Adjusting the Biped to the Model

Adjusting the Biped to the Model

Aligning the Biped to the Model

 

Autodesk 3ds Max Tutorials > Character Animation Tutorials > Adjusting the Biped to the Model > 

Working with Biped Parts

The process of animating a character starts with a biped. In this lesson, you will learn to work with biped parts, creating a skeleton with the appropriate body parts to fit your mesh.

Set up the lesson:

• Reset 3ds Max.

Create a biped:

1. On the Create panel, click Systems.
2. On the Object Type rollout, click Biped.

   The Biped button turns gold.

3. If you can’t see the Height spinner in the Create Biped rollout, scroll to the bottom of the command panel.
4. In the Perspective viewport, place the mouse cursor over the center of the grid. Press and hold the mouse button and drag upward.

   A biped appears and grows with your cursor movement.

5. Drag upward until the Height value is approximately 70 units. A biped appears in the viewport.

   

   The biped is a hierarchy of special objects. Its parent object (Bip01) is also called the center of mass or COM. The COM is displayed in the viewports as a small tetrahedron, initially centered in the biped’s pelvis. After you create a biped, only the center of mass object is selected (not the entire biped).

   After creating the biped, you change the values on the Create Biped rollout to give the biped the appropriate links for your mesh.

Change the number of fingers and toes:

1. Change the Fingers parameter to different values. You can see the number of fingers changing in viewports.

   

   Five fingers

2. Set the number of Fingers to 5. This gives the biped four fingers and a thumb.
3. Change the Finger Links parameter to different values. Observe the finger links as they change in viewports.

   

   Five fingers with three finger links

4. Experiment with the number of Toes and Toe Links, and observe the changes in viewports.

Add a tail and ponytails:

For non-human characters such as animals, you will need tail and ponytail links to control the mesh.

1. Change the Tail Links value to 5.

   In the Left viewport, you can see the biped growing with a tail.

   

   Biped with tail

   As long as this biped remains selected, you can make changes to the biped parameters and see the effects.

2. Change the Tail Links spinner to 0.
3. Change the Ponytail1 Links value to 5.

   In the Left viewport, you can see the ponytail growing from the base of the head. If necessary, two ponytails can be added.

   

   Biped with one ponytail (in blue)

4. Change the Ponytail1 Links value to 0.

Add props:

Props are extensions of the biped skeleton. Props are linked to the COM, and can be animated to pass from hand to hand. You can use props to animate objects the biped is holding, such as tools or weapons.

1. Turn on Props 1, 2 and 3, and turn them off again.

   

   Biped with Prop 1 activated

   Once you have determined the appropriate parts for your biped, the next step is to align the biped to the mesh.

2. If you like, you can save this scene to the file my_biped.max.