8
Creating a Skin 929
the torso, legs and arms. In this case, select all the
objects and apply Ph ysique to all of them at once.
Posi ng the Skin
When you create a skin to use with a biped figure,
you should pose the arms and legs of the skin in a
standard
reference pose
.
Mesh in reference pose for use with bipeds
Use the following positions when y o u create the
reference pose:
• Spread the legs somewhat apart, at a
parade
rest
position.
• Spread the arms wide, level with shoulder
height. The hands s hould be level with the
arms, not dangling: palms facing down, fingers
straightandslightlyspreadapart.
• Position the head so it will face in the correct
directionwhenyouloadthebiped’sat-rest
standing pose. If the sk in and biped are for
afigurethatstandserect,positionthehead
normally. If the character stoops forward, for
example, a chimpanzee, make the head face
upward so that it will face forward after the
spine is bent.
As a general rule, create a reference pose that has
the limbs outstretched, but otherwise represents
the character’s natural at-rest posture.
Sk in Simplicity
The degree of detail on the model makes a
difference in how well it works for skinning. On
one hand, your skin must have a sufficient number
of vertices so Physique can deform it smoothly. On
the other hand, the fewer vertices the mesh has,
theeasieritwillbeforyoutoadjustPhysiquefor
the mesh. In addition, a hig hly complex mesh can
slow your system’s performance w hen working
with Physique.
If you plan to use an Editable Poly mesh, create
the m esh with evenly-sized, rectangular polygons.
Avoid using long, triang ular polygons, as these
do not deform smoothly with Physique. These
attributes are particularly important around the
hip and shoulder areas.
Models with evenly-sized rectangular polygons
A common workflow is to create the simplest
possible version of the mesh, apply Physique to
it, and apply the MeshSmooth modifier above
Physique on the stack. This makes Physique as
easy as possible to work with, but retains mesh
smoothness for rendering.
Same models rendered with MeshSmooth applied