9

Link Settings Rollout 1137
When Continuity is on, the effect of the link
parameters passes smooth ly across the joint to the
connected link. When Continuity is off, Bend,
Twist, and Radial Scale sett ings are limited to the
currentlink,whichproducesanabrupttransition
across the joint. This is analogous to breaking the
spline handles on a spline shape.
Bulge Editor—Displays the Bulge Editor (page
2–1114).TheBulgeEditordisplaysbulgecross
sections schematically, letting you create and edit
bulge controls.
Reinitialize S elected Link s—Reinitializes the
linkanditsvertexparametersbasedonthecurrent
link parameter settings. Clicking Reinitialize
Selected Links do es not change vertex assignments
or manual reassignments.
For example, increasing the tension of a link can
causethespacingtochangeforthelink’scross
sections. Reinitialize Sele cted Links smoothes
the spline, and makes cross section spacing even
again.
Think of the skin being snugly stuck to the link.
As the link parameters change, the vert ices can
bunch up or stretch out. Clicking Reinitialize lets
the skin “slip” to its original shape, establishing a
new relationship to the deformation spline.
Bend group
Tension—Sets the smo othness of a joint. Tension
affects the curvature of the deformation spline
through the joint. A low value, near 0.0, makes
thesplinelinearandcreatesasharpangleatthe
joint, like bending a hinge. High values, near
2.0,makethesplinesmooththroughthejoint,
creating a rounded joint, like bending a firm hose.
Range=0.0 to 2.0. Default=0.5.
Bias—Displaces the pivot point about which
vertices are bent. Bias pushes the effect a long the
spline toward one side of the joint or the other.
The default value of 0.5 centers the bend at the
joint. Values lower than 0.5 move the pivot onto
the child link. At 0.0, the bend effect is limited to
the selected lin k. Range=0.0 to 1.0. Default=0.5.
Twist group
Twist parameters control the way the skin deforms
whenajointrotatesalongitslength,asinturning
adoorknob.
Use Twist f or Ri gid—When on, twist is used for
rigid as well as deformable envelopes. Default=off.
Turn off for t he r igid envelope for a char acter’s
head: the head should not twist along the length
of the lin k. You might want to turn this on for the
forearm or upper-arm link if you’re using rigid
envelopes.
Tens ion—Values lower than 1.0 concentrate the
effect closer to the joint. Values higher than 1.0
move the effect away from the joint. Range=0.0
to 2.0. Default=1.0.
Bias—Shifts the distribution of the twist from one
side of the joint to the other. The default value
of 0.5 t wists the selected link and the child l in k
equally. Values g reater than 0.5 shift the twist to
the child link. Range= 0.0 to 1.0. Default=0.5