Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
FIGURE 16.34
Lower the clavicle controls.
That could be all that's needed for the clavicles, but feel free to add some slight animation
to the Z and Y translations to give the shoulders some movement—a slight bounce with
each step.
Now let's turn our attention to the arms. First prepare the scene by using the visibility con-
trollertohidealltheiconsexceptforthoseontheleftside.Youwillbeworkinginboththe
side and perspective views, so in each one's View menu make only polygons and handles
active. This will hide all the other icons we don't need at present.
In a basic walk cycle, the arms tend to mirror the legs' movement, so when the left leg is
forward, the right arm is also. We're going to concentrate on creating a full swing of her
left arm, using the FK controls. Employing forward kinematics will give a better simula-
tion of a swinging arm because it's a rotational-based movement. If we used IK, the wrist
would follow a linear path between each key set, which would be difficult to animate and
would look unnatural in the end.
Becausetheanimationstartsatacrossoverpoint,wewillstartthisswingatframe8,where
Kila's right foot is forward, and end it at frame 24 where her right foot is behind her.
