Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
Note
To help build our rigs during this chapter, we will use the ready-made
icons found on the CD in Project Files/12/Icons. That folder also has a
few extra icons for your convenience.
Forward Kinematics and Inverse Kinematics
Before we work on creating controls for animating Kila and Grae, it's important to under-
stand amajor principle ofcharacter rigging:
forward kinematics (FK)
and
inverse kinemat-
ics (IK).
FK and IK are two different methods of moving a character in a scene. Each has
its advantages and disadvantages, depending on what you want the character to do, and so
both should be implemented into the character rig to account for any eventuality.
Forward kinematics
is the process of animating
down
the hierarchy. For example, to raise
or lower a character's hand you would rotate the shoulder, then the elbow, and finally the
wrist (
Figure 12.6
)
.
