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318 Chapter 12: Animation
See Bezier Controller (page 2–310) for a description
of these parameters.
Euler XY Z R otation Controller
Main toolbar > Cur ve Editor (Op en) > Select a rotation
track in the Track View hierarchy. > Track View menu bar
> Controller menu > Assign > Euler XYZ
Graph Editors > Track V iew – Curve Editor > Select a
rotation track in the Track View hierarchy. > Track View
menu bar > Controller menu > Assign > Euler XYZ
Select an object in the viewpor t > Motion Panel > Assign
Controller rollou t > Select the rotation track. Eul er XYZ is
assigned as the default controller.
The Euler XYZ Rotation controller is a compound
controller that combines separate, single-value
float controllers to specify an angle of rotation
about each of the X, Y, and Z axes. Euler XYZ is not
as smooth as quaternion rotation (used by the TCB
Rotationcontroller),butitistheonlyrotationtype
that you can use to edit rotation function curves.
The Euler XYZ Rotation controller assigns an
individual track to the X, Y, and Z components
of the position, rotation, or scale of an object.
However, the controller assigns three keys (one for
each axis), by default.
There are actions available from the Customize
User Interface dialog (page 3–792) that let you
create explicit axis keys.
The Gimbal reference coordinate system (page
1–443) is meant for use with this controller . With
other coordinate systems, rotating about one axis
always changes at least two tracks. With Gimbal
rotation, rotating about one axis changes only one
track, mak ing it easier to edit function curves.
Euler versus TCB R otation
Euler rotation offers several advantages over the
TCB Rotation controller, which was the default
rotation controller in versions 4 and earlier . Euler
rotations provide function curves, while TCB do
not. Euler rotations allow for 3 separate curves
that can be manipulated in the Curve Editor. TCB
rotations can only be controlled using tension
continuity and bias settings, making it difficult
to keyframe or manipulate X, Y or Z rotations
independently.
On the other hand, TCB rotations a llow for
rotations greater than 180 degrees on a given
keyframe. If you turn on the Rotation Wind up
function, you can get rotation values greater than
360 degrees using TCB.
Tip: Users who are used to working with TCB
rotations might find difficu lty in adapting to Euler
workflow. For these users, it is advised that you
reassign TCB as the default rotation controller. See
Specify ing Default Controllers (page 2–294).
Euler Rotation a nd the Wavefor m Float
Controller
Because the Euler Rotation controller uses radians,
unit adjustments should be made when other
con trollers are applied to Euler axes. For example,
the Waveform Float controller has a default
amplitudeof100intheCharacteristicGraph.
When the Waveform Float controller is applied to
an Euler axis, the default amplitude is 100 radians.