2010

Table Of Contents
Hierarchies combine the various objects into discrete components for the
mechanical arm, such as the base, lower arm, middle arm, and upper arm. If
you select and rotate any of the parent nodes in the hierarchies, none of the
other arm components follow because they are not combined into one unified
hierarchy.
Creating a skeleton hierarchy
To link the various components of the mechanical arm into a hierarchy that
can be posed, you need to create a skeleton. A skeleton is a hierarchy of joints
that are connected together with bones.
In the scene, a joint represents a special type of node that gets created in a
skeleton hierarchy. A joint acts as the parent node for any other joints that
occur in the hierarchy below it. Each joint has a rotational pivot point
associated with it. A bone is the visual representation used in the scene view
to connect the joints and help visualize the joint chain.
A skeleton is similar to a skeleton in the real world in that it acts as the
underlying structure for the surfaces to be attached. While you can view the
skeleton with its bones and joints in the scene view, it does not appear in your
rendered images. Its purpose is to assist you in setting up and posing your
models and characters and to visualize the motion you want to achieve.
Creating a skeleton hierarchy | 281