Orient Joint Options

Orient Joint to World

When on, all joints you create with the Joint Tool are set to align with the world frame. Each joint’s local axes have the orientation of the world axis, and the other Orient Joint settings are disabled. When off, you can specify the joint alignment using the other Orient Joint settings described below.

Primary Axis

Lets you specify the primary local axis for the joint. This is the axis that points down the bone that extends from this joint.

Tip: If you want a joint to rotate about a particular axis, that axis must not be the Primary Axis. For example, a joint cannot rotate about its local X-axis if its Primary Axis orientation is set to X.

Secondary Axis

Lets you specify which local axis to use as the secondary orientation for the joint. Select one of the two remaining axes. To have Maya determine the Secondary Axis automatically, set to None.

Note: You cannot set the same axis for both the Primary and Secondary orientation. If you set either option to use an axis already specified, Maya automatically switches the other option to use a different axis.

Secondary Axis World Orientation

Lets you set the direction (positive or negative) in which the secondary axis points.

Orient children of selected joints

When on, the Orient Joint Options affect all the joints below the current joint in the skeleton’s hierarchy. When off, only the current joint is affected by the Orient Joint Options.

Reorient the local scale axes

When on, the local scale axes of the current joint are also reoriented.

Toggle Local Axes Visibility

Toggles the display of the local axes on the selected joints.

Related topics

• Understanding the attributes of a joint
• Orient a joint’s local axes manually
• Orient a joint’s local axes automatically