Setting up the Arms!

Setting up the ARM

We were supposed to set up the arm as well as the hand and fingers in class this week but we only got through the arms. We were too slow to get to the fingers.

ARMS

Before getting started you need to clean up your screen a little.

Go to: Display > Hide > Kinematics > IK Handles then do the same for the Deformers and click All.
Viewport > Hide > NURBS curves

Go to your top view

Skeleton > Joint tool

Starting with the clavicle which should be fairly close to your spine layout the arm.

Clavicle > Shoulder > Elbow > Forearm > Wrist > Palm > Middle Finger Beggining > Middle Finger 02 > 03 > Outside tip of Middle Finger > Press enter. ( each of the middle fingers should be in the joints they fold on )

You then need to set up each of the fingers. They will be separate joint sets. Each finger set should start at the inside beginning and have 4 joints total. One on each folding spot with the last one on the outside edge of the tip.

After setting them up name all of your joints from the clavicle to each finger.

Grab the inside first joint of the Ring and Index finger then Shift-select the palm joint > Press P to parent. It should create joints to the palm.

Grab the First joint of the thumb and the pinky then Shift-select the Wrist joint > Press P to parent which should connect them.

Next you should go to your perspective view and grab the clavicle > pull the entire joint string up into place as it should be laying on the bottom or middle right now. With the clavicle still selected go to Skeleton > Orient Joints.

ORIENTING THE THUMB

Since the thumb folds a little different then other fingers you are going to be orienting it a little different. I am going to try to explain this and then take a screen shot later to explain better. Select the first joint on the thumb and go to it attributes tab. actually I will just take a picture later. lol So if by some weird chance you come across this undone then it will be up shortly.

SETTING UP THE IK IN THE ARM

If you just set the IK the arm would move in way it is not supposed to so you much first set the preferred angle which you want it to fold on.

Click Elbow joint > Rotate on the Y axis (till it folds in half way) > Skeleton > Set preffered angle > default setting > move your elbow back straight.

Skeleton > IK Handle > Should joint > Forearm joint > Name Arm_IK

Window > Hypergraph - Hiarchy > Input / Output button > Select the effector button > Hit Insert on your keyboard and hold for a second > In Perspective window Drag the effect to the wrist joint and hold V to snap into place. This step make it so the arm folds in from the wrist and doesnt bend at the forearm.

Make a nurbs curve box then duplicate. (I recomend always having on in a hidden channel you can duplicate when your in need so you dont have to continuously make them. )

These boxes should be shaped for the elbow as well as the wrist. Hold V and snap the boxes to the joints.

Select the Wrist Ctrl box > select the IK handle > assign a Point constraint by going to Skeleton > Point constraint and the options box > Make sure the Maintain box is checked.

Select the Wrist box > Wrist joint > and assign an Orient constraint but make sure the same Maintain box is checked in the options box.

Select Elbow Ctrl box > IK Handle > Pole Vector Constraint with default settings.

SETTING UP THE EXPRESSION TO ROTATE FOREARM ALONG WITH WRIST

Now that your arm is set up you will want to set an expression to rotate the forearm when the wrist is rotated in order to give it a more real feeling.

With your forearm selected highlight rotate x in your attributes box > Right click and hold > Editors > Expressions

In the bottom of the box type in (name of your forearm and your wrist Ctrl box go in the L_forearm or L_wrist_ctrl spots) L_forearm.rotateX = L_wrist_ctrl.rotateX *.5;

Last thing you will want to do is connect your arm to the body.

Select the Clavicle > select the spine 4 (one before bottom of neck) > click P to parent. Which should connect the joints.

Before connecting the clavicle to the spine you can mirror the joints for the other arm or for practice just do the same thing over on the other side.

Goodluck!

-Anna