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876 Chapter 14: character studio
Note:
The information in this section applies only
to biped body keys for the arms, legs, spine, neck,
and other parts of the upper bo dy. For r ules for
editing footstep keys, see Editing Footstep Timing
(page 2–869).
Locked K ey s
Some biped keys are locked, m eaning they cannot
be moved in t ime. Locked keys are colored red in
Track View.
Locked keys for the COM Body Vertical track are
created at each footstep’s lift and touch frames.
These are the only keys that are locked. These
keys can be moved in time by changing footstep
duration in Track View .
Althoughyoucannotmoveordeletealockedkey
in Track View, you can sometimes change the
animationontheframebygoingtotheframe,
turning on Auto Key and manually animating the
key.
Restr ictions on B iped B ody K ey Editing
All options available for editing biped body key
timing are available only when Edit Keys on the
Track View toolbar i s tur ne d on.
The following rules apply to the editing biped
body key timing in Track View:
• You cannot move existing keys outside the
area b etween the first and last footsteps, or to
negative frames.
• You can use Add Keys to add keys to any biped
body track. You c annot add keys outside the
area b etween the first and last footsteps, or to
negative frames.
• Youcanclonekeysthesamewayyouclone
3ds Max object keys, by selecting keys and
holding down
Shif t as you drag them. You
can also clone keys by copying and pasting
postures. See CopyingandPastingPosturesand
Poses (page 2–910).
• The Track View – Cur ve Editor can be
used to view and edit curves showing the
interpolation between body keys. You can also
use the Workbench to ana lyze, edit and fix
biped motion curves. See Working w ith the
Workbench (page 2–1008).
• You can use Scale Keys to scale selected keys,
except for locked keys.
Tip: If you want to animate a biped performing
move ments with its upper body wh i le standing,
extend the length of the standing footsteps to cover
the length of the standing animation, then add
keys for the upper body.
See also
Animating the Upper Body (page 2–874)
Shifting the B iped’s Balance
After footsteps are activated, you can adjust the
biped’s overall balance in either of two wa ys:
•
In the Biped rollout (page 2–936),turn
on Rubber Band Mode and move the biped’s
COM, or
• Change or animate the Balance Factor
parameter in the Key Info rollout (page 2–954).
Rubber-Banding the COM
When Rubber Band mode is ac tive, you can move
the biped’s center of mass in relation to the rest
of the body, changi ng the biped’s overall balance.
Rubber-banding the center of mass defines your
character’s balance point in at-rest pose and in any
resulting motion.
When a character is standing at rest, with feet
side by side, the center of mass should be directly
above the area w here the feet touch the ground.
The center of mass determines the center of your
character’s distr ibution of weig ht. For most