User Guide > Characters > Kinematics   

Kinematic Override

When you are working with a character there are times that you might need to look at the skeleton without its kinematic controls. This can be accomplished using the Kinematic override options found in the Settings > Objects > Kinematic Override:. The main use for this override is to interactively adjust the rest angles on your skeletons.

Topics covered:
Rest Pose Editing
Overiding Kinematics to show Capture Pose


Rest Angle Editing

A kinematic solution's rest angles are used by the solver to define the way in which the chain reacts as the goal is moved. The rest angle for each bone is set to 0, 0, 0 when a bone is first drawn although the actual angles are defined in the bone's pre-transform values. You can middle mouse button on a bone in the network view to find out what these values are. Using the kinematic override method, you can adjust the rest angles after the bones have been drawn to change how the chain is solved.

1. Setting up a sample bone chain

Select tab > Character > Bones and set Kinematics to Inverse Kinematics. Click to place a root and two bones to form a simple arm with the elbow set a little to the left. With the Pose tool, edit the end effector to show that the elbow is bending in the chosen direction.

2. Edit the Rest Pose

Select Settings > Objects > Kinematic Override: Rest. This turns off the IK goal's control on the chain and the bone rotations pop back to their default rest angles. With the Transform tool, select the forearm bone and rotate it until it is bent in the opposite direction from the original setup. Select Settings > Objects > Kinematic Override: None and with the Pose tool, edit the end effector to show that the elbow is bending in the opposite direction.

Tip: The new rest angle adjustement is set as a bone parameter. To find these values, select the bone and click on the Bone tab in the Parameter pane. The Rest Angles parameter will show the angular offset from the original 0, 0, 0 settings.


Overiding Kinematics to show Capture Pose

You can also override the kinematics to see the capture pose. This is for viewing purposes only and the best way of working with the capture pose is to go to frame 0.