CREATE THE CONTROL ARMS

This whole section will just be a brief overview of what you�ll find in the Alias/Wavefront Maya 2 video: Mastering the Human Character video. I�ve made some of my own modifications to the technique, but it�s still too close to what they�ve done, so I won�t go into detail here. What you�ll find here are the �notes� I took while watching it, so that I could implement the technique into my own�. This whole section is an extra added step�something not needed, but well worth the time and effort! All I can say is: go get the video�this section alone is worth it!

Create the Control Arm.

Control arm is three joints�one from the shoulder to the elbow, one from the elbow to the wrist, and one from the wrist to the (end of the hand or mid palm�whatever�). It�s parented to the clavicle joint (the same one that the bound arm is parented to). See the pictures below as a reference for how to create and name the joints.

Use Connection Editor to link bound arm to Control Arm.

For the rotations

Hide bound arm.

Create the FK arm.

Duplicate the Control Arm.

Rename prefixes

FK�

Bring out the selection handles on this arm.

Set preferred angle on Control Arm.

By bending the elbow in the correct direction.

Put IK on Control Arm.

Name: ArmControlHandle.

Constrain the FK arm.

Select FKwrist.

SHIFT select the Control Arm wrist.

Constrain > Orient.

Select FKwrist.

SHIFT select ArmControlHandle.

Constrain > Point.

Create FK Pole Arm Constraint.

Create > Locator.

Parent the locator to the FK shoulder.

Set translation x,y,z to 0,0,0.

Translate the locator back in Z.

Lock translation in X and Y.

Name: FKpoleVector.

Constrain FK pole vector.

Select FKpoleVector.

SHIFT select armControlHandle.

Constrain > Pole Vector.

Assign the FK locators to a new layer: unNeededSkeleton.

Hide the FK Arm.

Create IK controls.

Select Control wrist.

Duplicate and unparent.

Move and zero rotates.

Name: IKwrist.

Create IK Pole Vector Constraint.

Create > Locator.

Move it near the shoulder.

Name: IKpoleVector.

Constrain the IK arm.

Select the IKwrist.

SHIFT select the Control wrist.

Constrain > Orient.

Select the IKwrist.

SHIFT select the armControlHandle.

Constrain > Point.

Select the IKpoleVector.

SHIFT select the armControlHandle.

Constrain > Pole Vector.

Create FKiK attribute.

Show the FK arm.

Select armControlHandle.

Clean out all channel controls/ attributes.

Make all non-keyable.

Add Attribute:

FKiK.

Defaults

Min: 0.

Max: 10.

Clean up.

Select wrist.

Select the orient constraint node under it.

SHIFT select the IK handle and parent.

Now all constraints are in the IK�s channel box.

Make Set Driven for FKiK.

FKiK attribute at 0 is FK, and at 10, is IK.

Driver: wrist.FKiK.

Driven: armControlHandle.(each one of the three constraints).

Assign arms to layers.

Select the right� and left_FKshoulders and the right� and left_Ikwrists and the IK locators.

Assign these to the layer, FkIkControls.

The bound and Control Arm get assigned to the unNeededSkeleton layer.

Add a set driven to the IK pole vector locators.

Set drivens on locators� driven: visibility�driver: FKiK attribute for FKwrists.