2010

Table Of Contents
The default IK handle (IK Rotate Plane handle) has manipulators you can
use to avoid joint flipping. With the handle selected, select Modify >
Transformation Tools > Move Tool, Rotate Tool, Scale Tool, Show
Manipulator Tool. Move the Pole Vector XYZ manipulator to a slightly
different position (see the following figure).
If this doesnt solve the problem, rotate the Twist manipulator to rotate
the leg. You can key the Pole Vector XYZ and Twist attributes to fixed
values to avoid the flipping as the character moves.
A more precise way to avoid joint flipping, which requires some initial
setup, is to use a Pole Vector Constraint. For more information see the
Maya Help.
3 Repeat the preceding steps for the right leg. (Create an IK handle for the
right_hip to right_ankle, then practice posing and animating the handle.)
NOTE If you want to move the entire skeleton, group the back_root and all
IK handles under a single node, select the group node, and then use the
Move tool. With this grouping, the motion of the entire skeleton wont conflict
with the keys you set for the handles.
To create, pose, and animate IK handles for the arms
1 Select Skeleton > IK Handle Tool.
2 Click left_shoulder, and then click left_wrist. This creates an IK handle
for the left arm.
Posing and animating using inverse kinematics | 331