General concept of the Stanley model: The Stanley model represents my attempt to create a next generation tool for automated center of gravity and simplified control. It has the following basic features: - Orientation of the body can be controlled by a marionette skeleton that is completely seperate from the model itself. This marionette can be left in one place while the model is moved and rotated into any orientation. - Center of gravity is automatically calculated based on the position of the entire body. The model will compensate its position for this center of gravity, maintaining a natural balance at all times. This balance is maintained both by translation and rotation of the pelvis. - Ground Planes are in place for the IK targets for the legs, as well as similar squelch-planes for the hands. Bone documentation for Stanley: The Stanley model is controlled by as few bones as possible. The main system for control is the Marionette system, which appears to the right of the model when in Front view. These bones control the relative orientation of the bones of the model, so repositioning the torso (for example) will change the torso's position relative to the pelvis (whatever the pelvis position ends up being). Note that the position of the marionette skeleton can be changed, and its orientation altered to suit the individual animator. You can do this by unhiding the SETUP Marionette Patriarch bone and repositioning it either in the model or in an action. Only the relative positions of the bones matter. The other controls are embedded in or near the model. The Upper Body bone allows the rough repositioning of the pelvis of the model. There are actually two Upper Body bones. The "AUTOCG-Off" version controls the position of the body as a whole when either the Auto-Center of Gravity is disabled, or neither of the Leg IK systems are active. The "AUTOCG-On" version controls movement of the body relative to the calculated center of gravity. Note that this bone is scaled to near invisibility when the Auto-CG system is inactive. There are also four IK targets, in the places you would expect to look for them, and a "Both IK" bone for the feet, which can be used to move and rotate the model as a whole more easily. There are more controls, such as the ground plane, and individual ground planes for each foot, as well as restrictive planes for the hands (when you want to lean against a wall, for example), but they are used seldom enough not to warrant being displayed at all times. Pose Documentation for Stanley: IK Right Arm, IK Left Arm, IK Right Leg and IK Left Leg ---------------------------------------------------------- These four sliders proportionally activate the Inverse Kinematic systems on each of the limbs. At zero percent, the limbs are controlled directly by the Marionette subsystem. At 100 percent, the limbs are connected to the respective Targets. Note that the Auto Center of Gravity system will only attribute weight to a leg that is working on the IK system. Therefore, if you want the Auto CG system to produce reliable results, you should use it only when either the IK Right Leg or IK Left Leg slider (or both) are engaged. AUTOCG Reactive Tilt ----------------------- The Auto Center of Gravity system can compensate for the character being off balance in one of two ways. First, it can adjust the position of the pelvis to bring the center of gravity over the position between the two feet. Secondly, it can adjust the tilt of the pelvis to achieve the same goal. This slider adjusts the balance of these two systems. At zero percent, the balance is corrected purely through pelvis translation. At 100 percent, the balance is corrected purely through pelvis tilt. Reasonable results are generally achieve in the range between 30 and 80. AUTOCG Apply --------------- This slider proportionally activates the Auto Center of Gravity system. At zero percent, the pelvis is controlled completely by the position and orientation of the Upper Body bone. At 100 percent, the pelvis is controlled by the AutoCG system.