Chain Bone Property Editor

Adjusts a bone's length, axis alignment, display type and size, including shadow icons. This applies to bones created by choosing Create Skeleton Draw 2D/3D Chain on the Animate toolbar, or by choosing Get Primitive Implicit Bone from any toolbar.

To display: Select a chain bone or primitive bone and press Enter.

For information about bones/chains in general, see Building Skeletons.

General

Length

Sets the length of the bone (its X axis) in Softimage units.

Bone Axis Offset

Sets the bone's X, Y, or Z axis to be aligned along the bone. When you create a chain, the bones' X axes are aligned along the bone; that is, the axis points in the direction of the next joint.

You can offset the axis' alignment by any value using the X/Y/Z sliders.

Set Axis

Click the appropriate X/Y/Z Axis button to quickly set the bone's X/Y/Z axis alignment along the bone.

Bone Display

For more information, see Changing the Shape and Size of Chain Elements.

Icon

Select from a list of shapes to use for the bone's display — see Shapes for Bone Icons and Their Shadows.

Size

Sets the size of the display icon for the bone on its Y and Z axes, but not its X axis (the bone's length).

When you change this value, the bone's accompanying shadow always scales proportionally with it, regardless of the state of the Lock Shadow Size When Scaling option.

Use Display Mode

Displays the bones using whatever the current display mode is in the viewport, such as Shaded, Constant, Wireframe, or Hidden Line Removal. This is a visual reference only — the bones are not rendered.

Shadow Display

A shadow is a visual reference that makes it easier to see and select chain elements. When you select a shadow, its chain element is also selected.

For more information, see Changing the Chain Element Display.

Icon	Select from a list of shapes to use for the bone's shadow — see Shapes for Bone Icons and Their Shadows. Select an option other than None to see the following parameters.
Use Display Mode	Displays the shadow bones using whatever the current display mode is in the viewport, such as Shaded, Constant, Wireframe, or Hidden Line Removal. This is a visual reference only — the bones are not rendered.
Color	Sets the color of the shadow. Select the Custom option to set a custom color using the color sliders. The resulting color appears in the color chip. You cannot change the color of the shadow if Wireframe is selected: the standard display color is used. If you select Use Display Mode, the custom color is used only with the Wireframe display mode.
Position	Offsets (translates) the shadow from the bone on the X/Y/Z axes.
Size	Specifies the scale of the shadow. The default value of 1 means a 1:1 ratio with the bone.
Lock Shadow Size When Scaling	Keeps the shadow at a constant size when the bone is scaled in Y or Z (using the Scale transform commands, not the Size parameter above).

Shapes for Bone Icons and Their Shadows

Select from any of these shapes for bones and their shadows from the Icon list in their property editor.

	Standard - Default style.		SI\|3D Style - Same as Standard except top wedge extends beyond bone's root for a fixed proportion.
	Pyramid - Same as Standard except no top wedge.		Wedge - Arched at top, with thickness tapering down to joint. Wedge II is the same except the top wedge extends beyond the bone's root.
	Box - Full box from root to joint.		Line - Straight line from root to joint.
	Cylinder - 10-sectioned cylinder from root to joint.		Cone - 10-sectioned cone tapering from root down to joint.
	Square - Squares drawn at the root. They're offset on X in this image. Squares are useful for vertebrae on a spine.		Circle - Circles drawn at the root. They're offset on X in this image. Circles are useful for vertebrae on a spine.
	Rings - Elongated spheres from the root to joint.