8

Animating by Rotating Links 749
Biped provides controls to help you give both arms
orbothlegsthesamepose.See
Copy/Paste Rollout
(page 2–818)
for more information.
Biped Link Link Name K eyframe
Mode
Figu re M o de
Center of
mass
Bip01
(default)
Positions
entire biped
Positions
entire biped
Pelvis Pelvis
Does not
move
Does not
move
Head Head
Does not
move
Does not
move
Neck Neck
Does not
move
Does not
move
Spine Base Spine Does not
move
Positions
upper body
relative to
lower body
Tail Base Tail
Does not
move
Positions tail
relative to
body
Ponytail Ponytail1, 11,
and so on
Does not
move
Positions
ponytail
relative to
body
Clavicles R Clavicle, L
Clavicle
Do not move Positions
arms relative
to body
Shoulders
(upper arm)
R UpperArm,
L UpperArm
IK from
shoulder
IK from
shoulder
Elbows
(lower arm)
RForearm,L
Forearm
IK from hand IK from hand
Hands R Hand, L
Hand
IK from hand IK from hand
Fingers Finger 0, 01,
and so on
IK from finger
Positions
finger
relative to
hand (if base
selected)
Hips (upper
leg)
RThigh,L
Thigh
IK from knee IK from knee
Knees (lower
leg)
R Calf, L Calf IK from foot IK from foot
Biped Link Link Name Keyfr ame
Mode
Figu re M od e
Feet R Foot, L Foot
IK from foot IK from foot
Toes
Toe 0, 01, and
so on
IK from toe
Positions toe
relative to
foot (if base
selected)
Animating by Rotating Links
Use the standard 3ds Max Rotate t r ansform
to adjust a biped’s posture by rotating its links.
Use the main toolbar button, or right-click and
choose Rotate from the quad menu.
To make biped movement appear natural, certain
bipedjointsarelimitedinhowtheycanrotate,
such as the elbows and knees. When a joint can
rotate in all three axes, X, Y, and Z, it is said to have
three degrees of freedom (DOF). A joint’s DOF
can be modified by selecting it and then setting
options on the
Locks (page 2–482) rollout of the
Hierarchy panel.
Note: Changing a joint’s DOF will not replace its
default DOF, meaning a locked axis by default can
not be unlocked manually.
The table below shows the degrees of freedom of
each link. Biped al lows a bit greater freedom than
most human bodies are capable of. All rotations
areperformedinthelocalcoordinatesystem.
Tip: First select the link to rotate, then click Rotate.
While the Motion panel is ac t ive, Biped sets the
transform managers to reflect the degrees of
freedom of that link . For example, if you select the
pelvis and then click Rotate, Biped changes the
coordinate system to Local and turns on the Y axis
constraint. (For joints that have more than one
degree of freedom, you might later need to change
the axis constraint setting.)