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1096 Chapter 14: character studio
Keep in mind that bulge angles can be set
for arbitrary rotations, and are not limited to
single-axis hinge joints.
See also
Bulge Sub-Object (page 2–1141)
Fine-Tuning Bulges
The Bulge Editor (page 2–1114) duplicates many of
the controls available at the Bulge sub-object level.
It gives you a focused, two-dimensional view of
thecurrentbulgesettings.
Shaping the B ulge
Once you’ve inser ted the bulge angle, and recorded
the angle setting, you then shape the bulge by
inserting and adjusting cross sections. You can
either move and sca le the cross sections, or adjust
each one ’s shape using control points.
Adding Mor e Poses t o Your Chara cter
For more complex body movements, you may
need to add bulges for different positions. Overall,
you might want to build a generic character that
works in a number of situat ions, regardless of the
type of motion.
Some examples are:
• Moving the character into several extreme
poses.
• Putting the arms high over the head and
bending them into different positions.
• Making the character squat and lift ing the legs
into various positions.
• Adding bulge angles to the links at places where
real muscles would bulge.
Once the skin reacts well to the full range of
motions, you can then place the character into a
less demanding pose and it should work perfectly.
Tendons
Tendons tie links together, extending the effect of
moving one link to another link where the tendon
is based. Their effect is similar to that of tendons
in a body.
For example, r aising an arm usually stretches the
skin along the same side of the body. To get this
effect using Physique, you could base a tendon
on a spine link, then attach it to the upper arm or
collarbone, s o when the arm lifts, the skin around
the torso st retches as well.
see Creating Tendons (page 2–1096) for more
information about creating tendons.
See also
Tendons Sub-Object (page 2–1147)
Cr eating Tendons
Liketendonsinanactualbody,tendons in Physique
(page 2–1147) link one bone to another. They
spread the effect of moving one link to the skin
around a different link. Tendons can improve the
realismofskinmovementwhenitisanimatedby
Physique.
Basically, a tendon consists of base points that live
on a cross section near the skin. A base point is
attached to another link on the skeleton that pulls
it.Asthetendonbasepointispulled,itdeforms
the skin around it. Several parameters control how
much the p oint is pulled in each direction.
You insert the tendon cross section at the location
where you want the skin to stretch. You then attach
it to the lin k that influences the movement.
Eachlinkcancontainseveraltendoncross
sections, and each control point may be attached
to a separate link. In a practical application,
however, such as in the area below the armpits, you