Modifiers

Modifiers can be a little tricky at first but we become familiar with them as we use them. To understand how we use modifiers in our rig lets look at how these objects talk to eachother.

In previous lessons we covered:

Drop Action

Controls

Parenting

You must become familiar with these before continueing this lesson.

1) Now let's jump in...

In this example I've created 3 objects, a circle locator, a locator, and a skeleton bone.

Circle Locator:[named: control] a simple locator with a changed shape to a circle.

Locator:[named: Locator] a default locator

Skeleton Bone:[named: Skeleton_root] a default skeleton bone with 2 joints

The circle 'control' will control the 'Locator'. The 'Locator' will control one joint out of the two joints connected to the bone. The bone controls the skin weights around the character which in turn make the character move.

If we compare this to a car,

the circle 'control' is used to animate the character and make it easier on the animator to work. This is like the steering wheel on a car.

The circle 'control' talks to the 'locator' when it wants to animate. The 'Locator' is like the shocks or 'springs' in a car. Without modifiers it will do nothing.

The bone is the one that creates the motion or movement. This is like the cars wheel when it rotates or turns left and right.

Where are the Modifiers?

The 'Locator' has modifiers applied connecting the bone and locator. This is why I name these 'effectors'. It creates an effect of squash and stretch, direction, translation, and rotation. The effect is similar to a cartoon animation effect. This is where the magic happens!

Naming conventions for these

I prefer to use the naming convention 'loc' for locators that have a default appearance, 'effector' for locators that have a modifier, and 'control' for locators that are used as controls. You can use any naming convention to make it easier to organize your hierachy.

2) Lets begin...

In my scene I have created 2 locators. A control and an effector. The control will have a circle shape. The effector will keep default.

To get this setup properly I need a locator where my 'skeleton_root' is at. I start with a [drop action: match] and drop my locator over 'skeleton_root'.

I will do the same with my controller named 'controller_pelvis' only this time im using a [drop action: match position].

Now we can apply modifiers!

3) Aplying Modifiers

[Enter Setup]

First select the 'bone_pelvis' bone and lastly ctr+select the locator named 'effector_pelvis'. At the modifiers tab under constraints click on Position.

Repeat: select the bone 'bone_pelvis' and lastly ctr+select the locator named 'effector_pelvis'. At the modifiers tab under constraints click on Rotation.

4) Test the effector

[Exit Setup] Select the locator named 'effector_pelvis', NOT the control. Then move or rotate to test. If move and rotate work then modifiers have been applied successfully.

5) Parenting the Control

Before we parent we must enter [Setup]. Parent by first selecting 'effector_pelvis' and lastly ctrl+selecting 'controller_pelvis'. Then press 'P' on the keyborard.

You will see a '+' symbol next to 'bone_pelvis'. You can click on it and see the modifiers we just applied.

6) Test the Control

Exit [Setup] and test rotation and movement of 'controller_pelvis'.

Repeat these steps to create the other controls for the spine and apply modifiers. There are 4 circle controls in total starting at the pelvis joint (the one we just made) and ending at the chest joint.

7) The final Scene

To finish this lesson add the newly created 'controller_pelvis' to the group Controls under the groups tab. Add the 'effector_pelvis' to the 'hidden' group under the groups tab. Rememeber to add any new bone, item, locator, controller to a group to keep things organized.