Locked up bones...

[Kelley]

I am trying to re-rig a character, and for the first time, [when making an Action] I find bones that will not rotate, or will rotate on only one axis. For example. In this instance, the arm on the right side of the pic. will move only fore and aft on the Y-axis. I can't move it up or down. On the other side, I can get the base of the thumb to move, but the two other digits won't. I can't even get the "rotate" symbol to show when I move the cursor over the bone. I have the bones 'locked' since I rarely use IK. I've tried IK both ON and OFF. I've unlocked the bones, but instead of moving in the screen plane, the arm section twists and spins around.

LOCKED_BONES.prj

[NancyGormezano]

delete the locked keys - it does not appear as if turning on/off helps

 

(not sure why you are using lock ik either)

[mtpeak2]

There are euler limits applied to the forearms, which limits the rotation to one axis. You'll need to use the bicep to help position the forearm. The foot and hand targets for IK are missing in the rig. The fingers are constrained to control bones and can not be animated directly.

 

If you want to animate the geometry bones directly in locked IK, just delete the relationship folder and poses from the user properties.

 

Is there any reason why you chose the 2001 rig? There are a number of free rigs available.

[Kelley]

delete the locked keys - it does not appear as if turning on/off helps

(not sure why you are using lock ik either)

Nancy: My reasons for using the lock is because my past experiences with IK have left me chewing the carpet in frustration. Grabbing a hand or foot and trying to push/pull it into postion is like trying to shove with a wet noodle. And if it gets close, but needs tweaked by swinging the elbow in just a tad, then parts lower on the chain flop wildly about, thereby undoing all the careful push/pull work. Foot targets start out centered on the ankle, but always drift farther and farther away until they're useless. Targets, Balance Base Rigids [and other similar] I understand only dimly beyond their descriptive names. How they work and why they should be necessary is terra incognita. For a while I used The Set-Up Machine 2, but that simply exchanged one set of puzzles for another.

 

When I discovered the lock it was like a small 'eureka!' Now, when I begin to build an action, I start by locking every bone I can and as a result, I usually make the simplest skeleton I can. In this case, I tried to adapt the 2001 rig because I was/am having trouble making a Run action. So I thought I'd put it in a character and use the Run from the A:M CD and tweak the keyframes in the action until I had what I wanted. Turns out to be the long way 'round.

 

mtpeak2: I use the 2001 because it's in the library. What rig would you suggest? 'Ease of use' earns high points. Deleting the Relationships folder did the trick, but the last two digits in the thumb/hand holding the MG still won't move.

[robcat2075]

Something is seriously wrong about the way your rig is installed or the way you are using it. I've never had those problems with any rig, even the primitive ones.

 

I've been doing character animation for four years now and never had a reason to use IK lock. Some significant misunderstanding about using the rig is at work here.

 

What puzzles did you have with TSM2?

[Kelley]

Something is seriously wrong about the way your rig is installed or the way you are using it.

Some significant misunderstanding about using the rig is at work here.

All strong possibilities, for which I'd welcome a solution. Is there an easier, or at least a more intuitive, rig that you would suggest? Baring that, a good tutorial on IK? And are you telling me that in an IK chain you can move the Upper Arm without the Lower Arm and Hand flopping about? Oddly, fingers aren't affected. They stay as they were posed.

 

However; while we try to solve the big, conceptual problems here, my immediate problem is howcum the last two digits on the thumb [gun hand] won't move?

 

EDIT: Just did the obvious...checked your tutorials. Printed out the D. Rogers text. Your video looks good, but I can't get the volumn up high enough on my monitors to hear it.

[mtpeak2]

Turn OFF the limit manipulators on those 2 bones. (see image)

 

Here a link to example models with the 2008 rig.

[Kelley]

Turn OFF the limit manipulators on those 2 bones.

Amazing. Can't imagine how they got turned on in the first place. Thanks.