Selecting Biped Tracks

To animate your character with freeform methods, you need to know how to select the body part you want to animate, as well as the type of movement you want to affect for that part of the body.3ds Max and Biped provide a number of different methods for selecting and moving these animation tracks. Several involve using the 3ds Max Track View, a powerful environment for viewing and managing the geometry and motion data in your scene.

For each biped body part, motion data is viewable in Track View or on the track bar. Once you've selected the biped object, using one of the methods described below, you can see its associated motion data on the track bar or displayed in the Transform branch for that object in Track View.

Biped lets you expand and collapse certain animation tracks to give you more control over your character's movement as you set keyframes. For example, tracks for body parts in the arms can be animated using five separate tracks for maximum control.

You can also collapse these tracks for simplicity, and use a single key to pose the entire arm. Tracks can be expanded or collapsed in this way for the arms, legs, ponytails, neck, tail, and spine.

In 3ds Max, you have the ability to display the motion data as function curves. You can see and manipulate function curves either in the Track View – Curve Editor, or by using the Workbench. The Workbench provides specialized tools for analyzing and fixing motion problems found in the curves.

For fast track selection, you can also use the Track Selection rollout. These buttons let you quickly select the motion tracks for the horizontal and vertical movement of the biped center of mass, as well as selection of opposite limbs, or symmetrical limbs. Biped is unique in the way it separates the tracks for the center of mass into three tracks (one each for vertical, horizontal, and rotation).

Selecting Tracks from the Track Selection Rollout

The center of mass has three separate animation tracks, two for motion and one for rotation. These tracks can be selected on the Track Selection rollout:

Body Horizontal
Body Vertical
Body Rotation (selects the Body Turning track)

Selecting Tracks with the Select By Name Tool

You can navigate to and select tracks for a given object using the text-entry field next to the Zoom Selected Object in Track View. Type the object name in the text field, using wildcards as necessary, and then press Enter.

Selecting Tracks from the Track View

You can navigate to a given object simply by traversing the Biped hierarchy in the Track View hierarchy window.

Note that child objects in the hierarchy are nested below parent objects. You may need to open several parent objects to get to the nested object you want. The biped tracks are grouped as follows:

Center of Mass
Footsteps
Pelvis (branch1) Spine, Neck (branch), Head, Ponytail.
Pelvis (branch2) Thigh, Calf, Foot, Toes.
Pelvis (branch3) Tail.
Neck (branch 1), Head
Neck (branch 2), Clavicle, UpperArm, Forearm, Hand, Fingers.

Each of these tracks can be seen in Track View, expanded trackbar and Workbench.

Note that the hands and fingers are grouped with the arms, and the fingers and toes are grouped with the legs.

The body's translation keys are separated into vertical and horizontal tracks.

Procedures

To access Track View, do one of the following:

On the 3ds Max toolbar, click (Curve Editor (Open)).
Select any biped object, then right-click and choose Curve Editor.
The hierarchy list automatically displays the track of the selected biped object.
Choose Graph Editors menu Track View - Curve Editor.

To select from the screen:

Place the cursor over the biped link whose tracks you want to examine. Use zoom controls, as necessary.
Pause over a part of the biped, and a tool-tip appears, informing you which object is at the cursor position.
Click to select the biped link.
TipAnother feedback device is available once you've made your selection. The selected object's name is displayed in the topmost field in the Modify, Hierarchy, Motion, and Display panels.
On the Track View, click (Zoom Selected Object).
The Track View hierarchy window repositions to show the selected object at the top of the window display. Nested below the object's name are the animation, or transform, tracks for that object, if any exist for the current motion.

NoteBy default, all keys for arm objects are in the Clavicle track, and all keys for leg objects are in the Thigh track. If you select a biped foot and click Zoom Selected Object, you may need to scroll up the Track View hierarchy to view the Thigh track transform keys. These keys also store foot transforms.

TipUse controls in the Separate Tracks area of the Keyframing Tools rollout if you prefer transform tracks for individual objects.

To display footstep tracks:

Select any biped with footstep animation.
On the Motion panel Biped rollout, turn on (Footstep Mode).
Right-click in the viewport and choose Curve Editor.
On the Track View menu bar, choose Modes Dope Sheet.
Click any footstep in the viewport and the hierarchy list navigates to the Footstep track.