To save a template, set up your settings the way you would like, and left-click on the Template button and choose Save. You can save out and load in templates for your skeleton creation settings. Since I have used the convention I specified in the mirror settings, when I turn on symmetry mode in the next step, those modules will know that they are mirrors of each other! Using Templates This allows you to change the initial settings you had entered, like the parent, or the number of joints for example.įor example, I have added two leaf modules that are children of the pelvis: and.

To the right of Added Modules are the settings for the selected module. Once you create one of these custom joints, it will appear in the Added Modules list at the bottom of the Skeleton Setup panel.

When you add a dynamic joint chain, you will need to specify the base name (for instance, ponytail), the parent of the root joint of the chain, and how many joints are in the chain. The joint chain will be rigged with an FK setup, a Spline IK setup, and a physics rig using hair follicles. Just like the leaf joint, to add, just fill out the interface with the name for the joint and the joint's parent.ĭynamic Joint Chain: With the last of the extra joint options, you can create a joint chain with however many joints you would like. Jiggle joints are great for adding secondary motion to your character. Jiggle Joint: A jiggle joint is just like a leaf joint, except it has built in physics simulations. Otherwise, it will be built with its translation channels unlocked as well, for example. If the bones need only rotate, you can just have Rotation checked. Choosing Translation and Rotation are used to determine how it will be rigged. To create one, left-click the button and fill out the information in the interface. Leaf joints are single joints that can be placed anywhere. Leaf Joint: Leaf Joints will probably be the most used option since it has so many uses. To add extra joints to your character, scroll through and select a rig module to add in the Add Rig Modules section:Ĭurrently, there are three types of extra joints you can add to your character. At any time, you can reset to default by right-clicking on a limb area, and choosing Reset to Defaults. It is just an easy way to identify what is different that the default. When a field turns orange, it means that the value has been changed from the defaults of the tool. The right leg and right arm both have checkboxes to mirror the left limb settings: There are a few neat things that can speed up your creation process. Type in the number of spine joints you would like, the number of finger joints, etc. Most of this interface is fairly straight forward. If you need to add extra joints, fear not! That will be covered shortly. The character rig creator interface has a flow chart at the top of the UI that shows what step you are on, and what steps come next:ĭuring the Skeleton Creation phase, you can define the joint setup for your character by entering in values for the various fields for each limb. To fix it, press Alt-Home, or alternatively you may left-click the Home button, which is visible when you mouse over the View Cube. This is a Maya behavior and is unrelated to this toolset. However, it is possible that the viewport may start navigating strangely. This is just to match Unreal's coordinate space. If your settings are set to use Y up in Maya(default), you will be shown a dialog letting you know that the world settings have been adjusted to Z-Up.

To create a character, go to the Epic Games menu in your Maya interface and choose Character Rig Creator. The following steps walk you through the creation of your character's skeleton. The ART allows for the skeleton to be quickly generated and adjusted to fill the volume of a character, or even just as a way to 'sketch out' what a character will look like so you can start animating right away. The first part of the process of using the Animation Rigging Toolset is the creation of your initial skeleton.

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