2009

Setting Bulge Angles

A bulge angle associates an angle value and a name. By default, each link has

one bulge angle whose default name is the name of the link followed by "Bulge

0". The default bulge angle's initial angle value is the angle between the link

and its child when you first attach Physique to the skeleton.

Bulges are effective because they grow and shrink as the joint moves. The

initial bulge angle defines one shape that the skin can deform to; this would

normally be like a default musculature. With no other bulge angles defined,

the skin would always look like the first bulge angle, regardless of pose.

Additional bulge angles provide the other shapes the mesh can deform to.

In the simple case of a flexing biceps muscle, one bulge angle defines the

relaxed position and another defines the muscle in its flexed pose. Both are

exposed so you can add definition to the default character. As in a biceps

muscle, a heavily-muscled character might have some shape even in a relaxed

pose. This lets you change the baseline without disturbing the original mesh.

You can actually use Physique bulge cross sections to model your character.

The cross section deformation for a given link is determined by interpolating

between the contributions of all bulge angles that affect the link. This includes

bulge angles for both the link's parent joint angle and its own (child) joint

angle. Each bulge angle's contribution is determined by:

■ Influence (how far away the bulge angle is from the current joint angle

rotation)

■ Power (an ease based on the influence of the angle)

■ Weight (the relative strength of the bulge angle)

Keep in mind that bulge angles can be set for arbitrary rotations, and are not

limited to single-axis hinge joints.