Adjusting Body Keys in Track View

When you activate footsteps, 3ds Max creates keys for biped body parts. After activating footsteps, you can also create keys by turning on Auto Key and animating body parts. To view all these keys, use Track View in Dope Sheet mode.

In general, editing biped body keys in Track View is the same as editing keys of any sort in 3ds Max, with a few restrictions.

Before reading this section, please read Understanding Footstep and Body Keys for terms and definitions used in this section.

Note: The information in this section applies only to biped body keys for the arms, legs, spine, neck, and other parts of the upper body. For rules for editing footstep keys, see Editing Footstep Timing.

Locked Keys

Some biped keys are locked, meaning they cannot be moved in time. Locked keys are colored red in Track View.

Locked keys for the COM Body Vertical track are created at each footstep's lift and touch frames. These are the only keys that are locked. These keys can be moved in time by changing footstep duration in Track View.

Although you cannot move or delete a locked key in Track View, you can sometimes change the animation on the frame by going to the frame, turning on Auto Key and manually animating the key.

Restrictions on Biped Body Key Editing

All options available for editing biped body key timing are available only when Edit Keys on the Track View toolbar is turned on.

The following rules apply to the editing biped body key timing in Track View:

• You cannot move existing keys outside the area between the first and last footsteps, or to negative frames.
• You can use Add Keys to insert keys in any biped body track. You cannot insert keys outside the area between the first and last footsteps, or to negative frames.
• You can clone keys the same way you clone 3ds Max objects: by selecting the keys and holding down Shift as you drag them. You can also clone keys by copying and pasting postures.
• The Track View - Curve Editor can be used to view and edit curves showing the interpolation between body keys. You can also use the Workbench to analyze, edit and fix biped motion curves.
• You can use Scale Values to scale selected keys, except for locked keys.

Tip: If you want to animate a biped performing movements with its upper body while standing, extend the length of the standing footsteps to cover the length of the standing animation, then add keys for the upper body.