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846 Chapter 14: character studio
The biped feet will be in contact with the
geometry.
Understanding B iped Anatomy
The geometry of a biped is a linked hierarchy
of objects that by default resemble those of a
human.Theparentorrootobjectofthebipedis
its center of mass (COM) (page 3–920).Thisobject
is displayed as a blue octahedron near the center
of the biped’s pelvis. Moving t he COM posit ions
theentirebiped.
Center of mass object
You can select the cente r of mass by cho osing
Bip01 from the Select O b jects dialog (page 1–78).
You can also select the center of
mass by clicking Bo dy Horizontal, Body Vertical
or Body Rotation in the Track Selection rollout
(page 2–945).
Changing the B i ped H ier ar chy
The biped Hierarchy is a little different than a
standard 3ds Max hierarchy in that you can’t delete
any of the components of the sk eleton. If you try
to delete any part of the biped skeleton, you delete
theentirehierarchy.Ifyouwanttocreateapartial
biped, for example a biped with no head, simply
hide the objects you don’t want to use.
Repositioning B iped B ody Par ts
Certain Biped body parts can be repositioned
in Fig ure mode to suit different characters. You
can move entire arm assemblies by select ing the
clavicles and moving them up or down. You can
also reposition the fingers, tail and ponytai ls as
you like. See Posing the Biped (page 2–847).
Biped’s structure also includes an option to add
forearm twist. This uses two to four forearm links
to transfer twisting animation into t he biped’s
associated mesh via Physique or Skin.
Props
Thebipedstructureincludesanoptiontoaddup
to three props. Props appear next to the biped’s
hands and body by default, but can be modified or
animated throughout the scene like any 3ds Max
object.
Adding Ex tra B iped B ody Par ts
To add extra legs, arms, or other body parts you
need to create 3ds Max geometry for those parts,
then link them to the biped hierarchy. You can
useSnapshottoduplicatebipedbodypartsto
create these as well. In either case you will need to
animate them with standard 3ds Max rotations,
because biped IK will not be available on these
extra parts.
Changing Initial Biped Anatomy
Use the body parameters to change initial biped
anatomy. The Body parameters are in the Create
Biped rollout that appears in the Create panel
when you create a biped.
Note: You can change bo dy par ameters in the
Create panel immediately only after creating a
biped. Once you leave the Create panel, these
settings are st ill available, but f rom the Structure
rollout in the Motion panel. The body parameters