I am trying to find out the best way to fix this problem I am having. I have an object constrained to the wrist of my character. It looks fine when he picks up the object but does not seem to fit in the hand in other poses. Also I need the object he is holding to have some overlap when he moves his hand. I am assuming part of the problem is the placement of the pivot because it is in the center of the object and not where he is holding it. Is there any work around to animating a constrained object such as baking the animation? Do I need to create a simple rig on the object to make this work or is there a better way?
-Jared Murnan
Hi Jared,
ReplyDeleteSo I'm wondering if you're using the same setup I recommend in my lecture on Simple Prop Attachment. To build out my resources a little more, I just added a couple other lectures to my folder of lectures on working with props.
**For anyone working with props here, you will want to set up your prop as shown in my lecture:
\\bluearc\AVE\Lectures\Animation2_Joe\WorkingWithProps\
I recommend watching PropAttachment_ParentingVsConstraints.avi
It has a recap of the difference between parenting and constraints, and in the latter portion demos rigging a sword and attaching it to a character, as well as making a "select all" shelf button that includes the constraint keys.
Here are a few things to keep in mind. You need to put the pivot point of the prop in the place you want to have it rotate from. So here, you want the pivot to be in between the fingers that grip the head most tightly. It's best to have a control that is separate from the prop's geometry (one that the geo is parented to) in case you need to change the rig or the geo. When you attach a prop, you want to constrain the buffer (or null) above the prop's control to a control that stays visible whether in IK of FK. I recommend constraining it to his palm control (part of the finger controls), not the wrist control.
For what you're trying to do, constraints are by far the easiest and best way to work--it's all about having the right workflow.
~Joe