rigging a double handed weapon for games

[eek]

I'd make the arms IK or if theres an IKFK switch set it to ik. Then make them the parent of the weapon and animate it. I'd also have inbetween links like so:

hand -
point/null -
weapon

so you can slide them up and down the weapon too.

cheers,

[coop]

[Hey all,
Can anyone point me in the right direction for the safest/best way to rig up a double handed weapon for games animations? (a boe staff, battle axe, or a large hammer for example)

Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Jonathan]

Hey Jonathan. It depends I suppose on how involved you want to get. For a basic two handed grip, i'd use some group nodes, constraints, and parent space switching. for maya, my former TD released snWorldspace.mel (on highend) which is really handy for copying your current position to a clipboard and pasting it after you space switch.

what i've done before is to, have the back hand have a group node above the hand control that's oriented on one axis with the weapon, then make an attribute on the back hand control with a direct connection to the node, which will allow for sliding up and down on the weapon. I think it's important to do your contraints to group nodes above your main controllers so you can avoid the wonky wrist positions that can happen. As far as constraining your hand (or node) to the weapon - that's a great idea and a good way to work. i would do that group node constraint on the upper hand as well, and also be able to constrain your weapon to world space as well in case you need it planted in the ground, or if your character falls and drops it.

drop me a line if this isn't clear.

jeff

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