Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
14
Child/Parent Relationships
and Constraints
14.1 Child/Parent Relationships
14.2 Introduction to Constraints
14.3 Transform Constraints
14.4 Tracking Constraints
14.5 Relationship Constraints
14.6 Duplicating along Curves
14.7 Extruding along Curves
14.8 The Follow Path Constraint
14.1 Child/Parent Relationships
Child/parent relationships are used when there are several parts connected together that
are required to move independently. Examples include a robot arm or a humanoid limb:
the components of the arm move, but are connected to the body. Th e hand is a child of the
forearm, the forearm is a child of the bicep, and the bicep is a child of the body—they are all
linked together but move separately in their own way.
We will demonstrate the application of this in Blender by connecting several scaled
cubes together. Start with the default Blender scene, scale the cube as shown in Figure 14.1,
then tab to edit mode and shift the vertices, positioning the center towards one end. Dupli-
cate the scaled cube twice (press Shift + the D key twice) (Figure 14.2).
Learning
Unit 4
Parenting Objects
Figure 14.1
Center
Edit mode
Object mode
