Creating A Poser Figure Part 4

This part of the tutorial shows how to set-up Joint Parameters ( JPs )


Joint Parameters


Joint Parameter control the body parts built by the hierarchy. Although there are no bones themselves,( in Poser 4 ) JPs can be thought of as controlling imaginary bones. The JPs set the how, what and where, of a body part Bend Zones, ( The movements, rotation, scaling and deformation of the body parts ). When a new figure is created as done in this tutorial, the Jps and bend zones are usually nowhere near being positioned and oriented as they should be.

To open the JPs editor go to Windows/Joint Editor, when a body part is selected the Editor will show various options for the selected JP attribute.

These options are found on all Jps Attributes Editors. The current JP attribute is listed in the text block, to select different JP attributes use the pull down menu on the text block. The Display Deformer option is used to hide/show the current attribute. Spherical Falloff option enables/disabled spherical falloff, when it is enable the zones are shown. Zero Figure resets the whole figure ( all body parts ) back to 0.


Center Point shows the current position of the start center ( green ), values can be typed into the text block. End Point shows the current position of the end attribute ( red ), values can be typed into the text block. Rotate Center Dials can be used to rotate the XZY orientation of the center point. Align will orient the rotation of the center point to the body part according to it's geometry and hierarchy order. This option can be used to orient the center so the twist ( X rotation ) is running in the right direction, but the Bend and Side to Side ( Y and Z rotation ) may need to be adjusted afterwards.

Center Editor


Center Attributes: is just what it sounds like, the center of rotation for the body part. Every body part has one, and body parts that end the hierarchy, ( like a last leg part on this figure ) or body parts where the hierarchy branches off, ( like the head in this figure ) have two center parameters ( start and end ). The center attributes is green, and the end attributes is red. This green center attributes sets the center position and orientation of the other joint attributes ( XYZ ). The Center Attributes is shown as a normal 3D badge with 3 lines representing the XYZ axes. The center point can be moved by typing values into the position text blocks or manually by holding the pointer over the center until the cursor turns into a bullseye, then dragging.




Since the center determines where the other three bend zone parameters are located, it's important to place it in the right location. For most body parts the center should be located in the center of the part, but at the end that meets it's parent.
In these examples the center of the shoulder is first located at the elbow, which is wrong. Then it's located in the middle of the shoulder, which is wrong. Then it's located at the right position, where the shoulder meets the collar.



Twist Editor:

Twist Start option shows the current position where the start point ( red ). The Twist End shows the current position of the ending point ( green ). Values can be typed into the text block to move them, or they can be moved manually by holding the pointer over the red or green until it turns into a bullseye, then dragged.

Twist: is the Rotate X parameter. It's the first order of rotation, and should always be oriented so it's parallel with the body part. Basically think of how the body part should twist, and that's the direction the twist should be oriented, with the twist running length wise with the body part. The green handle defines the end point and the red handle defines the start point. The deformation will occur at the red and green areas. The line connecting the green and red handles defines the axes the twist will rotate around.

By default Poser orients the center parameter to the poser window's XYZ axes, so for some body parts the twist may be oriented to the right direction. Like the arms of a figure, but other parts like the legs, the twist is oriented on the X axes where it need to be oriented to the Y axes. For these body parts the center X axes needs to be rotated so it's oriented up and down in the pose window.
For the neck of the bug figure, the neck center has been position using a side and top view right where it should be, in the center of the neck, where the neck meets the chest.


But when the twist is looked at in the top view, it is oriented all wrong, going from side to side along the pose window X axes. It needs to be oriented on the pose window Z axes, running from front to back of the figure. To change this the center parameter needs to be rotated -90 degrees on it's Y axes.


This is the way the twist needs to be oriented for the neck of the bug.



Bend and Side to Side Editor:


Center Point shows the current location or the center ( same as the center attributes ), when this is moved it's the same as moving the center attribute. The center point can be moved by typing values into the position text blocks or manually by holding the pointer over the center until the cursor turns into a bullseye, then dragging. Joint Angles show the current rotation of the inclusion and exclusion handles. The A and D dials control the exclusion handles ( red ) and the B and C dials control the inclusion handles ( green ). Values can be changed by moving the dials, typing into the text block or manually by holding the pointer over the end of a handle, till it turns into a bullseye.
Apply Bulge enables/disables the bulge deformation option when the body parts is moved. The Bulge Dials are for setting the value of bulge deformation used when the body part is moved. Right and Left represent the side of the figure the bulge will occur on, Positive and Negative determines the direction the bulge will occur. The Negative direction will be inwards ( indented into the body ). The Positive Direction is outward ( extruding out from the body ).

Bend and Side to Side: These two are identical, except one is oriented to the Z axes and the other to the Y axes. They have a center location which is the same as the Center Attributes, moving the center ( where the green and red lines come together ) is the same as moving the Center Joint Attribute. The two green lines set the areas where bending or side to side movement will occur ( inclusion zone ), when the Rotate Z or Rotate Y parameter dials are adjusted. The two red lines set the areas where polygons will not receive movement or deformation when these parameter dials are used ( exclusion zone ). The areas between the green and red zones are the deformation zones, these areas will receive deformation when the parameter dials are used. The green zone and deformation zone can effect other body parts connected to the piece, making them receive movement or deformation. So setting up these zones are very important for the figure to pose correctly.


With this example the Center ( for the tail ) has been placed, then rotated so the Twist is oriented to the right direction. The Side to Side ( rotate Y parameter ) moves the tail correctly, but there is deformation occurring on part of the chest and hind legs.


To fix this the red handles are moved, so the areas that where receiving deformation are now in the exclusion zone.



Apply Budges:

This option can be enabled to add budges or wrinkles to the body part when the morph dials are used. The amount of budge/wrinkle is determined by the values typed or set by rotating the budge dials. When negative values are used the polygons extrude inwards so wrinkles occur. When positive values are used the polygons extrude outward so budges occur.

Values set at 0

Values set negative

Values set positive

The Left and Right Dials represent the side of the body, ( this can also be up and down according to which JP attribute is being set-up, Y or Z ) The Negative and Positive refer to the direction the morph parameter dial is being moved to. When the morph parameter dial is moved to negative values the Right Neg and Left Neg budge dials are used. When the morph parameter dial is move to positive values the Right Pos and Left Pos budge dials are used.

Positive

Negative

Scaling Editor


There are four parameters for the scaling attribute, High End/Start and Low End/Start. Only two of these parameters should be with the scale attribute. Poser will automatically disable the two that should not be used by putting out of limit ranges in the text block ( 99,000 or 100,000 ). The two that are used will determine where the start and end points are located for the attribute.

The scaling attribute looks like the twist and is adjusted the same as the twist. It will be aligned to the same direction the twist is for the body part.

Each body part will have a scale X attribute for the parent and child parts directly connected to it in the hierarchy. So the scale X controls how the adjoining body parts are scaled along all axes when the selected body part is scale.
Here are the two Scale X for the left leg 1 part of the bug. The first is for the child object ( left leg 2 ), the second is for the parent object ( chest ). When a scale dial is used on Left Leg 1, these two attributes will determine where and how much or the adjoining parts are scaled.


With this example 1, the chest scale x ending point has been moved onto the chest area, when the Y scaling dial is used the chest revives deformation. In example 2, the ending point is move off of the chest area, but deformation still occurs where other body parts meet the chest. For this scale x to work correctly, the ending point needs to be placed so no part of the chest is deformed ( example 3 ).




Spherical Falloff Zones:

Are used to control bend zones, ( they are not always necessary, but can be used to further control bend zones ). To view them as a wire frame or other display style go to Display/Element Style, and select a style from the selection menu.



They have their own morph parameter dials and are manipulated just like a body part.


All the area inside the green sphere will receive 100% of the transformation when the morph parameter dial is used. The red sphere defines the boundary of the transformation. The area between the green and red is the fall off zone. With the green receiving 100% transformation and the boundary of the red receiving 0% of the transformation. The area between the green and red receive a percentage of transformation gradually decreasing as it moves from green to red.


Tips For Setting Up Joint Parameters


1.Start at the head of the hierarchy and work out to the end of the body parts.
2. Place the Center first, the align the Center's X axes so the twist will be oriented to the right direction. Once the Center is placed properly, it can be aligned using the Align Button. It may then need future aligning using the menu parameter dials. But the align button should orient the Twist to the right direction.
3. After the center is positioned and aligned set-up the twist attribute( Rotate X ), then set-up the Rotate Y and Rotate Z attributes.
4. When the center is aligned off of a 90% angle ( 90, 180, 270, 360 ) and one of the rotate Y or Z handles are moved manually, Poser can freeze trying to calculate the new position for the handle. So before moving these handles manually ( in these situations ) save the project.
5. Set-up the scaling attributes after all the Rotate Attributes are set-up for the whole figure. This will save maybe having to adjust them twice.
6. After all the parameters are set-up fine tune the joints using Budges and/or Spherical Falloff where needed.


Setting Up the Work Environment Setting up the work environment is not necessary, but will make setting up the JPs easier and more accurate.

Make sure the figure's body object parameters dials are all set to the default, which should be 100.000 for the scaling dials, 0% for the Rotate and 0.000 Translate dials.


Make sure all the other body parts parameters are set the same, they should be by default, unless something got moved by mistake. Then set a pose memory dot for the current pose. Then the default pose can be acquired quick and easily.


Next set camera dots for the Right, Left, Top, Bottom, Front, Back Main and Face cameras. Zooming in to each view so the whole figure is in the center of the window, before the memory dot is set. This will make checking JPs placement faster. Even if the views are change as the work is done, clicking the dot will revert it back.





Make the Poser window to a comfortable size, and set a UI ( User Interface ) memory dot, then make the window size as large as it can be but yet fit completely on the screen. These can be used when it's necessary to take a closer look to judge placement.


Last go to Display/Figure Style and change it to Outline. This will make it easier to see the JPs icon and adjust their handles. Also turning off Figure Circle and Ground Shadow will have less clutter obstructing the view.





Continue to Part 5



This character creation tutorial is written and provided by : Stephen Ray