second in the evaluation order will skew the orientation of only one of the other axes. So in XYZ order, a 90 degree rotation of the Y-axis can cause the X and Z axes to line up. This is called gimbal lock, and it's something you want to avoid. By putting your gizmo in gimbal mode you can actually watch this phenomenon happen, and it makes it easier to figure out which order to use for a given object so that you minimize the chances of your axes locking up on you.

Dang, I hope that made sense. I'm tired :wise:

[srv]

Thanks LFshade - nice explanation:thumbsup:

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