constraints

# 1 17-11-2002 , 01:27 AM

Registered User
Join Date: Nov 2002

Location: UK

Posts: 10

Hi guys,
I have a character holding a cauldron via the cauldron's handle. The cauldron's handle is parented to the character's wrist. The cauldron has a ladle in it which is point and orient constrained to both the cauldron and the character's other wrist.I want the character to grab the ladle out of the cauldron, so at the point when the character grabs the ladle I'm changing the piont and orient constraint values so that the constraints move from the cauldron to the wrist doing the grabbing. The problem is, as soon as the constraint values change, the ladle seems to rotate to a different allignment. Is there any way to solve this, or any better way to animate this. Thanks.

Last edited by SSS; 17-11-2002 at 01:29 AM.

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# 2 17-11-2002 , 03:06 AM

The Maya Mountain
Join Date: Aug 2002

Location: Seattle, WA

Posts: 8,245

You might want to consider grouping an object onto itself. Doing this gives you a second pivot point which can be constrained to an object, but leaves your object's primary pivot point free for animating like you choose.

For animating a character picking something up, one method I've seen is constraining it to locators, rather than specific joints. You can then parent a locator to a joint if you want.

If you constrain an object to two locators (or objects) you'll see in the channels that you can animate how strong one constraint pulls in relation to the other. If both are at the 1 value, for example, your object will constrain between the two points. So, you can animate the constraint between these two points seamlessly.

Good luck!

-Mike
The Maya Toolbelt

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# 3 17-11-2002 , 06:32 AM

Registered User
Join Date: May 2002

Location: Niagara Falls, Canada

Posts: 5,310

Try Mikes way first, if that doesn't work try making a copy of the geometry (cauldron and ladle) you want to use on the second hand and set up all the constraints. Then turn the visabilty off till the point when you switch hands. Turn the visabilty on the hand its transferring to and turn off the visabilty of the geometry of the first hand. The off and on visablity option will have to be keyframed in the channel box

Sounds somewhat confusing and a bit hard to explain without showing you, but i've seen something similar done when I was at school.

Hope you get it.

Kurt

I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination, knowledge is limited, imagination encircles the world. (Albert Einstein)

https://www.artstation.com/kurtb

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# 4 17-11-2002 , 03:46 PM

The Maya Mountain
Join Date: Aug 2002

Location: Seattle, WA

Posts: 8,245

Kurt's way works as well, but you have to ensure that the moment they "switch" is either not shown or is seamless, or you'll see it jump or twitch when it changes.

-Mike
The Maya Toolbelt

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