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848 Chapter 14: character studio
Biped proportioned to fit inside of Dr. X character geometr y
You might rotate the spine objects to create the
figure for a hunchback or a dinosaur. Use the move
tool to change the position of the thumb or the
arms.Youcanevenapplymodifierstothebiped
skeleton pieces, such as using an FFD on the biped
head to adjust its shape.
FFD Modifier used to shape spine and head
Once you have a default biped, you’ll need to match
its proportions to the character’s geometry. It is
quite ty pical to find the character’s geometry with
the arms outstretched. The common workflow is
to f reeze the character and then in Figure mode,
reposition the biped, so the center of mass is at the
base of the torso. The spine objects, legs, and feet
are scaled and rotated to fit within the confines
of the mesh, then the arms and hands, neck and
head. The tail and ponyt ai l objects can be used for
animating wings, fins, jaws, e ars, horns, or hair.
Once your biped proportions are correct, you
cansavethemina.FIGfile. Sincebipedsaves
the character in the .FIG file, and then anim ation
in the .BIP file, you can change the character’s
proportions without affecting the animation.
Ch an ging t he Bi p ed Structure
Bipeds don’t have to appear human. You can
change their elements and form to create other
kinds of characters. Although you can change
some initial aspects of the biped’s structure in the