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Layers Rollout 827
Layers Rollout
Select the Biped > Motion panel > Layers rollout
Controls in the Lay ers rollout allow you to add
layers of animation above the original biped
animation. This is a powerful way of making
global changes to your character animation. For
example, simply add a layer and rotate the spine
for ward at any frame, and a r un cycle becomes a
crouched run. The original biped motion is kept
intact and can be viewed by switching back to the
original layer. Layers can be viewed individually or
asacompositeofalltheanimationinallthelayers.
Layers behave like a freeform animation; the biped
can adopt any position.
Tip: You can globally translate both a footstep and
freeform animation by doing a layered edit on
the
center of mass (page 2–788) .Forexample,by
adding a layer and moving the center of mass you
can move a freeform or footstep animaiton.
Layers let you easily adjust raw motion capture
data, which contains keys at every frame. Simply
add a layer and keyframe the biped. The original
layer is displayed as red bones.
Tip: To compare subtle mot ion between layers,
turn off Object and turn on Bones on the Display
rollout. You can comp are the layer to the original
w ith the red bone display.
Tip: Layers can be named for clar ity.
Honoring IK Constr aints Across
Layer s
You can maintain a biped’s IK constraints across
layers by retargeting its hands and feet to the
original laye r. This assures that the biped’s
constrained b ody parts are honored and locked in
placewhileyoumakeanimationchangesonthe
upper layers.
You can also choose to retarget a biped using
another one as reference. This is useful when you
need to precisely match hands and feet positioning
between two animated bipeds with different b ody
proportions.
You can save an animat ion containing honored
constraintsacrosslayersina
BIP (page 3–1010)
file. However, if the layered animation links to
another biped as reference, that link is not saved
with the animation.
Procedures
Example: To M aintain IK Constraints Across Layers:
This procedure takes into account the
fundamentals of animating across layers and
expands on the concept of honoring IK constraints.