There are two main methods for completing the character mapping process, depending on whether you use a standard naming convention for your character's bones.
For both methods, you can prepare as follows:
- Load the skeleton. Before attempting to create a definition, ensure you have followed the guidelines in
Prepare an existing skeleton for HumanIK, and that your character is set up as described in
HumanIK character structure.
- Open the
HumanIK window (Windows> Animation Editors > HumanIK) and click
Create Character Definition in the
Start pane.
- (Optional) To rename the character, click
>
Rename Character.
- Select one of the following methods to map the structure of your character:
To map bones manually
- Do one of the following to start mapping bones to the
Character view:
- Go from the
Definition tab to your skeleton: Double-click a cell in the
Character view (cells turn blue when picked), then click the corresponding bone in the scene. (You can also select bones in the
Outliner or
Hypergraph, for example.)
- Go from your skeleton to the
Definition tab: Select a bone then right-click the corresponding cell in the
Character view and select
Assign Selected Bone.
Bones in the
Character view turn green to indicate each valid bone assignment.
For more information on which bones map to which nodes, see
HumanIK character structure.
Continue mapping until you have all required bones defined. Once you have mapped all required bones, the
validation status indicator turns green.
- (Optional) Expand the extra sections of the
Character view to map other optional joints, such as additional spine joints or roll bones.
- (Optional) Map a reference bone.
Note: Mapping a reference object is optional, but strongly recommended.
To quickly create a reference object, create a locator (Create > Locator) and parent the root of your character's skeletal hierarchy to that locator. You can then map the locator as your character's
Reference.
To map bones automatically based on a naming template
- Select the first bone you want to assign.
- Click the
Load Skeleton definition button
in the
Definition tab toolbar.
- In the
Load Skeleton Definition window that appears, select the naming template you want to apply from the
Template drop-down list.
By default, this list contains all templates supplied with
HumanIK, and any templates that you have created. To navigate and select a template that is not listed, select
<Browse>.
For example, if your character’s joints are named according to the HumanIK naming conventions (listed in the
Name Match view), you can use the HIK template to automatically complete the mapping process.
Tip: You can also select
>
Edit > Edit Character Definition > Load Character Definition Template to apply your own naming template.
- (Optional) If you want to restrict the template matching to only a subset of the bones in your skeleton, select those bones.
- Set the scope for the name matching.
Select the
Match all bones with prefix option to map all bones whose names contain both the prefix shown in this field and a suffix contained in the mapping template. The suggested prefix is retrieved from the bones you have selected. You can change this suggested prefix if it does not match the prefix used by the skeleton you want to define. Select the
Match only selected bones option to restrict the suffix matching to only selected bones.
- Click
Ok.