Inspired 3D Character Setup: Basic Building Blocks of Effective Character Creation

Michael Ford and Alan Lehman take us through the step-by-step process of planning the setup of a 3D character. While these steps may sound time consuming the authors assure us it will pay off in the end! The second of several excerpts from the book, Inspired 3D Character Setup.

By Mike Ford and Mike Ford | Friday, July 25, 2003 at 12:00 am

Posted In | Magazines: VFXWorld

Translations
In order to be proficient in building and animating a character, you must understand what happens to the objects in your scenes when you transform them. One type of transformation is a translation. A translation is the act of moving an object from one point in 3D space to another point in the 3D space. In Maya, the translation of an object is calculated locally, based on its parent. If the object does not have a parent, then the translation values are calculated based on the world coordinates.

Translating in World, Local, and Object Space
In Maya, you can alter the way you translate an object by selecting a mode of translation in the Move Settings box of the Tool Settings window, as shown in Figure 2. The different translation modes allow you to translate an object relative to the three types of spaces or coordinate systems — world, local and object. By selecting the second joint and entering into move or translate mode, you can quickly discern the differences between the types of translation spaces. We’ll demonstrate the different types of spaces by building a three-joint chain.

[Figure 2] The Tool Settings window.

Turn on grid snapping. In Animation mode, choose Skeleton > Joint tool.
Choose Display > Joint Size >100%.
Place the first joint at the origin, the second joint to the right of the first joint, and the third joint to the right of the second joint. Rotate the first joint 15 degrees in Z. Rotate the second joint 30 degrees in Z to match Figure 3.

[Figure 3] The three-joint chain.

The Tool Settings window can be quickly accessed by double-clicking the Move Tool icon in the toolbox (see Figure 4) or by selecting Modify > Transformation Tools > Move Tool.

[Figure 4] The Move Tool button.

Object Space Translation
An object translates in object space in the orientation of the object and the object’s parents (provided the object has a parent). The translation manipulator in object space is always oriented in the same direction as the local rotation axis of the object. To test how objects translate in object space, take a close look at the orientation of the second joint’s translate manipulator. Select and rotate the second joint by pressing the “E” on your keyboard. Switch back to the translation manipulator in object space by pressing the “W” key on your keyboard. Notice how the joint’s rotation affects the object’s translation manipulator. The translation node is always aligned to it. (See Figure 5.) If you translate multiple objects in object mode, all of the objects will translate relative to their individual rotation axis.