Reaction Manager:
[Big Bloody Disclaimer]:
As I mentioned at the end of the IK-Rig section, I made quite a large error and applied this particular section before I set-up my Spline Controllers. Upon doing so, all of the Reaction Manager information was lost when I put my splines in as I was no longer using the IK Goals to control the mesh, as they were to be linked to the splines. The information below is still correct, however...
ignore the fact that i'm using the IK-Goals
as you should be using your splines instead.
(and your IK-Goals should already be hidden, if you were following the Spline Controllers section)
[/End of Big Bloody Disclaimer]
The reaction manager is a wonderful system, it's a way for you to say “ When I do [something], make [something else] do something else! ” There are 4 areas that I need to use the reaction manager for, two of which are my clavicle bones. So I can tell max, that when the shoulder raises up, have the clavicle follow it. Another neat way to initiate an Auto-Clavicle is to have a fairly complex structure of 'Dummy' objects and 'Look At' constraints, but I wont be using any of those in this tutorial. The other 2 meshes that I need to control via the Reaction Manager are my characters butt cheeks. At the moment, when my character lifts up his leg behind him, his upper thigh area actually goes into his butt cheek, I could have detached the butt cheek with the leg (as one object)... but then the butt would follow the leg when it went forward as well, which would look odd.
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So this is where the reaction manager comes in. You'll find the Reaction Manager window under the Animation menu up at the top. Naturally if this is the first time you're using it, you won't have much of a clue as to what you want to do, but this tool really is quite simple, and I'll prove it.
With the Reaction Manager window open, click on the ' Add Master ' button ( Bold Black Plus Sign ) Now select your master object by clicking on it. In my case, the master object is my Spline Controller. Now when I move this along the Y axis it creates the aforementioned butt-pinch, so I'd like to be able to move my Spline Controller on thise Axis, and have the butt cheek move with it. So, in the little menu that pops up I need to select: Transform > Spline Controller > Position > Y Position . So I've just done the first part of the equation, I've said “W hen my master object transforms(moves) on the Y Position... ”
[You Get The Picture]
Just so we're clear, in the images where i'm showing the use of IK Goals, you are to use your Spline Controllers instead!
[/You Get The Picture]
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Now I need to keep adding to it, so I'll select the '
Slave ' button in the Reaction Manager window (
The Grey Plus Sign ) and then click on my characters right butt cheek bone. I know that I need to rotate it on its X Axis, (
Previously checked by rotating it on the local axis ) so I would select: >
Transform >
Rotation >
X Rotation . Now my equation is looking more like “W
hen my master object transforms(moves) on the Y Position, transform(rotate) the slave on the X Position ”
Only problem now though, is that the reaction manager has no way knowing what sort of limits I want to apply. So, as simple as can be... I will show it what I want it to do. First off you would click the “
Create Mode ” button, this is to say “
Act out what you want to happen ”, so I will move my
Spline Controller along the X Axis, behind my character, and then Rotate the cheek bone on the X axis. When it's in position (
logically, you'd put the poses in their 'maximum' state ). You hit the '
Create State ' button (
Next to 'Create Mode' ) and then Un-click 'Create Mode'. Now when I move my
Spline Controller on the Y Axis behind my character, the cheek bone lifts, but when I move the
Spline Controller in front, the cheek bone stays put:
So now I've got “W
hen my master object transforms(moves) on the Y Position [By 'X' Amount], transform(rotate) the slave on the X Position [By 'X' Amount] ” Which is nice. Its only flaw is that if the torso area was lowered down, and the hands stayed in the same position, the clavicles will not rotate up, they will
only rotate when the hands are lifted. And that's pretty much all there is to it.
[
Another Disclaimer]
The piece below on the foot roll was originally written in with the Spline Controllers section, as at the time of writing, I had already covered the Reaction Manager... and now that it makes no god damn sense to have it in the Spline section, i'm dumping it here instead. Enjoy.
[
/End Another Disclaimer]
We need to create a way for our characters feet to 'roll', having the ankle rotate around is all well and good, but the foot can bend on its own without the rotation of the angle (
albeit, slightly ) especially the toe areas.
So now that we have a grasp of both Spline controllers and the Reaction Manager, lets use them to create our 'foot roll'.
Start off by creating a spline of your choosing, and position it near the foot area. Duplicate this spline and place it near the other foot, ensuring the positions of the splines are symmetrical to the characters feet. This is how I have set mine up:
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Open the Reaction Manager window, and set one of your splines as the master ( Transform > Position > Z Position ) Then add the foot bones as the slaves ( for my character, I have two foot bones, not including the ankle bone ). I don't know which axis of rotation you need to select ( though it is definitely rotation , and not position ) but for my character, it's the X Axis Rotation.
Once you have added your Master and Slave(s), hit the 'Create Mode' button and move the spline upward, no point in moving it too far up though, I've gone with roughly thigh-height. Now rotate your foot bone(s) so they point up toward your spline.
Hit the ' Create State' button ( next to Create Mode ). And now instead of deselecting the Create Mode button we need to carry on with our actions. We've got an “up” state in the foot roll, but we also need a “down” state. So move the spline downward, past its point of origin and then rotate the foot bone(s) downward as well. Now hit the ' Create State ' button again... and now we can deselect the 'Create Mode' button by clicking it. Now when we move our spline up, the foot rolls up, and when we move it down, the foot rolls down. Perfect.
We need the spline to move when the ankle moves though, so link the 'foot roll spline' to the ankle spline. You may get some odd results when you do this, like the foot bones will choose to rotate, no worries though, just do what we did with the elbow and knee swivels, and pull the swivel down or up so the foot is back in its rightful position.
After this is done, we now have a pretty decent foot rig, when the ankle moves... the foot wont rotate, and the foot splines wont initiate the rolling of the foot until their moved directly.
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See, easy peasy. Now onto
Wire Paramaters.
