Deformation Testing - Game Character Development with Maya - page 353

in spending time to make these changes now, however. We are happy with the general to-
pology of the shoulder at this point, so we will spend time adjusting the weights when we
come to build the final rig.
FIGURE 6.24 Some areas still pinch, but we can fix these in the final rig.
The Lower Body
Next we will look at how Kila's lower body reacts when we move her legs into extreme
positions. The main area we will be looking at is where her legs join to her torso.
Setting Up the Lower Body Skeleton
For our work on the lower body, we start by creating the skeleton that will drive the legs.
You only need to look at one of her legs, since they are more or less identical in construc-
tion. Just remember that if you make any changes to the left leg, you will have to copy
these changes across to the right.
1. In the side view, switch your display to wireframe.
2. Create six joints at key points in the leg and foot. As illustrated in Figure 6.25 , the
first joint should be just below the waistline, at the top of the hip. This will be fol-
lowed by joints placed at the hip, knee, ankle, the ball of the foot, and finally at the
tip of the toes.