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966 Chapter 14: Character Studio
Note:
The Bulge Editor works exclusively with
bulge angles. To create and edit Tendons, use the
Tendons sub-object level (page 2–998) .
Using an A nima tion to P rev iew L imb
Or ient ati ons
Foreasiercreationofbulgeangles,youshould
create a simple animation that moves the limb into
extreme or ientations. In the case of the human
arm, you mig ht set keyframes with the arms down
against the body; extended to the sides; bent at
theelbows;andfinally,morerelaxedwiththe
hands touching the shoulders. By scrubbing the
time slider, you can easily choose one of many
intermediate or extreme orientations. This saves
time when you create Bulge Ang les, because you
won’t need to exit Physique to manipulate the
skeleton to change the orientation of the mesh.
You can create and set multiple Bulge Angles
without ever leaving the Bulge Editor or Bulge
sub-object level.
Pr ocedur es
To create a new bulge angle using the B ulge Editor:
1.
Click the Bulge Editor button a t the top
level of the Phy
sique modifier, or at the Link or
Bulge sub-object level.
The Bulge Editor is displayed.
Tip: Accessing the Bulge E d itor at the Bulge
sub-object level prov ides the added benefit of
letting you wo
rk in either the Bulge Editor or
the Bulge r ollout interchangeably.
2. In a viewport, click to select a link.
3. On the Bulge Editor toolbar, click Insert
Bulge Angle.
Physique creates a new bulge angle. The
number of the bulge angle name in the Current
Bulge Angle field increments.
4. Ty pe a descriptive name in the Current Bulge
Angle field.
Tip: It is a good idea to change the color of the
newly created bulge angle. Do this by clicking
Bulge Angle Color at the Bulge sub-object level,
and selecting a color with the Color Selector.
5. If no appropriate cross sections exist,
then on the Bulge Ed itor toolbar, click Inser t
CS Slice. Click the Profile view to create and
position a cross section.
The cross section is created at the location you
clicked.
6. In the viewports, rotate the joint to the desired
angle.
This is most easily done by creating a preview
animation, as described in
Using an Animation
to Preview Limb Orientations (page 2–966)
:
justmovethetimeslidertoaframethathas
the angle you want. Otherwise, you will have
to exit the Bulge sub-object level, select the
appropriate limb, and rotate it. For example, to
bulge the biceps on a biped, y ou might rotate
the biped forearm to ninety degrees.
7. “Bulge” the mesh by editing cross section
control points using the Bulge Editor’s Cross
Section view.
As you scale or move control points in the
Cross Section view, the mesh "bulges" in the
view por ts.
8. On the Bulge Editor toolbar, click Set
BulgeAngleontheBulgeEditortoolbar.
Physique saves the current angle of the joint.
When the joint angle is reached, the mesh
bulges. By default, Physique creates one bulge
angle when it is first attached to the m esh. So
to make an arm or leg that bulges when biped
joints are rotated, you need to create and set
only one additional bulge angle.