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Character Setup
Character Setup
Preparing for the lessons
Introduction
A typical 3D character can be made up of many
surfaces and components. To ensure that the character animates in
the way that you want, it is important to carefully plan the process
of character setup.
Character
setup or rigging is the general term used
for the preparation of 3D models with their accompanying joints
and skeletons for animation.
Depending on the model to be animated, character
setup can involve the following techniques:
- Creating
a skeleton with joints that acts as a framework for the 3D character
model. You set limits on the joints so they rotate in a convincing manner.
When you animate the character, you will be posing the character
via its joints using either forward or inverse kinematic techniques
(FK or IK).
- Binding
the 3D surfaces to the skeleton so that they move together. The process
of binding may also include defining how the character’s joints bend
or how the skin surfaces bulge to simulate muscles.
- Defining
and setting constraints for particular animated attributes in order
to restrict the range of motion or to control an attribute based
on the movement of another.
- Grouping
surface components such as CVs into sets called clusters so
that parts of the character can be animated at a more detailed level.
This chapter introduces you to the most common
character setup features: