Character Rigging - Game Character Development with Maya - page 723

To transfer between IK and FK control, we use the tools found in the Animate >
IK/FK Keys menu. These allow us to turn the IK on and off, and to set keys on the
joints affected. These keys, however, will only work on the IK handle. To make the
rig more efficient, we want to transfer this control across to the circle icon.
3. Select the circle. Holding Shift, select the IK handle, and go to Animate > IK/FK
Keys > Connect to IK/FK.
With the icon selected, you can now turn the IK on and off via the Animate > IK/
FK Keys > Enable IK Solver menu item.
4. You can now parent the IK handle to the icon so that it will move wherever the
icon does. To do this, just select the IK handle, then the icon, and press P.
Nextwewilladdcontroltothecharacter'selbowbyfixingthepolevectortoasecondicon.
1. Import the file Icon_Cube.mb (found in Project Files/12/Icons), and snap its posi-
tion to the left elbow. Adjust its scale so you can see it clearly over the geometry,
making sure you freeze the transforms afterward.
2. Select the cube, then the IK handle, and go to Constrain > Pole Vector. The el-
bow's position will now be locked to the cube.
3. Rename the cube to L_ElbowPos. Then hide the main IK handle, and assign both
icons to the Rig_Controls display layer.
This completes one arm. Go ahead and work on the right arm ( Figure 12.19 ) next. The
control arms should lie over the main skeleton's arms.