8

702 Chapter 14: Character Studio
When you position the biped inside your mesh,
star t with the center of mass (COM), which is the
parent of all objects in the biped hierarchy. The
COM should be positioned in line with the hips
of the mesh character. Scale the pelvis so that the
legs fit properly in the mesh, and then use Move
and Scale on the 3ds Max toolbar to position your
biped skeleton.
Note: In addition to the standard move, rotate, and
scale operations, you can also use modifiers to
adjust the parts of the biped.
Note: Biped body parts cannot be removed,
however unwanted parts can be hidden. If you
delete a part the entire biped will be deleted.
The following list includes some t ips for
positioning your skeleton:
•UsethePAGEUPandPAGEDOWNkeysto
cycle through links.
•Use
Rubber Band mode (page 3–1097) to move
and scale the arm and leg links on your skeleton
simultaneously.
•
Use tools from the Bend Links rollout
(page 2–807)
,suchas Bend Links Mode (page
3–1009)
and Twist Links Mode (page 3–1122)
to adjust tail, neck, spine, or ponytai l links.
• The head, toes, and fingertips should extend
slightly beyond the mesh extents to fulfill the
requirements of Physique.
• Use the minimum number of fingers and toes.
You need extra fingers or links only if you are
planning on complex hand or foot animation.
If your character is wearing shoes or gloves,
thenyouprobablyonlyneedonefingerortoe,
with one link.
• To create a biped w ith knees that bend
backwards, rotate the biped calves or thighs of
both legs 180 degrees about their local X-axis
(along the leng th of the limb). When you exit
Figuremode,thebipedwalks,runs,andjumps
with reversed knees.
• Whenworkingwithameshinasymmetrical
pose, pose one side of the skeleton, and use
controls on the
Copy/Paste rollout (page
2–818)
to paste the posture to the opposite side
of the biped.
When you are satisfied with your pose, check the alignment
in all viewports to make sure that the skeleton is positioned
correctly in the mesh.
Once you have successfully positioned a skeleton
inside your character mesh, you are ready to
attach the mesh w ith Physique. For more on this
workflow, see
Understanding Physique (page
2–692)
.