1. Creating Inverse Leg Joints
Step 1
Open
Maya. Open the file which was saved in the previous part of the tutorial.
Step 2
Jump in the side view. Turn off the visibility button to hide the Hulk’s mesh.
Step 3
With
the Animation mode selected, go to Skeleton > Joint Tool for creating inverse leg joints.
Step 4
Create four joints beneath the heel joint as shown in the following image.
Step 5
With the Z axis selected, press V on the keyboard (Point Snapping) and drag onto the heel joint to align and snap the joints as shown in the following image.
Step 6
Rename the created joints as L_Rev_Heel_jnt01, L_Rev_Toe_jnt01, L_Rev_Ball_jnt01 and L_Rev_Ankle_jnt01 respectively.
Step 7
In this way, the left leg’s reverse joints are completed. Following the same way, you have to create the reverse joints for the right leg also.
Step 8
With
L_Rev_Heel_jnt01 joint selected, go
to Skeleton > Mirror Joint and click on its option box.
Step 9
In the Mirror Joint Options window, turn on Mirror across YZ radio button and type Search for L_ and Replace with R_. Click on Mirror button to mirror the joints.
Step 10
The mirrored joints automatically get renamed accordingly as shown in image.
2. Parenting Reverse Joints and IKs
Step 1
For parenting the reverse joint with IKs, first select L_Ankle_IK01 followed by L_Rev_Ankle_jnt01 and then go to Edit > Parent or press P key.
Step 2
Following the same way, first select L_Foot_IK01 followed by L_Rev_Ball_jnt01 and press P key to parent as shown in the following image.
Step 3
Next, select L_Toe_IK01 followed by L_Rev_Toe_jnt01 and press P key to parent it as well.
Step 4
Following the same way, perform the parenting task on the right side IKs and reverse joints also.
3. Creating Curve Controls
Step 1
Unhide the Hulk’s mesh.
Step 2
Create a circular curve around the left foot as shown in the following image.
Step 3
With the curve selected, press F9 key to jump into Control Vertex mode and edit the curve like a foot shape as shown in the following image.
Step 4
After modifying the curve, press F8 key to jump back into object mode. With the move tool selected, hold down D and V keys together and then drag the middle mouse button onto L_Heel_jnt01 joint to snap the pivot of the curve.
Step 5
Rename the curve as L_Foot_Control01.
4. Adding Custom Attributes
Step 1
With L_Foot_Control01 curve selected, go to Modify > Add Attributes command.
Step 2
In the Add Attribute settings window, write Foot Attributes for Log name and turn on Displayable radio button and then click on Add button.
Step 3
Next, write LegRoll for Long name and turn on Keyable and Float radio buttons. In the Numeric Attribute Properties, keep the values of Minimum to -10, Maximum to 10 and Default to 0. Click on Add button.
Step 4
Next, write HeelPivot for the Long name and turn on Keyable and Float radio buttons. In the Numeric Attribute Properties, keep the values of Minimum to -5, Maximum to 5 and Default to 0. Click on Add button.
Step 5
Next, write ToePivot for the Long name and turn on Keyable and Float radio buttons. In the Numeric Attribute Properties, keep the values of Minimum to -5, Maximum to 5 and Default to 0. Click on Add button.
Step 6
With L_Foot_Control01 curve selected, go to Modify > Freeze Transformations to freeze the selected control curve.
Step 7
With L_Foot_Control01 curve selected, go to Edit > Delete by Type > History command to delete history of the control curve.
Step 8
Now you can see the custom attributes are created inside L_Foot_Control01 curve channel editor as shown in the following image.
Step 9
Make a duplicate of L_Foot_Control01 curve for the right side foot. Keep the value of Scale X as -1 and snap it to R_Heel_jnt01 joint. Rename it as R_Foot_Control01.
5. Adding Set Driven Keys
Step 1
With L_Foot_Control01 selected, go to Animate > Set Driven Key > Set command.
Step 2
In the Set Driven Key window, first select L_Foot_Control01 and click on Load Driver button. After that, select L_Rev_Heel_jnt01, L_Rev_Toe_jnt01 and L_Rev_Ball_jnt01 and then click on Load Driven button as shown in the following image.
Step 3
Select L_Foot_Control01 followed by LegRoll and then select L_Rev_Heel_jnt01 followed by Rotate Z. Click on Key button to add the initial key as shown in following image.
Step 4
Select L_Foot_Control01 followed by LegRoll and then set LegRoll value as -10 in the Channel Editor as shown in the following image.
Step 5
With L_Rev_Heel_jnt01 selected, set Rotate Z value as 30 and then click on Key button to add the secondary key on the selected attribute.
Step 6
Select L_Foot_Control01 followed by LegRoll and set LegRoll value as 5.
Step 7
Select L_Rev_Ball_jnt01 and set Rotate Z value as 20. Click on Key button to add secondary key on the selected attribute as shown in the following image.
Step 8
Select L_Foot_Control01 followed by LegRoll and set LegRoll value as 10.
Step 9
With L_Rev_Toe_jnt01 selected, set Rotate Z value to 30. Click on Key button to add secondary key on the selected attribute.
Step 10
In the Set Driven Key window, select L_Foot_Control01 followed by Heel Pivot. Select L_Rev_Heel_jnt01 followed by Rotate Y and then click on Key button to add initial key.
Step 11
Select L_Foot_Control01 followed by Heel Pivot and set Heel Pivot value as -5.
Step 12
Select L_Rev_Heel_jnt01 followed by Rotate Y and set Rotate Y value to 30. Click on Key button to key the selected attribute.
Step 13
Select L_Foot_Control01 followed by Heel Pivot and set Heel Pivot value to 5.
Step 14
Select L_Rev_Heel_jnt01 followed by Rotate Y and set Rotate Y value to -30. Click on Key button to key the selected attribute.
Step 15
In the Set Driven Key window, select L_Foot_Control01 followed by Toe Pivot. Select L_Rev_Toe_jnt01 followed by Rotate Y and then click on Key button to add the initial key.
Step 16
Select L_Foot_Control01 followed by Toe Pivot and set Toe Pivot value to -5.
Step 17
Select L_Rev_Toe_jnt01 followed by Rotate Y and set Rotate Y value to -30. Click on Key button to key the selected attribute.
Step 18
Select L_Foot_Control01 followed by Toe Pivot and set Toe Pivot value to 5.
Step 19
Select L_Rev_Toe_jnt01 followed by Rotate Y and set Rotate Y value to 30. Click on Key button to key the selected attribute.
Step 20
With R_Foot_Control01 selected, click on Load Driver button. Select R_Rev_Heel_jnt01, R_Rev_Toe_jnt01 and R_Rev_Ball_jnt01 and then click on Load Driven button as you did previously for the left foot control.
Step 21
In the Set Driven Key window, select R_Foot_Control01 followed by LegRoll. Select R_Rev_Heel_jnt01, R_Rev_Toe_jnt01 and R_Rev_Ball_jnt01 followed by Rotate Z and then click on Key button to add the initial key. In this way, the right side’s controls attributes have been completed.
5. Creating knee Controls
Step 1
To make the knee control, create a circle around the knee area as shown in the following image.
Step 2
Jump in the vertex control mode and edit the curve as shown in the following image.
Step 3
With the curve selected, press Ctrl-D to create a duplicate copy of it for the right side also.
Step 4
With both curves selected, go to Edit > Delete by Type > History command.
Step 5
With the curves selected, go to Modify > Freeze Transformations command to freeze the various transform values of the selected controls.
Step 6
Rename the controls as L_KneeControl01 and R_KneeControl01 as shown in the following image.
Step 7
Select L_KneeControl01 followed by L_Ankle_IK01 and then go to Constrain > Pole Vector command.
Step 8
Following the same procedure, select R_KneeControl01 followed by R_Ankle_IK01 and then go to Constrain > Pole Vector command.
Step 9
Select L_Rev_Heel_jnt01 followed by L_Foot_Control0Shape1 and then go to Edit > Parent command or press P key to apply the parent command.
Step 10
Following the same procedure, select R_Rev_Heel_jnt01 followed by R_Foot_Control0Shape1 and then go to Edit > Parent command or press P key to apply the parent command. In this way, the controls for both foot and legs have been completed.
Step 11
You
can test the leg controls by moving the transform controls.
Conclusion
In
the next part, I’ll show how to create spine and upper body controls.
