Creating a control object for an IK system
Using the IK Handle to pose an IK chain is generally not a good practice. The IK Handle can be
challenging to select in the scene view, especially when it's grouped into a hierarchy that includes a
skeleton and other surface components. A better practice is to create a control object.
You create a control object to select and manipulate an IK system instead of directly using the IK
Handle. You can create a control object with a curve or a locator, which are often used because they
don't appear in the rendered image.
The control object controls the movement of the IK Handle using a constraint. You can constrain the
position, orientation, or scale of an object to other objects using constraints.
To create a control object:
1. From the main menu, select Create > Locator.
A three-dimensional cross is created at the origin in the scene view.
2. Select the Move Tool from the Toolbox.
3. In the side view, reposition the locator slightly above and in front of the end of the mechanical
arm as shown in the image below.
To easily identify the locator as a control object in the Hypergraph, rename the locator.
To rename the control object using the Hypergraph
1. In the Hypergraph, right-click the node named locator1. Choose Rename from the pop-up menu
that appears.
The locator1 name is highlighted on the node.
2. Type the name ArmControl and press Enter to save the name for the locator.
Before you constrain the IK handle to the control object, you need to freeze the transformations for the
control object. Freeze Transformations zeros the transformations for an object without changing the
position of the object. This is another good practice; If it becomes necessary to reset the arm to its
default position, you can set the transformation on the control object to zero, and the arm will return to
this default pose.
Using the IK Handle to pose an IK chain is generally not a good practice. The IK Handle can be
challenging to select in the scene view, especially when it's grouped into a hierarchy that includes a
skeleton and other surface components. A better practice is to create a control object.
You create a control object to select and manipulate an IK system instead of directly using the IK
Handle. You can create a control object with a curve or a locator, which are often used because they
don't appear in the rendered image.
The control object controls the movement of the IK Handle using a constraint. You can constrain the
position, orientation, or scale of an object to other objects using constraints.
To create a control object:
- Create and position the control object in the scene view.
- Name the node for the control object in the Hypergraph.
- Freeze transformations for the control object.
- Label the control object in the scene view.
- Constrain the IK Handle to the control object.
To create a control object using a locator
1. From the main menu, select Create > Locator.
A three-dimensional cross is created at the origin in the scene view.
2. Select the Move Tool from the Toolbox.
3. In the side view, reposition the locator slightly above and in front of the end of the mechanical
arm as shown in the image below.
To easily identify the locator as a control object in the Hypergraph, rename the locator.
To rename the control object using the Hypergraph
1. In the Hypergraph, right-click the node named locator1. Choose Rename from the pop-up menu
that appears.
The locator1 name is highlighted on the node.
2. Type the name ArmControl and press Enter to save the name for the locator.
Before you constrain the IK handle to the control object, you need to freeze the transformations for the
control object. Freeze Transformations zeros the transformations for an object without changing the
position of the object. This is another good practice; If it becomes necessary to reset the arm to its
default position, you can set the transformation on the control object to zero, and the arm will return to
this default pose.
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