912 Part VIII Character Animation

Summary

Inverse kinematics provides a unique way to control and animate hierarchical structures by transforming the child node. In this chapter, you

Learned the basic concepts behind inverse kinematics

Explored the difference between interactive and applied IK methods

Created and animated an inverse kinematics system

Used the IK settings in the Preference Settings dialog box

Learned how to use IK solvers

Inverse kinematics is a powerful animation feature that is worth the time it takes to use. In the next chapter, you get a chance to look at some of the dynamic features of Max, including Space Warps.

P A R T

Dynamics

IX

In This Part

Chapter 38

Using Space Warps

Chapter 39

Creating a Dynamic

Simulation

Chapter 40

Animating with reactor

Using Space Warps

Space Warps sound like a special effect from a science fiction movie, but actually they are non-renderable objects that let you

affect another object in many unique ways to create special effects.

You can think of Space Warps as the unseen forces that control the movement of objects in the scene such as gravity, wind, and waves. Several Space Warps, such as Push and Motor, deal with dynamic simulations and can define forces in real-world units. Some Space Warps can deform an object’s surface; others provide the same functionality as certain modifiers.

Space Warps are particularly useful when combined with particle systems. This chapter includes some examples of Space Warps that have been combined with particle systems.

Creating and Binding Space Warps

Space Warps are a way to add forces to the scene that can act on an object. Space Warps are not renderable and must be bound to an

object to have an effect. A single Space Warp can be bound to several objects, and a single object can be bound to several Space Warps.

In many ways, Space Warps are similar to modifiers, but modifiers typically apply to individual objects, whereas Space Warps can be applied to many objects at the same time and are applied using World space coordinates. This ability to work with multiple objects makes Space Warps the preferred way to alter particle systems.

Creating a Space Warp

Space Warps are found in the Create Space Warps menu, which opens the Space Warps category (the icon is three wavy lines) in the Create panel. From the subcategory drop-down list, you can select from four different subcategories. Each subcategory has buttons to enable several different Space Warps, or you can select them using the Create Space Warps menu command. To create a Space Warp, click a button or select a menu option, and then click and drag in a viewport.

When a Space Warp is created, a gizmo is placed in the scene. This gizmo can be transformed as other objects can: by using the standard transformation buttons. The size and position of the Space Warp gizmo often affects its results. After a Space Warp is created, it affects only the objects to which it is bound.

38C H A P T E R

In This Chapter

Creating and binding Space Warps to objects

Understanding the various Space Warp types

Working with Space Warps and particle systems