Final Character Deformation - Game Character Development with Maya - page 866

based version. The same weight-painting techniques can easily be applied to the blend-
shapes version if need be.
Painting Kila's Weights
In Chapter 6 , we used weight painting briefly to get an idea of how the geometry would
deform. Now we will be applying the final weights, so we have to make sure all areas of
her body move correctly.
We will concentrate on her left side, and then copy the weights across to the right when we
are done.
Load the file Kila_FaceRig_Jnt.mb and we will start work on her arms.
Arm Weights
Thearmsareprobablythemostimportant area toweight correctly.Theyarealways inmo-
tion and can move dramatically in all directions, which unfortunately will show off any
badly weighted areas.
Shoulders
Theshoulderiscapableofmovingaroundinallthreeaxes.Notonlydoesitraiseandlower,
itcanmoveforwardandbackward,andalsotwist.Obviously,dependingonwhatyourown
character's primary actions will be, some of these poses will be more important than oth-
ers.
Let's first look at the shoulder as it is raised and lowered.
1. Using the visibility icon, turn off the middle and right icons so that we can concen-
trate on her left side.
2. Focus in on her left arm; rotate the shoulder down and look at how the mesh de-
forms when it's in this rest position.
As you can see in Figure 14.1 , the area under her arm moves into her torso, which
we don't want it to do.